The Life That Chose Me

I’ve been reading some of the pieces by John Stossel.  I didn’t see his special, but have read a number of reviews of it by teachers.  His columns seem to be pretty consistent with how others have summarized his T.V. special.

I think it was stupid of him to call his special “Stupid in America.”  I think it was also stupid of him to get all political and go on a tear against teacher unions.  I’d catch some flack for my take on this if I were more widely read.

I think we need to find something we can all agree on.  Can we all agree that some schools are better than others?  Can we all agree that some schools are not as good as others?  I’m not assigning blame, here.  I routinely read several blogs by teachers teaching in the Bronx, and I’m convinced that these are hard working people who are dedicated toward the education of the students they teach.  Are schools in the Bronx worse than others?  I don’t know, but I’d be curious as to how many of the teachers would send their own kids there.  I’m just saying.

Magnolia County is a fast growing suburban area not far from Atlanta.  There are 2 high schools and one opening up next year.  There are maybe a half dozen middle schools and a score of elementary schools.  I don’t know, I haven’t bothered to count.  But school choice is definitely a topic of discussion in the Dalton household.  As a public school teacher, I do have a choice as to where my kids go to school.  With the youngest getting ready to go into pre-K, and my oldest already attending an out-of-zone school, we have choices to make.  Do we want both to go to the same out-of-zone school, or do we switch the oldest so he’s attending in-zone with his younger brother?  It’s a choice most parents do not have.  It’s such a vexing thing; sometimes I wish I didn’t have it!

I have teacher friends at almost every school in the county.  I know some schools are better than others.  I interact with PT, OT and APE teachers who travel from school-to-school and they tell me how some are better than others.  But we also agree that the culture and character of a school can and does change over time.  Teachers are leaving, transferring and staying every year.  Neighborhoods transition, decline and are revitalized.  Who’s to say the school we enroll the boys in next year will be the same in 2 years?

I really am in favor of school choice.  I think all parents should have the same choice us teachers have, and the money should follow the student.  This includes private schools and homeschoolers.  This where things get enormously unpopular, but as a consumer of education, I like as many choices as possible.  My sister is home schooling her 4 children, and I’m amazed at her stamina and determination in doing this.  Home schooling is not taking the easy way out by any means.

I also think public schools need to diversify.  Ironically, I think it is the college track curriculum that is killing education in America.  Almost every single thing public schools do from kindergarten on up is geared towards the singular outcome of attending a 4 year university.  This stresses students, parents, teachers and administrators.  Can we all agree that every student is not going to go to a 4 year college?  Can we also agree that not every student who goes will graduate?  Can we also agree that students and their parents shouldn’t feel guilty if they decide they don’t want to go to college?  Technical schools, junior colleges and the military provide worthwhile career training experiences.  High schools could also offer some of these same types of experiences, especially in trades and journeyman-type experiences.  Think about it next time you need to pay a plumber.

If middle and high schools were more geared towards a more diverse type of learner with different skill sets, it might make things easier on every one.  In my EBD teaching days, I had several students interested in art, music, carpentry and mechanics.  But we forced them to sit through hours of world geography, British literature and algebra when they’d rather be drawing, fixing things, building things, growing things or otherwise being productive.  But they were forced to sit quietly for hours and hours and endure subjects with no relevance to their lives or their personal goals.  Is it any wonder they had behavior problems?

As a regular ed. teacher, consider what life might be like if you weren’t compelled to try to engage and entertain these students who have no interest in your subject?  Would that make a difference in how you taught, having to spend less time on behavior problems caused by apathy and boredom? 

The fear that teachers would be laid off en mass or suffer economically if there were more choices is irrational.  As it is, schools are struggling to deal with overcrowding and teacher shortages.  I’d think that lessening the load would give everyone a break from adverse conditions.  If private schools can do a better job with uncertified staff, let them have at it.

