Thursday

Thursday was terrific. I came to school feeling a lot better about my school work than I had been feeling the night before. I also showed up to school having had over 9 hours of sleep, something I really, desperately needed!

I spent most of the day working with managing the kids, but mostly just observing. My mentor teacher understood I was under a lot of pressure this week and so she was generous enough to let me mostly just observe.

There was nothing new to report about my students today except that report cards had just been sent out and there were two individuals in particular who we needed to be watching. One individual, a boy, has been finding it difficult to sit down and stay focused. There is a strong sense that he is ADD, but he has not been diagnosed. He cannot focus on the task at hand for more than a minute without getting up and poking his head into other people's business. This particular child also does not do well on his schoolwork because he can't focus on it long enough to work out the problems or complete the task at hand. So, I've noticed that sometimes he simply guesses on all of the answers to his homework or to his tests. This is particularly concerning because he is bright and talented individual who has a lot to bring to the classroom. He has the potential to be a great student, but his attention is focused on other things.

Another boy who was pointed out to me also did not do well on his report card, but his reasons were not because he couldn't pay attention, but rather because he does not have the self esteem necessary to think that he can succeed. This student often will display the thinking that he can't do something, and therefore he won't be able to do it. But, the thing is, he can do it. His teacher and I both know he he capable of accomplishing many things that he thinks he cannot. It is very upsetting to see that his child has concept of just how great he is.

Since noticing these two boys my mentor teacher and I are now on a mission to motivate both of them to not give up. We are going to be more encouraging to both of them, and instead of punishing the boy who is off task we are going to try to motivate him with positive reinforcement. The hope is that we can motivate these two boys to KNOW they are capable of achieving more and then to actually get them to do it.

A Friend's Last Day...

Yesterday, in my 2nd grade placement, there was a lot of craziness! My students were all over the place! I'll take you through my day....

To start off I was in charge of morning meeting. During this meeting everyone sits in a circle and says, "I'm glad you're here. How are you feeling today?" And every child in the circle has a turn to say how they are feeling on that particular day. During the meeting most of the children were sitting quietly and some were wriggling around (which is a totally normal behavior for many of the students). But, toward the end of the sharing circle many of the boys decided they would lay down in the center of the circle, which then led some of the other, easily influenced, students to be mixed up in the middle as well. I quickly decided to end the meeting after the last student had talked, and we moved on to new things. The mentor teacher was NOT HAPPY with the students and she let them know that their behavior was unacceptable.

During the middle of the day I was asked to watch the student who has an I.A. with him constantly because his I.A. was leaving to finish her lunch break. This particular child was having a rather difficult day because he had not had a good night's sleep the night before. During my time with him he decided that he was going to be upset and throw his "fidget", a toy that he uses to stay focused, across the room. I had to talk to him and ask him if that behavior was appropriate. He responded, "no". Then, he went across the room to pick up his fidget and decided to then throw it away in the recycle bin. As he did this he looked across the room at me with a face that said, "I wonder if Miss. Schulberg saw me do that and I know it was bad. I wonder if she'll do anything now...". I quickly went over and told him he needed to get his fidget out of the recycle bin. It was at this point that he decided he would crawl inside the bin to retrieve the fidget. He was in there for about a minute before I was able to get him to crawl out and take a walk outside with me. Out in the hall I had to ask him if his behaviors were appropriate and what he could have done differently. He started crying, probably because he was so tired and overwhelmed, and so we went for a walk around the school and talked about what he did over the weekend. Although he was upset and having a bad day he was still very in-tune to what I was saying to him, and he quickly recovered from his fit and was able to attend the general education classroom again.

Toward the end of the day I had to say goodbye to one of my students who was moving away to be closer to her family. This little girl tore at my heart when she came up to me and said,

"Miss Schulberg, I'm really going to miss you!" to which I replied,

"Oh, we are all going to miss you too!!!" to which she responded,

"My eyes are filling with water and I'm feeling kind of upset."

At this point I gave her a hug and said that we could keep in touch if she wanted to. It was one of the sadest moments I've experienced at my placement this far. And, to make matters worse, my mentor teacher had not planned any sort of goodbye for her. There was no card and no classroom talk about sending her on her way with happy thoughts. This really bothered me. I wish I would have taken it upon myself to make her a classroom card, but I thought maybe the mentor teacher was holding out to give her one at the end of the day. This never happened. I told many of the students to say goodbye because it was her last day. Many of them did, and then she was gone.

This was a sad day for me.

Realizations

Recently I was asked to write a diversity paper for my Learning Communities class. I decided that I would write my paper on Autism Spectrum Disorder because there are more and more cases arising and I would like to be better informed on what exactly this disorder entails and how, exactly, to handle it as a teacher. Once I started the process of researching the disorder I quickly found out that there are several different forms of autism and also a spectrum for how severe the disorder is. I learned today that if the child is on the higher end of the spectrum than they are able to function more "normally" and rely less on help from outside sources. I also found out that there is no "cure" for autism, only therapy. Every child with the disorder is going to be different from the next and many will require different types of treatment for the disorder.

