Journey to Education

This blog is about my personal journey and reflection on becoming an ESE teacher in the state of Florida

[myuminji]

Just VW things again

[allthingslinguistic]

The International Phonetic Alphabet consonants found in English, with keywords and relevant parts of the mouth highlighted and colour-coded. (Source.) 

[pervocracy]

Pronouncing each of these in sequence is a very strange and amusing physical sensation, and I highly recommend it.

[themidwifeisin]

PSA

You feel like shit is a website set up to help you get out of that funk/improve things just enough to not feel horrible and miserable all the time.  It’s amazing.

Whether you struggle with mental health problems all the time or whether this is a new/temporary state for you, this guide is an easy and judgement-free self-care tool.

PLEASE TRY IT OUT!  Really!  You just click through the questions to answer and follow simple instructions that in the end, ideally, will help you to feel more comfortable and stable on a daily basis. 

Good luck!  Have fun!

[drchelsearar]

Wow this self-care took is incredible.

I’m feeling ok right now and am about to settle into bed (but this was scheduled hence the early morning post) but I flipped through it for awhile just to see what it is like and holy crap it’s like a choose-your-own-adventure of self-care activities that not only aims to engage you in positive feel good behaviors but also tries to match its suggestions to your level of energy/ability/can even.

I think I am going to use this definitely when I am having a bad time but maybe also try to incorporate it into my life on at least a weekly if not a daily or semi-daily basis.

This is super super awesome!

[generalistherbalist]

Adding this to my resource list.

[cream-and-stars]

I LOVE this. Love this.

[shqrlock]

I use this on a daily basis and I LOVE it! it’s kept me from forgetting to take my meds and being all pissy the next day lol.

[ladykittenfair]

This is absolutely fantastic! I haven’t tried out every option on there but I went through it once as a test and was super impressed.

[boringangel]

[musingsdeme]

So I’m a historian who works particularly on the relationship between trauma, national memory, and childhood.  The focus of my research is not the Holocaust, but it’s a subject upon which I’ve taught, mused, written, and examined.  A few years ago, I was a TA in a class on the Holocaust (cross listed in the History Department and the Department of Judaic Studies) at a US University (a pretty prestigious one). Most of the course focused on the realities of the Holocaust:  what happened?  how?  why? Now because of my areas of expertise/interest, I was invited to give a lecture to the entire class as opposed to teaching my particular subset of students each week.  The subject of the lecture?  The Holocaust in US education and children’s/YA literature. 

The thing that I found most distressing about this lecture?  The fact that only about nine state in the US require that students learn about the Holocaust in classrooms.  Among those only a few require it as a part of history or social studies classes, the rest require it as part of language arts.  And, the way that students actually learn about this subject is determined at the discretion of the school district, which means that, as long as students meet the general requirements of standardized tests, they don’t have to learn particular details.  So, let that sink in.  Even more distressing?  The states that “require” students to learn about the Holocaust, have only done so since (at the earliest) the 1980s, and far more likely the 1990s and 2000s.  This means that there is an entire generation whose knowledge of the Holocaust comes from popular media and triumphant narratives about US involvement in WWII:  these narratives are hugely false, and what I call the “Punching Hitler” story after the iconic image of Captain America socking Hitler in the jaw.  In the US the general shared narrative about WWII is that the US went over the Europe, lost a lot of boys, but killed Hitler, won the war, and saved the Jews.  o__O  That’s…not what happened.  

In a class of 200 students, only about 10 percent knew anything about how the Holocaust happened.  They didn’t know about the groups that were targeted, the way that anti-semitism and opportunistic nationalist politics helped make it happen, they didn’t know about complicity or bystandardism.  They knew nothing.  They didn’t know that US officials were aware of what was happening and refused to get involved in the war.  They didn’t understand that there was concurrent anti-semitism and racism in the US.  They were taught none of these things.  And that is actually terrifying, not only because it means that these kids have no idea about the past, but because they can’t see the giant flashing warning signs in our current socio-political world.  