I’m not afraid of competition from home schools, private schools, foreign schools or wherever.  No school is going to be able to meet the needs of every student.  Some teachers may be better suited to a different type of school.  I wouldn’t mind teaching in a special ed. school, with a cadre of specialists all working towards a similar outcome with similar students committed to a common goal. And, as a teacher, I’d rather work with colleagues that were dedicated and competent than those just marking time until retirement.

It so happens, that in Magnolia County, the elementary school with the best trained teachers as far as special education and inclusion go, is the city school where some of the poorest students go.  We live outside of that zone, but have been able to keep our oldest there as it was the only school with a special program for autism when he was in preschool.  Having a well-trained cadre of dedicated teachers makes a lot of difference.

dick

02/25/2006

I’ve put up a couple of posts that cover a bit of why I’m here and what I’m looking to do, below. Skim over them. They may or may not interest you.

I’m just wrapping up a week off for “winter break.” I noticed that quite a lot of other teachers are off as well. Ms. Frizzle has been wandering around Holland somewhere and has posted a few pictures.

This break is not part of the regular, traditional schedule. Our school district went on a “Balanced Calendar” two years ago. This basically means that school starts in July, then we get a week-long break in October, another in November and then two weeks for the holidays. We had this past week, and then next month we have spring break before we get out at the end of May. I generally like it better, especially that October break. The stretch between the start of school and Thanksgiving used to be waaaay long! But to be honest, this past week I could have done without in exchange for getting out a week earlier.

Breaks for my kids are tough. Actually, they pose challenges for most parents, but students with special needs really get out of whack. Students who lack the ability to self-regulate do poorly without structure and routine. Home time in our house typically lacks both during breaks from school. Both of my own children will be glad to get back to their routine. My students will also be glad, but they will also punish us for not having school. I think they blame us teachers for shutting the doors and not being there.

But that’s what the good folks of Magnolia County pay us for. To keep their kids off the street and out of everyone else’s hair.

I’ve been up for jury duty this past week, and have one more week to go. I did go in last week, but they didn’t wind up needing me. I wouldn’t have minded going in last week, as it would have been an educational way to get a few extra dollars. However, next week will be bad if I have to go in. I call everyday after 5:00 and type in my number and they let me know if I have to report. I’m good through Monday.

A substitute isn’t worth a lot in our room. We are a hands-on outfit. A body needs to be able to lift, change diapers and know something about seizures and other medical conditions in order to be very useful. Otherwise, they sort of sit around while everyone else does the work. They can’t do discrete trial and they can’t take data. So there isn’t much they can do outside of pushing a wheelchair to lunch or during a fire drill. So if anyone is out, it poses a hardship on everyone else even if we do get a sub, which doesn’t always happen. Plus, they are often pulled from our room, anyway.

dick

Before throwing my virtual hat into the Edublogging ring, I did read several educational blogs.  In fact, I read all of the ones that were nominated for the Best of Blog (BoB) awards.  And then I read several from their considerable links.

I do have another blog out there which enjoys a fair amount of success, meaning several hundred hit it every day and I can pull down a dozen or more comments on a daily basis.  To me, that is success.  Much more than that, and I’d get nervous.

After looking at the BoB nominations, education looked like a particularly weak category.  One reason is that education bloggers are still a very loosely associated group.  While we all may link to each other, we don’t talk to each other very much or very well.  We do parallel posts on a subject but we don’t deepen or extend each other very well.  Someone comes up with an idea or suggestion and it dangles out there for awhile and then it just sort of disappears.  Next post.

So what I’ve tried to do is extend and deepen ideas of others who inspire me while also keeping my own storyline going.  If you read Education Wonk’s Carnival Midway, you get a real good feel for what folks are talking about in various education blogs.  I will occasionally grab an idea from there, like I did with Coach Brown’s post.  Sometimes only a part of a post will lead me in a new direction, like Ms. Cornelius did recently. 

The power of blogging lies in this interactive hybrid vigor.  We all collectively contribute and extend each other.  This is something that does not happen in any other type of publishing medium. 

So what would I view as a good education blog?

