Braiding hair and The Chicken Dance

Well, I now know every aspect of the chicken dance and will probably never be the same.

For our application day, we prepared to teach a lesson using the different models of teaching we discussed earlier in the week. Our group planned to teach our classmates how to braid hair. It was easy for us to think of way to differentiate this lesson because of the many varieties of braiding hair. This can translate into other subjects I teach my future students. If I need to differentiate my lesson, I need to be knowledgeable across the whole span of the subject, not just surface level understanding. 

For those who didn't know how to braid at all, we had a teacher specifically set up to take that group of students. As the braids advanced, our teachers needed to know more and more skills about braiding. I liked dividing the students this way so that everyone could learn something new and if we would have had more time, it would have been beneficial for the students that acquired a new braiding skill to teach one of their classmates. 

To pre-assess our group, we found out which braids people were familiar with and which ones they could learn how to do. Then we divided everyone into the appropriate group with an instructor at each group. After the instruction and demonstration, each student was able to practice the new skill. For the assessment, they needed to pass off a braid by their instructor. 

Co-teaching makes it possible to focus more on individual needs instead of throwing blanket statements at students. I like the idea of having the students teach each other so they can have a deeper understanding of the concepts they are learning as they put things into their own words. This can range from having students give each other their spelling tests (so that each spelling test can have words specific to that childs needs) to teaching in homogeneous groups and then switching half of the groups to have the students talk about what they experienced in their section. 

Differentiation is such a big idea because with out it, students aren't able to reach their potential. As a future educator, I need to be knowledgeable in all subjects and stay current with new curriculum. This will help students to not reach the point of frustration in their learning.

No L's or N's

I planned on finishing this simulation several times, but each time I went to fulfill it, I would have a super impatient waitress or a guy speaking his second language in English. So, I finally got enough courage to do this.

If I was this nervous to speak without using L's or N's over the course of 15-30 minutes, how do people feel that constantly have a speech impairment. It was hard to think of words without these letters and it was often the case that the person I was asking questions to would just supply me with another word when I didn't speak as quickly as most people do. I found this frustrating because I wanted to say things independently of others and don't like being spoken for.

Because I live in a society that is GO GO GO all of the time, it is hard for people to stop and think for a minute about what other people are going through. This simulation gave me a glimpse into what it feels like to want to say things but to simply not have the words to do it.

Nobody was unkind to me while I struggled to find the right words to say, but it was a disservice to me that they found all of the words I needed and left me just smiling and trying to move onto my next thought.

This particular disorder, speech sound disorder, can be classified into two types: articulation and phonological processes. They can be caused by brain injury, stroke, dementia, or neurological difficulties. Before speaking for someone else, I want to consider what might be going on for them cognitively and give them the opportunity to speak for themselves.

Abuse and Neglect

This chapter was filled with information that is valuable to me as a future educator. I had some real life application from the material this week, which I am grateful for.

About a week ago, a little boy in my class shared information with me that startled me and that I knew I would need to talk to his teacher about. When I spoke to her about my concerns with what he had said, she didn't seem to find the same urgency or importance that I had when I had talked to him. So I let the issue go, thinking I had made too big of a deal out of it.

It wasn't until I reviewed the information in this weeks material, where it talks about abuse and neglect that I was reminded of the situation with the little boy. The following day, I went to his class and observed some things about him that again made me think that I needed to do some thing about it. But what? My mentor teacher didn't really want a part of it. Who was I supposed to talk to?

I am grateful for the Education department on campus. As I spoke to a few members of their council, they helped me to learn the importance of reporting cases of abuse within 24 hours. They then sat with me as I called the principal of the elementary school. I told him all of the details of the situation and the principal was very interested with the information I gave him.

This was an experience that was scary for me. I was nervous for what would happen to the little boy, nervous that I was blowing things out of proportion, and nervous for how this will effect the relationship I have with my students and with my mentor teacher. But I know that it was the right thing to do and that in the future, I will be sure to report within the first 24 hours of finding out about instances like this.

I can't help but think about how much I was prepared for this experience. We just happened to be talking about these exact topics in class this week. Maybe if it had come after, I wouldn't have been aware of what my students were telling me.

I think about the videos I watched in preparation for this week and the assignment to look up a story of abuse or neglect. Heavenly Father was aware that this little boy would tell me things and that I would need to say something.

Mask Simulation

Can anyone say HEADACHE?

My grandma had a stroke about a month ago and since that time, she has had a black line across her vision that cuts the top of people's heads off so she can't see their eyes. While I was fulfilling the requirements for the mask simulation, I couldn't help but to think about her for those four hours and the time following after. My head hurt so bad for the rest of the day.

During one of the hours, it was time to attend devotional. I was wearing the mask that makes vision blurry. During portions of the devotional, I had to close my eyes for a few moments at a time to try and not feel dizzy and to rest my eyes. I couldn't see who was speaking and felt nauseous.

I needed to walk from the Taylor chapel to the Hinkley building at the end of the day and found it hard to make my way up the hill without anything to hold onto. Several people stopped to ask why I was wearing a mask, but nobody offered to help.

I think most people thought I was trying to dress up like bat man or something and didn't realize the purpose for wearing the masks.

My appreciation for being able to read grew after wearing the mask that cuts all vision down to peripheral. I had to hold my textbook up to my eyes and still could only read sections at a time. It was frustrating to begin to feel sick, tired and to want to just close my eyes and rest.