[cait-teaches]

Hi, teacher here. I work with 7th and 8th grade students. When I was in school, the holocaust was part of our curriculum in FOURTH GRADE. We had holocaust speakers come to school and talk to us every year in middle and high school. That was around 2006 to 2013. I now teach in this year of 2018 and the holocaust isn't even in the standards here in florida until NINTH grade now...Within the last ten years the state of florida has decided the holocaust isn't a priority. However the holocaust and nazi movement still is a huge part of history.

A side effect of this... I had a black student come into class with a swastika drawn on his hand. I was shocked bc this student was so politically aware you could have awesome discussions with him. Not wanting to freak out on him I asked him calmly to go wash it off. He immediately was confused and asked why. I told him it was offensive and he was even more baffled. This is because even though we dont teach what the nazi were or did in schools, they are still the media and in popular violent video games. This student thought the swastika was a symbol of soldiers because it was portrayed in a videogame and that was the only reference he had. And he wasn't the only kid in class that believed it. I spent the rest of reading class explaining the damage the nazi party did in the holocaust. I now make sure to include it in the curriculum by reading a novel based on the holocaust. This year we are reading "number the stars" and the kids are enraptured.

[cait-teaches]

Students are amazing.

I have just started my career as an educator and last night I had the most amazing experience.

I have a student who is terrified of presenting. This child had frozen in fear in front of a class of 10 kids that they had gone to school with for years.

Last night I saw this child get up on stage at a school play with an audience of at least 50 people (most who were strangers) and KILL the a lead role. Even when this child forgot a line, they were able to improvise until remembering the line.

I love that this jobs allows you the opportunity to see fruit of effort and watch these kids grow into amazing individuals. I got to witness one of the most amazing experiences of being an educator last night and I cried.

[did-you-know]

Playing board games can make you a nicer person. Because they provide a state of controlled conflict, board games can improve your relationship skills by requiring that you practice taking turns, following rules, being fair, and winning or losing gracefully. Source Source 2 Source 3

[insectstim]

$5 and under stim toys

hey! if ur a super super poor person like me, sometimes u cant even afford $10 for a stim toy.

not to worry ! here are some stim toys that are $5 and under, INCLUDING SHIPPING !

Spinners:

style 1 ($0.72) | style 2 ($1.59)

style 3 (3.99 + 0.99) | style 3 ($1.69)

Fidget cubes:

style 1 ($0.99 + $0.80 shipping) | style 2 ($3.98)

style 3 ($3.68) | style 4 (2.61)

Tangles:

style 1 ($1.45 | style 2 ($0.99 + $0.69 shipping) | style 3 ($4.20)

style 4 ($2.43) | style 5 (1.99) | style 6 (1.99)

Squishies:

bunnies ($3.61) | cup kitty ($3.78) | narwhal ($1.90)

pandas ($0.72) | cat bread ($1.99) | whale ($1.89)

strawberries ($1.32) | peach ($2.70) | carrot ($1.47)

Misc. hand-busying fidgets:

magnetic beads ($4.38) | chain fidgets ($1.28)

6 stretchy strings ($4.98) | boinks ($0.99)

Gel/water-based toys:

grape ball ($1.79) | spitting gudetama ($0.99) | fruit squisher ($1.96)

gudetama egg ($1.78 + $0.73 ship.) | gel eggs ($2.52) | watermelon ($3.29)

edamame squish ($1.09) | 1,000 orbeez ($0.99) |  giant orbeez ($0.72)

Slime:

barrel o slime ($1.22) | color changing putty ($3.99)

magnet putty ($0.99) | glass putty ($2.91)

Puzzle toys:

puzzle ball ($2.95) | puzzle pyramid ($3.99)

twisty ($1.99) | puzzle cube ($3.11)

—-

I hope this helps!

if you can, please do support ND stim toy creators. this post is specifically so ND people without much money can afford the things they need to function!