- A good, basic story line.  Reflective Teacher and Mad Tedious are two of my current favs.  Kacie has possibilities if she can switch from the abominable MSN and keep updating.  We get some characters, and there is an episodic quality to it.  This is the stuff that keeps me reading as I learn to care about the characters.

- Informative and original.  John L. at Teach Effectively regularly has some good solid scoops that no one else seems to cover.  Weaving information into a storyline is challenging but not impossible.  By their nature, education blogs lend themselves to both plot and information.

- Theme-based.  Education is a very broad area, and if a blog has a focus, it should be stronger for it.  For instance, John and Michele at NCLBlog focus primarily on NCLB.  The law is broad and sweeping enough, there should be ample material for the authors to stay on topic.  Deviations are allowed, but being scatter-brained is not a desired quality I look for.  My niche, if you haven’t guessed it, is special education.

There are things that leave me less than enthused about many educational blogs:

- Too political.  Okay, education involves a lot of politics and there are a slew of blogs that cover the political spectrum.  But I get real weary of Bush bashing and union bashing.  I do have a strong political bias, but education has not been served well by either the liberals or conservatives. If you do have a bias, try to be fair and open minded about it.  Give and take and diplomacy will earn more respect than cramming your particular view in everyone else’s face. 

- No story.  This is a strong personal bias of mine.  Each person has a story to tell, and if you don’t you’re probably not living right!  Simply reacting to media reports is not a story.  But if you can relate to the story on a personal basis, it does add some realism and substance.  I’m interested in who you all are.  I really want to like you!

- Not enough cross talk.  We are not doing a good job of extending on what each other writes.  Not every post by every person is worthy of extension, but we can do better.  By the same token, we might consider fostering this sort of cross talk in our own posts by inviting discussion.  For instance, I’d kind of like to know what you all look for in a good blog.  What keeps you coming back?  How do you decide who to link to on your blogroll? 

Right now, I have yet to discover a blog that hits all my criteria.  Some come closer than others.  So, the creation of my blog is an attempt at becoming something that might actually fit my own criteria.  Whether or not it has broad appeal, I won’t know until it gets presented before a broader audience.

dick

Perhaps one of the reasons why we don’t see more special education blogs is this issue of confidentiality.  I don’t remember it being an issue back when I was teaching Ag. 20 or so years ago, but in special education today it is something that is drummed into us from the beginning.

Everything in this blog is true, but the names and places are fictitious.  This includes my own name.  As long as I am anonymous, my school and students are anonymous.  Anyone stumbling across this that recognizes me and the players would be within the inner loop, anyway.

One of the reasons for this blog is to give others a look at how things run from the inside.  The good, the bad and the ugly.  I cannot be on the edge unless I am able to write candidly about what it is that happens within my little corner of the universe.  So I try to take reasonable precautions to protect the confidentiality of me, my family, my students, coworkers and parents.  There is plenty of drama here, and there always has been.  Stuff happens within my class that happens nowhere else.  I often thought I had enough just within this one room to write a script similar to Boston Public.  The problem with that show is that it tried to cover a larger building level school.  Unlike a TV show about law firms, where there is a finite core cast with a few characters coming and going, an entire school has a cast of hundreds, maybe even thousands.  Each teacher has a class full of students with their own personalities. 

In my room, we are self-contained in a similar fashion as the sweat hogs on Welcome Back Kotter.  However our adult cast is as large as the student cast.  And I’ve seen lots of drama from the adult side.  I’ve had paras get fired for stupid stuff.  I had a para who was married have an affair with another of my paras.  I’ve had paras fight.  I’ve worked with psychotic paras and teachers.  We even have a good amount of medical drama which you’ve had a chance to read about.  Parents come in and bring their own drama along with them.  This place has always had drama, despite my efforts to minimize it.  We are a close knit group, and relate to each other in unique ways.  The question remains whether or not it holds the interest of the larger public.  I’m sure if there’s an affair going on, I’ll see readership spike.

So there is entertainment as well as educational value, here.  There has to be, else why would anyone come flocking over here?

