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5
Do you ever feel as if you’re just a clog in the education system?
Filed Under SOS for Teachers, Teacher Support, The way I see it | 5 Comments
Often, especially early in my teaching career, I’ve felt as if I was just a clog in the education system or maybe just a type of resource for the education system to use. I’m a resource because I have certain qualities and skills the system needs and can use. The system decides how to use its resources (me) to its best advantage. I really have little say in how the system uses me. Oh yes, I get to fill out that little piece of paper to tell administration what classes I would prefer to teach but the fine print say that might not happen. I might be asked to teach something I’m not qualified to teach because that’s what I’m needed for. For example, because I good with kids who are academically at risk, I was assigned to teach cooking to a grade 10 class of academically at risk students. They could barely read. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t qualified to teach cooking, the system needed me to teach cooking because the real cooking teacher wasn’t good with academically at risk students. The system needed a peaceful class (no problems for admin) so I got placed in the cooking class. Teaching that cooking class was so scary because most of the time I had no idea what to do. I thought I’d die when just after a class on knife safety, one of my students cut his finger. I was so mad that I had to teach the class, I gave the poor lad a paper towel and told him to go to the office and not drip blood all over the floor. Talk about empathy!!! I felt badly afterwards and apologized to the student. I felt badly for myself too. I could have refuse to teach the cooking class. I could have said no, but then I wouldn’t have a job. I would be a resource the system had no use for. Thankfully, I only had to teach that class once. There have been lots of examples in my career when I felt as if the education system treated my like a resource. Thinking back I’m beginning to wonder why I loved teaching so much.
Do you ever feel as if you are a clog or a resource used by the educational system? Do you think that’s just the way it is or do you think we could change the education system so it doesn’t treat teachers like a resource?
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Mar
5
By the end of July I should complete the requirements for my MEd. I’ve really enjoyed the journey toward my MEd. Although I’ve loved being a teacher, I love being a student too. I’m not quite sure what I’ll do to replace the intellectual stimulation of the courses I’ve been taking. I like having to stretch my brain to read and understand the required academic articles and then write papers about them. I don’t find the process easy, but I love doing it. I guess there are many things that are difficult but fun to do. What do you find difficult but fun to do?
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Feb
1
Transition to life for high school students
Filed Under Lesson Plans, practical life skills for teens, Special Education, special needs students, underachieving students, Useful Handouts | 1 Comment
For most of my teaching career, I’ve been teaching my special needs high school students strategies to enable them to help themselves to graduate from high school. I’m always extra proud of my special needs students when they walk across the stage at graduation and receive their high school diploma. They’ve made it. They’re ready for the next phase of their lives. But are they? Are they really ready for the next phase of their lives as start up adults simply because they’ve earned a high school diploma?
Susan Traugh a mom of a special needs student and an advocate for special needs teens and their teachers recognized from personal experience simply because students graduate from high school they aren’t necessarily well prepared for life after school. Susan wrote Transition 2 Life to help teachers help their students better prepare themselves for life after high school. I think Transition 2 Life is an excellent resource because it helps students develop the practical skills they need in an engaging way to successfully navigate their way through their daily lives.
I invited Susan to tell us about herself because I think Transition 2 Life is an excellent resource to help students better prepare themselves for life.
Susan Traugh- author of Transition 2 Life
Like so many parents of special needs teens, I was frantically fighting to help my son get through his high school classes so he could graduate and get a diploma. Matt was really struggling to pass his math and science classes and my husband and I spent many hours every night trying to eek out those last few test points that might put him over the top. Housework was secondary to homework, and we didn’t push him to get a job or do much community service as we put all our energy into class work.
When he graduated, we were ecstatic and felt like a major hurdle had been crossed. And it had. But as the weeks and months passed after high school, we realized that, while Algebra was important to get that diploma, balancing a check book or being able to read a map in order to drive to the bank were much more important in life. And, we found that we’d been so focused ON graduation that we hadn’t supplied him with the life skills he’d need AFTER graduation.
Matt’s special education teacher also had a son Matt’s age and realized she, too, had focused on class work to the exclusion of life work. So, we set out together to find a life skills program to help our boys. As we looked, we found that programs were either written for teachers with lots of theory and educational jargon, or they were written for “children” without respect for a teen’s maturity and sensibilities. The more we looked, the more dissatisfied we became.