[luxwing]

ALSO!! If you live near a Walmart store they are beginning to get some cheap (under $5) fidget spinners and cubes they’re usually in the action figure isles so if you can’t purchase things online checking there is another option

[cait-teaches]

Inquiry #11

Now all my data is collected and I’m finishing up the binder report and the table presentation for it. The collective data has show a decrease in the targeted behavior and an improvement in the time the student is able to stay on task! This is an incredible feeling and I am extremely proud of the students. 

I had the students help me create my round table presentation. They all chose their own aliases and pictures to represent themselves. They also suggested I dance at the beginning which i don’t think I will. As I finish up the binder, I am so eager to share the results with other teachers. For my handouts for the conference I was to create a resource that explains and describes the interventions I used so that other teachers have a reference to use in the future! I hope I can encourage these accommodations in their own class.

[cait-teaches]

Inquiry #10

We have little time before FSA and I’ve been collecting final data on the students. The data shows that the intervention has been helping in what it’s supposed to do however, other issues have be arising.

Some of the students are exhibiting unexpected behaviors that can not be explained by the parents or child. I suspect it’s end-of-the-year jitters, but it is skewing my results a bit. I hope when I collect and look at the data over time, it will show improvement.

[cait-teaches]

Inquiry #9

This was the first week back after a two week break. To make sure the students still knew what was expected we reviewed the plan so far. 

For my initial student we reviewed our emotional dial and talked about a new goal that is now notch down from where we were before break. Now he is expected to use the calming strategies independently when needed and before class. 

One of the other students however needed to be strictly monitored again. He had high energy that could not be released form a simple fidget toy so I asked to student to take a lap around the portable. When he came back he was marginally calmer and ready to work.

The other student that was added to the study late actually came back and asked for koosh ball immediately. While he did fine with the koosh ball and stayed on task, he had trouble with his volume control. This is something he is working on for his IEP and it is implemented with the other teachers as well. 

[cait-teaches]

Inquiry #8

The past two weeks have been spring break so I have not worked with the students. This however has given me time to catch up on writing lesson plans and organizing for the inquiry conference.

[cait-teaches]

Inquiry #7

This week has been a bit more focused on behavior management. It is the week before spring break for us so there is an addictive hype that the student have. My initial student is surprisingly not as hyper but he has reclused into his books. He throws a small immature tantrum when I take the book away. I think the excitement at school is too much for him so he will tuck himself into a book at avoid the extreme wave of emotion. The other two don’t have a self-employed strategy like this and have been very over the top in their behaviors. I have had to revert back to a behavior management we had in place at the beginning of the semester. They were resistant at the beginning of the week but have readjusted to the old method and corrected their behavior. I have been working with one of the students on volume control and using a concrete representation to help him visualize.

[cait-teaches]

Inquiry #6

This week I wasn’t able to observe the student in my class but reports from other teachers said that the method is still working, just needing prompting. I’m guessing the newness of it has worn off and it now can be forgotten by the student occasionally. Unfortunately the student was absent for most of the week due to a cold, but this week I have decided to add two more students to this project. One student is in my first class of the day and tends to start tapping excessively when the coursework is not engaging. He is in a class that is much lower than his actual abilities because he tested poorly on FSA the previous year.  I have reasoned that a fidget toy would be useful for this student because it could be an opportunity to mentally engage the student, which I believe this to be the cause of the behavior. The other student is in the same class as my initial inquiry student. He taps as well as a call for attention. I find a fidget toy may be useful for this student because having the device may be a way for the student to feel “unique” much like a “sit in the teacher’s chair” technique this gives the unique accommodation that makes the student perceive themselves as special from the class. I hope to be able to help these students as well as my initial student.

[cait-teaches]

Inquiry #5

This week I have had to switch to a more durable koosh ball. It was looking a bit bald and then over the weekend he explained that it had exploded. I gave him the new koosh ball and this one makes a bit more noise than the other one but it will last the time I need it to. 