But job one is taking care of my students and their families.  If I can help their cause by shedding some light on our dark corner, I’ll take the risk.  If I can help readers be better educated, informed and empathetic, I’ll chance discovery.  Educational, entertaining and original is what I’m striving for in this blog.

While I do discuss policy sometimes, that is not the major focus of this blog.  I will make observations based on what others are writing and comment on those things that provoke reaction.  But the foundation of this blog remains my basic story line of what goes on in one severe and profound classroom and the relationships involved.

The purpose of this post is to help clarify this for myself as well as any readers who stumble by.  And while writing, it comes to me that I have to work just a bit harder to incorporate a more personal view into the posts as well as delve a bit deeper into relationships, especially the adult ones.

Thanks for stopping by.  Holla at ya!

dick

I’ll never forget walking into an IEP already in progress.  I was at the middle school, attending an IEP for a student who would be with us at the high school next year.  This one ran a bit long and so I went across the hall to the next one already in progress. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife.  The young case manager was nervous and agitated, and she could barely read the present level of performance (PLOP).  The parents were glaring at her the whole time.  Other participants were nervous.  The young LEA had been the head of the department only a year and only had one year of teaching experience under her belt.  She became the head of the department by virtue of being the only special education teacher who was fully certified.  This had the potential of becoming a real disaster.

After reading the PLOP, the young case manager was almost ready to move on to accommodations when I spoke up.  I looked at the parents, who looked at me, and asked, “What are your concerns?”

They spent several minutes unloading their concerns, their hopes and their fears.  And we listened. I asked questions about their daughter and gathered information.  But mostly I listened.

I’ve been on multiple sides of the table, as teacher, parent and LEA.  Even though I know the system inside and out, it is still massively intimidating to walk into a room where professionals are seemingly arrayed against you.  And trust me, they are.  If my son’s teacher gets even a whiff that I might have an issue, she stacks the meeting full of every teacher, therapist, administrator, and professional she can get her hands on.  I can feel my wife, Jane’s, knees buckling when we walk in.  I know these people and work with some of them regularly.  And I still get nervous.  I know my son’s teachers dread it, because my presence is akin to Darth Vader’s.  I know the law and possess the considerable skills to wield it like a light saber to cut them all down.

But I don’t.  I work with them and surprise them with my agreeable nature at the meeting.  You see, that’s because I am the Sith in the days approaching the meeting.  I demand records, data and any draft copies in advance of the meeting.  What I’m trying to do is eliminate any surprises at the meeting for all of us.  My call for raw data sheets and graphs last year turned the poor teachers’ hair white.  And the data and graphs were abominable.  But we work together and the meetings usually go fairly smoothly.

If you do not communicate and listen to the parents as the IEP approaches you can expect an earful at the meeting in front of everyone.  Parents often come in loaded for bear.  They are anxious and nervous.  They may get emotional and confrontational.  Failure to do groundwork before hand can result in a long and painful meeting. 

At that middle school meeting, I sensed the problem and took control, guiding the novice case manager through.  She was nervous and read every part of the IEP line-by-line.  She could have saved herself a lot of trouble and time by sending a proposed draft to parents ahead of time. But we did survive.  The parents eventually were satisfied enough that they left the meeting early, leaving us to finish it up.  The young case manager took me aside after the meeting.  “I sure am glad you were there!” 

Besides new teachers and paras, I have a burn for parents.  I care about them and what they are going through raising a child with special needs.  Especially parents of older students because they are blazing the trail for those of us who have younger kids in the system.  I can always learn from them.  I’m not just politely listening, I am actively listening and paying attention and they sense this.  Each one represents a future that I may have to face one day.  As teachers, it is not enough to care just about our students.  We need to care about the parents, too.  We come in with our predominately white, middle class values and impose them on the parents who may not fall into that category.  They sense our judgment and resent us mightily for our condescending and patronizing attitudes.  And rightly so, because until we are able to walk in their shoes, we know nothing. 

dick

02/23/2006

Thursday

Coach Brown recently wrote a post about his experience with special education and IEPs. In his post he gives several suggestions for regular education teachers participating in the IEP process.