This simulation reminded me of what I am studying right now about dyslexia. Sometimes the problems my students will be facing will not be as visible to me. They could be struggling with things that they might not even be aware of. It is my job to be patient and to help access the accommodations that my students are in need of.

Learning Disabilities

This week, I watched several of the videos that were posted on ILearn and really enjoyed them! One story stood out to me in particular because a young woman with cerebral palsy got married and was having a baby. In the video, her husband is interviewed and he talks about how people would stare at them while they went around campus together, judging them for having a baby together. It made me really sad that society likes to decide who is capable of loving someone and of having a family together. In this same film, a psychologist spoke about how the first extermination camp during WWII was in a hospital for people with disabilities. I feel like these two themes run together. Ethnic cleansing and deciding who is "allowed" to have children in society.

While it was hard for the mother to care for her child, it showed great love to see that she was willing to try and take care of the needs of a baby while still relying heavily on help from her husband. To me, it was the ultimate story of true love. Her husband cared for her each day, cared for their baby, and still managed to go to work. He saw past all of her physical limitations and loved her as a person.

This is now what I am working towards adding to my philosophy of education. I want to be better at seeing past the limitations of my students and look instead to their potential and to their areas of success.

In class, the Learning Disabilities group presented. Before their presentation, I was unclear as to what disabilities fall into this category. Brother Cloward talks a lot about cochlear  implants while the group focused on the over arching theme of learning disabilities.

Three members of my essay group met with me to finalize our paper for our first test. I was grateful to have the input of these group members as we formulated ideas and pieced together our essay. Collaboration is an effective tool but to have things run smoothly, everyone has to be willing to participate. A couple of members from our team essay group never responded to the google doc until an hour before we printed the essay off. Their ideas weren't really a part of our paper because of that and they missed out on the opportunity to take a part in our final product. They basically left their grade in our hands. This can be related to IEP meetings. If I am a member of an IEP team or MDT, it is my responsibility to speak up with the information that I have and to be a contributing member of the team. If I happen to be a parent on an IEP team, it will be important for me to not leave my child's education plan in the hands of someone else. Each member must contribute.

In class on Monday, I participated in making a group concept map of chapters 4 and 5. I found this activity helpful because I didn't have as much interest in the material for chapter 5 and so most of it was missing from my concept map. It was also helpful to see how well collaboration can work when everyone takes a part in the process and all of the work isn't left to one individual.

For one of the preparation activities this week, I played 5 different simulations to understand writing, reading, math, and attention problems that children with a Learning Disability struggle with. The one that stood out the most to me was the attention simulation because of how hard it was to focus while the other children were disrupting the teacher, and disrupting the child's concentration.

I had an experience with a little girl at the elementary school this week where she was totally off task, making disruptions for everyone else, and disrespecting her group members and myself. After participating in this simulation, it made me wonder whether she was simply showing me her need for a quiet place to read the material and to comprehend a little bit better. My patience was very low that day for some reason and so instead of trying to understand the problem, I simply removed her from the situation. Sometimes I don't know what the correct answer is or how I am going to be able to help some of the students that "act out" in class, for reasons that I don't understand.

On Wednesday, we broke into groups to implement the INCLUDE strategy from the book. I enjoyed seeing the different perspectives of other members of my group and talking about Mark's needs and how we could unify our efforts and to make accommodations for him.

I liked the portion of the text that talked about the classroom environment and how much that effects a students learning. It can be easy as a teacher (working in the elementary school this semester for a practicum class) to just assume that the child is acting out for attention or to avoid doing school work. But certain senses are heightened for individuals with special needs. I like the idea of checking on the lighting and organization of my classroom. Is it too bright? Are the desks too close together? Am I offering enough quiet time for my students to concentrate?

The rest of the week, I focused on preparing the exam on Friday. I have tried to make each IDEA principle personal so that I can remember it more easily and to give it extra meaning. My group worked really well together in preparation for the exam which reminded me of the importance of collaboration. Each member of my group has a different perspective or information they have memorized because it stood out to them. I liked learning from them today and hope to continue to develop the ability to work with others.

Wheelchair Simulation

My first question is: Why do we have an extra lip on the floor at the entry way of a bathroom? It is hard enough to push the door open while wheeling yourself into the bathroom with the other hand, without the extra piece of granite on the floor. Little things like that stood out to me as I spent a few hours in a wheelchair,

Before this simulation, I realized to some extent the muscle required for a person in a wheelchair to be able to make their way where they want to go. But after, I felt like my body had been walking on my arms all day! Going down hill was almost as hard as going up a hill because of the constant need to put on the breaks with my hands. I was impressed that while I was making my way to the Kimbal building that someone stopped to see if they could push me anywhere.

Another thing that was pretty hard for me was the fact that I had to stay seated for the duration of the simulation. I became fairly restless towards the end and wanted to get up and run around! I didn't realize how much I take my ability to walk for granted.

I am also fairly certain that the Romney building doesn't have an elevator in it so if I was truly wheelchair bound and had a class in that building, I would be out-o-luck. Something that stood out to me during this simulation was something Brother Cloward told us in class in regards to passing laws. He talked about how originally a law is usually written by someone because of their personal interest in the matter. I wonder how many people in wheelchairs had to write to their state representative before buildings started adding features to their doors that allow them to open with the touch of a button.

Overall, I am grateful for the experience, even if my arms, shoulders and hands hurt the following day. I am grateful for my opportunity to have a body that allows me to walk and hope to take better care of it, to show it the respect it deserves.