As a teacher I've learned that the best way to handle a child with autism is to get together with the parents, principal, counselor, etc. and decide what the best plan of action is for that particular individual. Usually, a student with the disorder will be put on an I.E.P. (or individualized education plan) and this plan will help get the child both the education and the treatment that they need in order to succeed.

I've been very lucky to have had a chance to work with a boy in the 2nd grade who has aspergers syndrome, a form of autism. I look forward to working with him every single week because he is one of the brightest and most courteous little boys I have had the pleasure of working with. This little boy goes beyond the barriers of his disorder by having many friends at school, maintaining solid grades, and also having few eruptions in the classroom. I can't imagine an adult who would not want to work with this child but, unfortunately, there are some staff members who simply cannot handle his behavior. This is why he has an I.A. (instructional aide) with him at all times throughout the day. Sometimes when the aide needs to take her lunch break I will watch over the boy, just to make sure he focuses on his work and isn't distracted by the other students. I have never had a problem with him that we could not solve together.

Overall, I guess I am thankful for having this child in my class because he allows me to understand the disorder better and he also allows me to better understand him. I look forward to working with him every week and I would never think less of him for his disorder. I only hope that every other teacher feels the same way about him.

Civil War

I just have to add another blog saying, Ducks won!!!! We are going to the Rose Bowl!!!! Woo hoo!

:)

Helping My 5th Graders

Today I student taught at my placement in 5th grade. I was happy to be there, and the students ended up making the day great! Today is the day of Civil War and whichever team wins will be going to the Rose Bowl in California. Most of the children dressed up supporting their favorite team, and most students ended up dressing up in Beaver gear ( I happen to be Duck!! ). So, today was eventful, to say the least.

I didn't really teach today but I did take over the class during a math test, to read a story, and also to correct their science packet. The kids were very easy to work with, and I've realized that managing them may be difficult at first but it is possible to do. You just have to start the lesson and they will start to listen. If they don't listen than you take a minute and stand in front of the classroom and eventually they will get the point. Children will have a hard time focusing, this problem will never end, and you have to do what you can, while staying calm and together, to get the students to listen and follow along with the lesson.

Anyway, today wasn't very different, and nothing exciting really happened, but I did enjoy the fact that I'm starting to feel more comfortable in the "teacher" role, rather than student teacher role.

2nd Grade

Yesterday was the day to be in my 2nd grade placement. When I arrived at the school I was greeted by my mentor teacher with, "Hi Sarah, I'm so stressed today! I still have many grades to enter. Do you think you would be willing to teach some of the lessons today?". This greeting scared me at first (like last time...) but then I realized what I would be teaching (math and writing) and I felt better. I had several worksheets that I could work through with the kids and during writing time we got to work on correcting a letter that I had written them during lunch. This experience was exhausting but also very rewarding. I feel so much more confident about taking over starting in February than I did when I first started teaching in September. At that time I couldn't even fathom taking over an entire class for 3 weeks! But, now that I have had practice, and I know my students, I feel much so much more prepared. I look forward to continuing to have these types of experiences in the classroom, and to learn even more from my mentor teachers.

Tuesday, November 24

Yesterday was hard. Classwork has been piling up and I think all of us grad students are just starting to realize how many weeks we have left of school (3- I believe). NO TIME AT ALL! There is a lot of work to be done in this very short amount of time and, if I can be fully honest, there has been some procrastination on my part! I started every project that I need to turn in, but I haven't yet finished. This realization led me to have high levels of anxiety yesterday, and going to bed the night before all I could think was, "please, please let class be cancelled tomorrow for SOME reason, any reason!" But, class was not cancelled, and as it turns out working with the kids actually helped me to calm down and remember why I am in this program to begin with.

Still, I couldn't help but be bothered by certain things teachers were doing and saying while I was there. I got through the day by pouring myself into correcting work, copying, and helping the children with questions they had. By the end of the day I realized that I had made it, and I could stand to stay there a few more hours. But the best surprise of the day occurred when my mentor teacher told me that I could leave early (at 3pm) because she had some personal meetings to attend! I was so relieved and thankful, I needed to get the stress out of my body so badly so I went to the place where I knew I could make that happen, the gym.

Anyway, after I left the gym I went home and dedicated the night to relaxing because I knew that I wasn't going to be able to do much of that this weekend (even though it is Thanksgiving weekend). The night ended fine, and I felt a lot better about my workload after evaluating what I had to do, organizing my time, and making goals for myself (I did this during my relaxing night in order to prepare myself for the weekend). I think the main reason I chose to put this down in writing is because I find that it is extremely important to stop and take a break if you are overwhelmed and stressed and it is affecting the way you are at school or work. If I didn't stop and take a break for myself I would burn out big time! After re-energizing, even though I've lost one day of work, I find that I can accomplish more, and faster.

So, if you are like me and are experiencing some sort of stress in your life which is affecting your daily routine than stop. Take a breathe. And do something for yourself.