One of Coach Brown’s major complaints is about how parents interpret the modifications part of the IEP. The law is pretty clear that modifications and accommodations for sp.ed. students have to be a part of the IEP. As far as regular ed. teachers go, it is THE major part of the IEP where their input is crucial.

Coach Brown gave an example of where a written modification includes “extra time to complete assignment or tests.” Coach Brown, who evidently teaches a college prep coach, interpreted this to mean a few extra minutes whereas the parents interpreted it to mean a few extra DAYS. In his list of recommendations, Coach Brown goes on to encourage vaguely written modifications.

Anyone else see a problem with this? His example highlights the problem with vagueness in IEPs. He correctly interprets the IEP process as creating a legally binding document. In effect, it is a piece of mini legislation. Vagueness in making a law is an invitation for a lawsuit! For if neither side can agree to the interpretation of a section or clause, it becomes a judge’s job to do it when one side challenges the other. Coach Brown’s recommendation is a contradiction to his own bad experience. So let’s see if we can straighten this out with some new recommendations.

- Accommodations and modifications should be as specific as possible. This is where a regular education teacher’s input becomes very important. For if a regular education teacher refuses to comply with those IEP directives, they can be held personally liable. Yes, you can be sued.

- Keep documentation of how and when you are implementing accommodations. It might be easiest to do this in the actual lesson plan. I can understand why a regular ed. teacher would want these to be vague. For if there are several sp.ed. students in a class, it is a lot easier to put a vague note that says “extra time offered” in the plan. This is where regular ed. teachers can work together with those in sp. ed. to work out the interpretation and implementation of these modifications and then they can be properly written.

-Is the student going to complete tests and assignments in the resource room? Back when I taught Ag., when I had a test, I made two copies of assignments for my special ed. students. One they did in class and one in the resource room. Or, when I collected the tests, I would forward the ones for special ed. to the resource teachers.

- Talk to the case manager about the student. This should be done fairly regularly, but especially when you get a notice of an IEP meeting. Yes, writing these things is a bitch. But more input makes it a lot easier.

- Let the case manager know of any “issues” prior to the meeting. If a parent is going to be hot and angry, the case manager can do a better job of helping you if they have some prior warning. Is the student failing? Is there behavior problems? Getting blind sided at the meeting in front of parents is NOT fun.

- If there is going to be some problems implementing a modification, speak up at the meeting! That’s why you are there! Coach Brown is correct that you should never say “I’m not going to do this.” You can be held personally liable! Work with the team to develop meaningful accommodations for the students that are also practical. I don’t LEA a lot of meetings where students are actually in the regular curriculum. But when I do, I try to be sensitive to the regular ed. teacher’s circumstances. With 30 students to a class, time and resources are limited. It’s better to have modifications that teachers feel can actually be done and are willing to do than try to burden them with a lot of extra work.

- Don’t be defensive. Be sensitive. Parents of students with special needs have the hardest jobs of all. They have YEARS of experience with their child and can be either valuable allies or formidable opponents. No matter what happens, THEY are the ones that are stuck with the final responsibility long after they leave your classroom. And here’s a newsflash: They hate the IEP process as much as anyone. They dread it and feel anxiety walking in. More than you.

IDEA 2004 has stronger language in it than any previous version of the law where the “appropriate” part of “Free and Appropriate Public Education” is concerned. It goes from the minimal requirements of earlier case law and expands it outward even more. Times may get tougher for school districts.

Special Education and Regular Education teachers need to work closely together and communicate regularly when they have students in common. While regular ed. teachers may not want to do modifications at all, the law says they have to. Failure to do so can be costly to the district and to the individual teachers. You can be held personally liable! Even though the IEP process is a pain, it pales in comparison to a due process hearing.

dick

Update: See Ms. Ris’ take here.

Ms. Cornelius was talking about innumeracy, over at her blog.  Go on over there, and give her a read.  I’ll wait…

She talks a bit about memorization as well, and I agree with what she says about both.