But, the real impetus for action came with one frantic phone call. I picked up the phone to hear Matt’s panicked voice. His brain injury had destroyed the spatial skills center of his brain and made it hard for him to keep “a map” in his head. We’d gotten him a GPS and he’d agreed to only drive within our city. We thought we were covered.
But, on this night his GPS had failed. Matt had tried to find his way home and, when he got turned around, panicked and ended up making a left-hand turn into oncoming traffic. When he called, he was stopped in the middle of the street, facing the wrong way. He knew he was close to home (less than one-half mile away) but didn’t know how to get there. I had him pull into a parking lot to calm down then talked him all the way home.
I called Matt’s teacher the next day and began writing my own curriculum.
Transition 2 Life was developed to give mild-to-moderately affected special needs teens a program that they can work on independently, modify to their own needs and then walk away with a portfolio that they can use during the first few years of their young adult life to navigate that transition. Written on a third-grade reading level, it has light, airy pages with lots of bullet points and a font and pictures selected by the students who piloted the program. And because I know how hard Matt’s teacher works each day, the program is teacher-friendly, with built-in grading sheets, federally mandated goals tied to the lesson plans and pre-printed parent letters so she can let folks know how they can help their teens at home.
Units include lessons on understanding their own Individual Education Plan (IEP), learning styles and career aptitude, writing resumes and business letters, using an ATM machine and balancing a budget, filling out job and college applications, advocating for themselves, and answering the phone.
And, yes, there’s a unit on transportation and how to get around in your home town…or around the country.
The program has been enthusiastically accepted here in California and, in fact, teacher requests have prompted us to write another series, called Daily Living Skills, which creates more in-depth units on basic adult skills such as grocery shopping, house cleaning or meal planning. All books are sold at: www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Susan-Traugh.
It’s hard keeping all the plates spinning when you’re the parent (or teacher) of a special needs student. Things that other parents can take for granted must be taught, and taught thoroughly, to our kids. But, there are rewards.
Matt just took a 600 mile road trip with his sister to Utah. Before he left, he came to go over the map and verify he knew the directions. But, after reassuring himself, they got into the car, full of smiles and self-confidence, and went on their way. Now, that’s a life skill.
For most of my teaching career, I’ve been teaching my special needs high school students strategies to enable them to help themselves to graduate from high school. I’m always extra proud of them when they walk across the stage at graduation and receive their high school diploma. They’ve made it. They’re ready for the next phase of their life. But are they? Are they really ready for the next stage of life simply because they’ve earned a high school diploma?
Susan Traugh a mom of a special needs student and an advocate for special needs teens and their teachers recognized from personal experience simply because students graduate from high school they aren’t necessarily well prepared for life after school. To help teachers help students better prepare themselves for life after high school, Susan wrote Transition 2 Life. I think it is an excellent resource because it helps students develop the practical skills they need to successfully navigate their way through their daily lives
I invited Susan to tell us about herself because I think Transition 2 Life is an excellent resource to help students better prepare themselves for life after high school.
Susan Traugh- author of Transition 2 Life
Like so many parents of special needs teens, I was frantically fighting to help my son get through his high school classes so he could graduate and get a diploma. Matt was really struggling to pass his math and science classes and my husband and I spent many hours every night trying to eek out those last few test points that might put him over the top. Housework was secondary to homework, and we didn’t push him to get a job or do much community service as we put all our energy into class work.
When he graduated, we were ecstatic and felt like a major hurdle had been crossed. And it had. But as the weeks and months passed after high school, we realized that, while Algebra was important to get that diploma, balancing a check book or being able to read a map in order to drive to the bank were much more important in life. And, we found that we’d been so focused ON graduation that we hadn’t supplied him with the life skills he’d need AFTER graduation.
Matt’s special education teacher also had a son Matt’s age and realized she, too, had focused on class work to the exclusion of life work. So, we set out together to find a life skills program to help our boys. As we looked, we found that programs were either written for teachers with lots of theory and educational jargon, or they were written for “children” without respect for a teen’s maturity and sensibilities. The more we looked, the more dissatisfied we became.
