Experience is Everything

Kelsey, Arizona Teaching Fellow

“Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” 

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

I think report cards can be a tremendous motivational tool. I am basing this off my observation of several students who, this semester, are submitting work on a regular basis whereas last semester they rarely did.  They are doing so because they hold proof of the results of working hard.  I think these students out of their previous failed efforts, are ready to experience success. As a teacher, my role for my students is to support them to try again, work harder, finally succeed and experience something different.

I became a teacher with the conviction of taking on the achievement gap that exists in education.  Sometimes it’s not easy but I hold myself accountable as well as my students to rise up despite the challenge.

This entire experience has changed me. I feel a sense of purpose, drive, and ambition, not just with my own goals, but for my students' goals as well; for I know that sometimes life’s most valuable knowledge cannot come from what is taught, but from what is experienced.

AZTF Fellow - Kelsey Ahlmark

5 Special Education Misconceptions

AZTF Fellow - Jon Short

I’m not surprised that most people don’t know much about Special Education. I didn’t before I joined Arizona Teaching Fellows. Most people have little to no exposure with SPED in their entire lives. Well, actually, they do have plenty of exposure, they just don’t know it.

The more I teach Special Education, the more I realize how misconceptions have hurt this field and its students. There’s a reason no one wants others to know they are in Special Education. No one wants to feel inadequate. And SPED students by and large do a great job of hiding their inadequacies. Consider this:  approximately 11% of the student population is in Special Education. That means in a class of 30, at least 3 students are in SPED.  With that in mind, I’d like to dispel some common myths about Special Education.

#1 - Special Education students are mostly students with mental retardation.

The vast majority of Special Needs students do not fit into this category. While many Special Needs students do have moderate disabilities, most Special Needs students have Learning Disabilities, like dyslexia or math disabilities. Most Special Education teachers work with students only part-time on core academic subjects. More than 60% of students with learning disabilities spend less than an hour in a Special Education class each day.

#2 - It takes a very uniquely dedicated person to be a SPED teacher.

Well, it takes a very dedicated kind of person to be a teacher in general.  And, being a Special Education teacher is no different. I assign my 8^th graders 2 hours of homework a night, math problems, writing assignments, book chapters, and everything else that goes on. Students with more significant disabilities still learn how to read and write and do math. Our job is to teach them exactly what they need to know to be successful.

#3 - The need for SPED is not as great as other teaching subjects.

Nothing could be further from the truth! SPED positions are often the most difficult to fill.  The need is HUGE. Just look at this excerpt from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: “The number of special education teachers is expected to increase by 17 percent from 2008 to 2018, which is faster than the average for all occupations. Although student enrollments in general are expected to grow more slowly than in the past, continued increases in the number of special education students needing services will generate a greater need for special education teachers.”

#4 - SPED students are likely never to achieve.  We have to lower our expectations of them.

Unfortunately, this is the biggest and saddest misconception about SPED. This has been a terrible stigmatization that is simply is not true. Students with disabilities have different needs in order to achieve the same result. For example, take a dyslexic student in a science class.  Reading about “mitochondria” can be exhausting and fruitless, but that doesn’t mean the student can’t learn about it. By offering video presentations or audio books, the student can learn at the exact same pace as the other students, but they receive the information through a different medium. More importantly, the idea that SPED students are doomed is just false. Here’s a short list of well known individuals with disabilities: Thomas Edison, Jimi Hendrix,Cher, Danny Glover, Robin Williams, Leonardo Da Vinci, John Lennon, and Whoopi Goldberg.

# 5 - It doesn’t matter what SPED teachers do b/c they don’t affect a school’s report card.

Think again! 25% of each school’s pass/fail determination is now dependent on how much the bottom 25% improves. That means that if you bring all the average kids up to excelling, but the bottom 25% don’t move up, your school can still fail. The fact is that most SPED students are in the bottom 25%.  So, the SPED teacher has all of a sudden inherited a huge responsibility that has very real consequences for the entire school.

If you’re applying to AZTF, please take a moment to consider whether you could be an effective SPED teacher. SPED students need the unique strengths, subject area knowledge, and diverse life experiences you bring to the classroom.  And trust me when I say it doesn’t take a miracle worker to be a SPED teacher. It takes a teacher who’s dedicated and through that dedication...miracles do happen for these kids.