It is the math portion of her post that I’d like to talk about and extend just a bit.   I briefly grazed the subject in a comment that I left there; mostly in response to an article she cites discussing the questionable value of algebra.  At the risk of Ms. Cornelius coming over and kicking me in the shin, I’d like to elaborate…

I was not a math whiz in high school.  In fact, I was pretty poor.  I goofed off and never took a lot of interest in the subject, but I also had a considerable amount of anxiety about the subject.  While I was able to escape having to take algebra in college, I did have to take some serious chemistry courses.  And chemistry is seriously into math when it comes to figuring out the concentration of a solution, molality and molarity, gas volume, pressure and temperature.

However, I am still head and shoulders above my special education teacher peers in the subject of math.  Very, very few of us are expertly proficient else we would be in higher paying occupations like engineering.  But there are some math skills that are crucial to making it in the real world that simply can not be avoided.

Let’s start in the grocery store.  I can buy 12 ounces of chicken nuggets for $2.44 or I can buy 28 ounces for $4.99.  Which is the better buy?  I’m not going to tell you, if you haven’t figured it out.  But my decision is based on more than price.  How much freezer space do I have?  Do I like the cheaper ones well enough or are the expensive ones worth the extra money?  And do I have the extra money needed to buy the better buy?  Then there’s the nutritional information; can I compare nutritional information even though serving sizes may be different? If, in order to buy the bulk amount, I have to charge it on my credit card instead of paying in cash, is it still a better buy at 21% interest?

And speaking of credit cards…as soon as these kids hit the college campuses they will be hit with all sorts of credit card offers.  By the time they graduate from college, in addition to the student loans, most will be facing a mountain of credit card debt.  Mostly because they can’t do the math and read the fine print.

So my question is this; where are these students going to learn these day-to-day skills?  In algebra class?  By taking an AP calculus course?  How much good is calculus going to do a person if they are sleeping under an overpass because they cannot manage their money?  There are a number of us that are concrete thinkers and the abstract thinking required for algebra is beyond the scope of many high school students.  I’m not going so far as to say that algebra is never used in real life, but frankly I rarely find myself having to simplify a binomial equation.  More pressing is how to calculate a 15% tip in a restaurant.  I can do it, simply because 10%+5% = 15%.  !5% of a $12 meal is $1.20 + $0.60 or $1.80.  I’ll tip $2 just to avoid being cheap and this is the south, after all.

Back in the day, we did have consumer math as a course for those of us not proficient in math.  While algebra was still going to be a requirement at some point, there was at least one other course to choose from in order to satisfy the high school graduation requirement.  Most of the students in that class were not destined for college.  I do have a problem with a curriculum exclusively designed for the less than 50% of students going to a 4 year university.  What about the rest?

An argument might be made to teach consumer math in middle school.  However, such a course is going to suffer from the same lack of relevancy that a high school algebra course does.  Most middle school students, while they are consumers of a sort, do not have to worry about interest or paying regular bills.  In high school, many of these same students will be hankering to go out and buy a car.  Now interest, insurance, gas milage and the cost of repairs has some relevance.  Many will be working or looking for a job, and they will begin paying taxes.  If they are savvy enough to understand compound interest, they may even start saving for retirement and be gazillionaires by the time they are 50.

In special education, we often have consumer math for individuals in a developmental or functional curriculum.  However, it is at least as important to teach those in the regular curriculum because these people are going to be the economic “heavy lifters.”  They are the ones who are going to be the real drivers of economic policies and innovations.  And considering the increasing size of the national debt, the imminent failure of Medicaid and social security, and a new global economy, they are going to have some heavy lifting to do, indeed.

Think I’m joking?  Being over dramatic?  Read this article about credit card debt in this country.  Explore the whole site on the topic and read all of the interviews.  If you’re scared to death and cut up your credit cards after reading it, you’ve passed your best literacy comprehension test.

dick

The discovery of a brand spankin’ new teacher starting new blog is kind of exciting to me. I might have said it before, but I need to say it here, is that I have kind of a burn for new teachers. Relatively fresh, idealistic and energetic, these folks represent the future of our profession.

