Working with kids at UMFS: If I'm being honest.
Losing a close friend this summer felt like a wake up call: I felt lost and hopeless, like there wasn’t much of a point left in working as hard as I usually do. However, it also felt like a wake up call in the sense that I should stay motivated and continue building the success I had been working so hard for.
The deciding factor in my enrollment in this class, was mostly to find something that would provide me fulfillment. I wanted to give back to someone, to participate in something that provides benefit to someone beyond myself. Going beyond the realm of things that you are comfortable with has always provided the most rewarding experiences.
Margie Warrell mentions why it’s crucial to be comfortable with getting uncomfortable in an article from Forbes.
“Only in giving up the security of the known can we create new opportunity, build capability, and grow influence,” Warrell says.
After studying abroad a year and a half ago, I picked that lesson up along the way. That’s how I knew I needed to sign up for this class with Dr. B and Gary mentioned it the first time. After some summer schedule rearrangement, I was set to go and beyond ready for a new challenge.
This blog isn’t just an assignment. It’s a place to look back at kept memories, or to acknowledge mistakes I’ve made in order to help myself fix them next time, and a way for me to develop and harvest ideas to make this experience richer for myself and the kids at USMF.
After meeting the kids for the first time Tuesday, it was easy to see that there would be a period of time that we’d need to take to warm up to the kids and make sure they’re comfortable. After reading over tips for working with special needs children from Project Independence I’ve realized how important it is to give the children enough room to learn and move through instructions at their own pace. Patience will be key to have in mind while working with the children, which won’t be a problem.
While this is beneficial in that we can take our time teaching the children and going in depth with our lessons, it may make it harder to progress at a quicker speed. The kids seem really bright, there is no doubt about that, but the fact that we only get to meet with them once a week is a set back. Myself included, it’s hard for me to revisit things I learned a week ago in class without a refresher in between.
However, there are always alternatives to teaching styles and different methods can help keep students focused where it may otherwise be difficult. Cecilia, the grad student studying special education, taught us a lot about that when she visited class. Online, more resources reiterate her instructions.
An article from Reading Rockets, an organization dedicated to helping kids who struggle to read, says that pre-teaching some key vocabulary or fundamental concepts beforehand as well as keeping an outline throughout the lesson will help keep students on track.
Overall, I think we’ll need to remain open minded going into this new area of teaching as well as being sure to maintain an even level of patience throughout. It will be important to always have a back up option, or an alternative in case students don’t want to or can’t participate in certain activities or lessons.
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