Setting Goals

AZTF Fellow - Thai Nguyen

I often tell my students that before going on a road trip, it is important to know where you are going and how you are going to get there.  Students need to know the same thing when it comes to their education.  At the beginning of every quarter, I have my students set two goals: one academic and one behavior.  Goals need to be specific, challenging, and realistic.  Some of my students’ academic goals include getting an 80% or higher on all assessments, improving reading fluency by at least 20 words per minute, and receiving all 4s on the writing benchmark.  Having no tardies, completing homework every night, and receiving the “terrific kid” award are some of my students’ behavior goals. 

Before I have students write their goals, I share with them my goals.  My academic goal this quarter is for my students to receive an 80% average on all math assessments and an 80% average on at least one reading assessment.  My students have demonstrated that they can achieve some of the top math scores in the district.  I want my students to continue this success.  I would also like my students to have greater success in reading.  Students have come close but have not averaged at least 80% on one reading assessment this school year. 

My behavior goal this quarter is to give out no more than four strikes a day.  A strike is given to a student when he or she does not follow a class or school rule, e.g. talking when the teacher is talking, not having shirt tucked in, or being off task.  I have a fantastic group of students who are eager to please and eager to learn.  But sometimes students do not follow directions and they receive strikes.  As a teacher, I do not like giving out strikes and only do so as a last resort.  I hope that my students can work together to achieve this goal.

Where are you going and how are you getting there?  Having specific, challenging, and realistic goals give students a sense of purpose.  And by having students come up with their own individual goals, they become personally accountable.  With hard work and high expectations, all students will reach their destination.

Resolutions for a New Semester

Sometimes when I am having an off week with my students, I write on top of the white board a quote that I believe in very deeply.

“Every day is another chance to get things right.” – Lauryn Hill, R&B singer

I have never been the perfect student or the perfect teacher and rarely have I ever been the perfect human being.  However, as the quote suggests I can always try again tomorrow to do things right—to recognize my faults and learn from my mistakes.

The end of the first semester comes at the perfect time for reflection and renewal for a new semester. What will our team norms be? We are team “I”.  My team is designated for students with learning and behavioral differences. Despite these differences, I can acknowledge that my students have and will continue to experience the word differently…but not less. My students are just as hard working and deserving as any other student on the advanced team.

So, in order give my students the best possible start next semester, team norms will be established. Here are some of my ideas:

·      Enforcing seat assignments

·      All food needs to be put away before entering the building and classroom

·      Enforcing the school policy on tardies

·      All non-authorized electronics are out of site for the entire class period

Of course I will still have my classroom rules, which encourage students to be prompt, prepared, and polite, but I think the use of team norms will be extremely beneficial in creating a consistent academic environment.

Cheers to the New Year!

                                   
AZTF Ambassador - Kelsey Alhmark

Adam

AZTF Fellow - Jon Short

Today, I’m exiting a student from Special Education. Adam, 7^th grade, has worked exceptionally hard, and according to cognitive, academic, and district testing, Adam is on grade level and doesn’t need any more support. Not only will he be exited from my classes, he’ll be exited from speech. “He just doesn’t need it”, our speech therapist said, “At this point, he’s doing so well that it would actually hurt him to miss class.”

The following are examples of Adam’s growth since I started working with him:

The most complex word Adam could read in 2009: can

The most complex word Adam can read in 2011: Sagittarius

The most complex math problem Adam could complete in 2009: 11 – 3 = 8

The most complex math problem Adam can complete in 2011: 4x – (4 + 4 ÷ 2) = 5²/5

Adam’s 20 second writing sample in 2009: go et suf an

Adam’s 20 second writing sample in 2011: The two kids can run quickly around the park.

Number of times Adam volunteers to read aloud or answer a question in a ½ hour in 2009: 0

Number of times Adam volunteers to read aloud or answer a question in a ½ hour in 2011: 4

Percentage of homework completion in 2009: 20%

Percentage of homework completion in 2011: 90%

Adam’s reading level in 2009: “Falls Far Below Grade Level”

Adam’s reading level in 2011: Meets Grade Level Expectations”

In thinking about Adam’s growth. In 2009, I couldn’t get Adam to say more than two words. What Adam needed more than anything was the confidence and permission to be a successful student.  Today he’s confident and eager to succeed. He’s not perfect, but he learns and socializes in step with the rest of his class.

It’s students like Adam that reminds me how strange Special Education is for the teacher. This victory doesn’t exactly feel exciting. I have to remind myself that my victories come in the form of not being needed anymore.

Still, he pops in my room every now and then just to check in on me and let me know how he’s doing. In short, he’s doing well.

- Jon Short, Arizona Teaching Fellow