Kacie is one of a rare group who comes to special education from a traditional teacher preparation program. I have no idea of the quality of Illinois State’s program but it sounds rigorous enough by her own account. I’m not surprised that she was scooped up as soon as she graduated from college. A far cry from what I experienced back in the day as a December graduate in Agriculture Education. I languished in the gulag of substitute teaching for the remainder of the school term. Today, the majority of positions my school system fills in special education is filled by people undergoing alternative certification or are still in the process. I have met exactly one new hire in our school system who has completed a traditional teacher prep program for special education. And she is mighty good.

So the first thing I’d say to Kacie is that she is one of a pretty elite group of folks who come on the job who has some idea of what she’s supposed to be doing. I’ve met many, many who walk into the classroom for the first time as a new hire who have not the faintest idea of what is going on. Many who have absolutely no prior teaching experience. The flow of teachers often runs from special education into regular education and rarely in reverse. We often get social studies and P.E. teachers who park themselves in a special ed. class until there’s an opening in their field.

As a teacher starting in the middle of the year, Kacie has to hit the ground running. This is daunting for any teacher, but with special ed. there are other things going on, like annual reviews. These really get cooking in the spring and are a lot of work even for experienced teachers. There may also be some of the high stakes testing going on, as well as other assessments that have to happen right before the IEP.

At the beginning of the school year, new teachers have a chance to get some orientation as to who they are working with, who they are working for and where it is they are working. She has none of this. However, it does sound like she has some friends around who can provide valuable support.

In one way, starting in the middle is good. She only has 90 days of school left before summer. By the time she starts back in the fall, she will have a much better idea of what is expected and what is likely to happen. The end of school seems to always be rougher than the beginning as far as student behavior. If she makes it through this and she’ll be in good stead the next year.

Advice? Remember that the first year is a shakedown year for all teachers. The good news is that kids generally like younger teachers. The bad news is that they don’t always respect them. They have to exercise twice the diligence to keep the classroom running smoothly.

Let’s talk about the teaching assistant or paraeducator for a minute. Odds are, this person is older and might have been around the system longer. This makes her a good resource and a valuable asset. However, don’t make the mistake of being too collegial with her. Whose butt is on the line? Who is the administration going to go after if something goes wrong? Who do the parents want to talk to or complain to? Not the assistant. The teacher is responsible for everything that goes on in that room. Younger or not, the teacher must take the lead and take charge. And this often requires taking a directive approach. Meaning giving explicit instructions and making plans for her. Evaluate and supervise as much as can be spared. Give the sort of good feedback that was given during student teaching. Most paras like well-established routines and expectations. They benefit from a similar structure and routine as the students. Most teachers are given little or no instruction on how to supervise paras. With a little investment, it is easy to cultivate a good one. A good assistant can be invaluable. But a bad one will be as much of a hindrance as a help.

Another missing aspect of the teacher prep curriculum is dealing with parents. I remember my own supervising teacher telling me, “You think the kids are bad? Wait until you meet the parents!” He was right. But after becoming a parent I gained a whole new insight into the special education system. It’s helpful to understand that no matter how hard it is to teach a room full of kids, being the parent of one 24/7 is harder. They carry the full weight of that child’s future on them. Many went from dealing with the medical system to early intervention and finally the school. There a host of emotional issues bound up in their children. If the children are young like Kacie’s, the parents (mostly mothers) may be experiencing marital discord, divorce, financial stress, social isolation, depression, exhaustion and anger. Teachers think the educational red tape is tough to deal with, because it is. But it is nothing compared to medical, insurance, Medicaid and social security red tape. Being confrontational towards a parent is about the worst mistake a teacher can make. A properly motivated parent with nothing but time on her hands can make life hell on earth. Which is why my job is pretty secure. Since I have 2 children with IEPs, the last thing the school wants is for me to get motivated with time on my hands. So teachers need to go out of their way to be cordial with these important people. Teachers come and go, but the parents are stuck for good.