But, the real impetus for action came with one frantic phone call. I picked up the phone to hear Matt’s panicked voice. His brain injury had destroyed the spatial skills center of his brain and made it hard for him to keep “a map” in his head. We’d gotten him a GPS and he’d agreed to only drive within our city. We thought we were covered.
But, on this night his GPS had failed. Matt had tried to find his way home and, when he got turned around, panicked and ended up making a left-hand turn into oncoming traffic. When he called, he was stopped in the middle of the street, facing the wrong way. He knew he was close to home (less than one-half mile away) but didn’t know how to get there. I had him pull into a parking lot to calm down then talked him all the way home.
I called Matt’s teacher the next day and began writing my own curriculum.
Transition 2 Life was developed to give mild-to-moderately affected special needs teens a program that they can work on independently, modify to their own needs and then walk away with a portfolio that they can use during the first few years of their young adult life to navigate that transition. Written on a third-grade reading level, it has light, airy pages with lots of bullet points and a font and pictures selected by the students who piloted the program. And because I know how hard Matt’s teacher works each day, the program is teacher-friendly, with built-in grading sheets, federally mandated goals tied to the lesson plans and pre-printed parent letters so she can let folks know how they can help their teens at home.
Units include lessons on understanding their own Individual Education Plan (IEP), learning styles and career aptitude, writing resumes and business letters, using an ATM machine and balancing a budget, filling out job and college applications, advocating for themselves, and answering the phone.
And, yes, there’s a unit on transportation and how to get around in your home town…or around the country.
The program has been enthusiastically accepted here in California and, in fact, teacher requests have prompted us to write another series, called Daily Living Skills, which creates more in-depth units on basic adult skills such as grocery shopping, house cleaning or meal planning. All books are sold at: www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Susan-Traugh.
It’s hard keeping all the plates spinning when you’re the parent (or teacher) of a special needs student. Things that other parents can take for granted must be taught, and taught thoroughly, to our kids. But, there are rewards.
Matt just took a 600 mile road trip with his sister to Utah. Before he left, he came to go over the map and verify he knew the directions. But, after reassuring himself, they got into the car, full of smiles and self-confidence, and went on their way. Now, that’s a life skill.
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Jan
26
Participating in extracurricular activities benefits students and teachers
Filed Under "At-risk" students, Extracurricular activites, positive climate, Teacher Support | Leave a Comment
When I was a student, I loved being in the drama club and playing volleyball and basketball on the junior and senior teams at my high school. I wasn’t a star by any means, but I was a member of the drama club and a member of the team which was important at that time. Those extracurricular activities made my life almost bearable during my teen years. I wanted school to be more than just the 3 rs. I didn’t just want to be in a classroom living in my head during my school years. I longed to be part of something more than a class. eEtracurricular activities enabled me to satisfy my longing to part of something more than a class. When I became a teacher, I decided I would participate in extracurricular activities to enable students to benefit from extra curricular activities much the way I had benefited all those years ago. Imagine my surprise when I realized that as a teacher I was still benefiting from participating in extra curricular activities. I recognize students participate in extracurricular activities for many reasons, not just the reasons I had for participating . Extra curricular activities are important for students in many ways.
I’ll be honest here. Participating in extra curricular activities is important for me as a teacher because participating in extracurricular activities would often help make my classrooms more bearable . Over the years some of my classes have been very challenging- to say the least. Many of my academically at risk students were disengaged from school. They were only at school because the law said they had to be at school. I felt really great when I got to see students who were disengaged from the classroom become more and more engaged in the classroom because they were began participating in extracurricular activities such as basketball, football or yes even the knitting club. I’ll admit I got to see my academically at risk students in a different more positive light during extracurricular activities and my students got to see me in a different light too that resulted in a more positive student/teacher relationship. That is a very good thing.
When I think of school and the student body, I think of classrooms as the head of the student body and extracurricular activities as the heart of the student body.We need to balance the head and the heart of the student body. Life is not only lived in the head, but it is also lived in the heart. Students’ school experience and yes even teachers’ school experience needs to include developing and satisfying the needs of their heads and hearts, and when teachers are told not to participate in extracurricular activities for political reasons, students and teachers suffer.
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