As he gets more comfortable with me it’s been easier for him to talk about his fidgeting and he can explain that the movement helps him focus more on his thoughts. He was hesitant to talk about his hyperactivity with me at first but the more he gets used to me, he seems to open up. I also have been reacting to him differently. Instead of blowing up on him for fidgeting like I have seen some of the other teachers do, I make sure just to remind him to refocus with a tap on the shoulder or head. 

I can see he is not doing his behaviors with malicious intent and the initial observations have proven true that his hyperactivity is most prevalent during a mentally engaging task. Because of this I make sure to never show frustration with him over his tapping and just remind him of the strategies he has available. I have seen on multiple occasions and reports from other teachers that he will begin tapping but then stop to pick up the koosh ball. I count this as an achievement.

I realized Thursday night that the clay I have is dried out. I will have to get more over the weekend and work on the next part of the inquiry next week. Now that the student seems more comfortable with me, I hope he will be more receptive to the next strategy. 

[cait-teaches]

Inquiry #4

This week was a bit difficult to gather data. Half the week was testing. The other half of the week I was not able to stay for my student’s class due to hasty meeting made by the dean. I was however to observe and learn from other teachers that he does need prompting. He will occasionally also bring in his own object from home that distracts him. It is crucial to ask him to put it away and use the koosh ball. This upcoming week I will be working with the student on gaining self-awareness of his energy and finding a unique way for him to productively channel this energy.

[cait-teaches]

Inquiry #3

This week I began my inquiry project. The goal is to help my target student gain self helping strategies to help them have higher attention and retention during class time. Early in the week I filled out an ABC chart to catalogue the students behaviors. I have narrowed down the target behavior of fidgeting to two main causes:

1) The student will fidget and move excessively to stimulate when his mind is not being engaged. (Now this particular reason for the behavior was not planned to be addressed in the initial plan of the inquiry, there are some strategies that could help curb this behavior such as meditation or enrichment of his work.) 2) The student will fidget when thinking or working on an assignment. The behavior is especially prominent when the student is working on a writing assignment or one the requires higher order thinking. The second reason for the behavior is the purpose of this inquiry study. My theory is to find a productive and less distractive way to fidget and increase his academic productivity. The student currently does not have any accomodations to use fidget toys and form what I have observed of the student I feel he could really benefit from using the koosh ball. There is a great study here, that was done recently to explore the benefit of allowing hyperactive children to fidget when given an assignment. It’s a great read!

Later in the week I implemented my first part in the inquiry project. The first part is to give the student a koosh ball. I pulled the student aside during homeroom and we discussed what a koosh ball is for. Then we worked on what would be appropriate ways to use the koosh ball and ways to not use it. I would show his what to do and then things that wouldn’t work. Then we played a game where I gave the ball to the student and asked him to show me something he shouldn’t do. Then I asked him to show me something he should do. When I felt he had a real grasp in the purpose of the fidget toy, we moved on. To finish up our session together, I had the student create a contract. With prompting, the student and I created a contract that outlined what was the purpose of the koosh ball and what was not to be done, and what the consequence for not using the koosh ball properly would be. Then the student and I signed the paper, and I tasked the student with getting all his teachers to sign the contract as well, so that the other teachers knew this was meant to help and accommodate him. I double checked with the other teachers after school if the koosh ball was more of a distraction today, and none reported it being use incorrectly, and a two teachers actually noted that it had helped in reducing the tapping the student normally does.

The next step will be to enforce the fidget toy and eventually scaffold into an independent fidget that does not make noise.

[cait-teaches]

Inquiry #2

Unfortunately I was not able to begin working with the student on the self-regulation and meditation techniques due to difficulties in scheduling because of testing. However this week did not go to waste as I was able to take the time during testing to take anecdotal observations on the student’s behaviors relating to his hyperactivity. I was able to find some other solutions that may prove to be good in scaffolding to complete independence on the student’s part that not only fulfills the students need for movement but without becoming a distraction to the class and peers. I found this data to be important since this inquiry will focus on helping the student manage distracting behaviors and using his hyperactivity in a more productive manner.