All good teachers make mistakes, and we are often our own toughest critics. Many, many young teachers lose sleep over what they should or should not have done in a given situation. While I think the self reflection can be beneficial, the fear and anxiety can result in burnout. The average lifespan for a special education teacher is about 3 years. So this becomes a race for endurance as much as for excellence. Reflective teachers can beat burnout by continuing to grow. For me this has involved going back to school. It also means helping and mentoring other teachers and paras along the way. Finally, I am always looking outward as well as inward. While most teachers become frustrated with change, change is inevitable. It’s going to happen. Kacie is learning this the hard way as she gets rid of her most challenging student only to have 2 new ones put into her classroom. Her competence is going to be continually challenged and she is going to have to grow. But if she can hang tough, confidence will come with the increased experience.

My wife, Jane, often goes to parent support meetings and the parents spend a lot of time talking about the teachers their children have. They generally fall into two distinct camps: Those that are very dissatisfied and those that are pretty happy. My goal is to have parents that are very happy. Besides seeing a student make a big breakthrough, turning a parent from unhappy to happy is probably one of my biggest and best confidence boosters.

dick

I’m really liking WordPress. It’s difficult to fully appreciate it until you try to interact with other blogging outfits. The worst, by far, has to MSN’s. They won’t even let you leave a comment unless your registered with them. Dorks.
Too bad, too, because JohnL at Teach Effectively! pointed to another good blog discovery:
Kacie’s Blog

I’ll see if the trackback thingy works at all, and maybe she can comment here. Hopefully MY comment function will work, as I noticed John’s comment box isn’t letting me in. For some reason my username and password aren’t any good over there.

Here, I allow comments from anyone as long as there is a name and email attached.

Google’s Blogger works fairly well, and it is where I learned enough to be able to move on to something different. It’s still not as easy or versatile as WordPress.
Most bloggers live and die by their stats and their comment boxes, and if these are not working, this will not do. In previous blogging lives, I have gleaned a lot of material from commentors and they frequently inspire posts of their own.
dick

Hat tip to John L. for scoring the Aspen Institute’s Commission on NCLB.  I saw the link, clicked over and whose face did I see?

Former Georgia Governor Roy Barnes.   Most folks might know about the other face pictured, Tommy Thompson.  But Gov. Barnes may not be as well known.  If he is, he might be known as the guy who forced Georgians to give up the rebel flag.  Many still attribute this as to why he was beaten by the first rebuplican candidate since reconstruction.  But that is simply not true.

Barnes was beaten largely because he angered a lot of educators.  I talked with several teachers who were life-long democrats who decided to cast their vote for “anyone-but-Roy.”  Some of them now regret that.  In anycase, Gov. Barnes presided over a Georgia educational system that actually lost ground from 48th to being ranked 50th.  I don’t lay exclusive blame on this at the feet of the former governor.  He did come up with the A+ initiative which had the most effect of lowering class sizes in the state.  He also did call for more accountability, which began a run towards high stakes testing and a state wide school report card.  His predecessor, Zell Miller, won the hearts and minds of Georgians with the HOPE scholarship, the lottery funded Pre-K and technology grants and a series of 7% raises for teachers.  When Barnes failed to deliver raises for teachers, he angered a major part of his core constituents.
What finally angered the voters the most, in my opinion, was his redistricting plan that made voting district maps look like strange, alien spiders, in a bid to retain political control of the state.  Needless to say (but I’ll say it anyway) it failed miserably.  I actually admire his stand on the flag. He would have been better served to do as his successor did, which was to have a referendum on the flag, and limit the choices. But the flag issue was confined mostly to a few rural south Georgia counties.  Barnes still lost the votes in the more affluent Atlanta suburbs and that had nothing to do with the flag.

Roy Barnes is an attorney, and he served skillfully in his role as a law maker in the state capitol.  It was this skill that made him successor to the very popular Zell Miller.

Go ahead and leave some comments to those folks.  Give them some data to analyze.  I’d direct them here, but the above commentary probably doesn’t win me much favor or influence!

dick