Learn and Serve September 28th (2 hours) and Class Reflection

LAST CLASS
During the last class, even with all of the technology I left the class feeling much more confident and better about classes in the future than I did when coming in. I do have to say that the quizzes and technology are still making me somewhat uneasy because I am not sure what to expect. I am not a person that does well with not know exactly what is going on; I like everything to be written out in black and white. I do feel as though I am becoming more confident with technology and finding it easier to try to figure out what is supposed to be done. This makes me feel good because I have never been one to really like working with the computer. They have always been a source of frustration for me.

During class we were asked to go out and take pictures of something that would be considered an environmental risk factor. I chose to take a picture of an ATM because this could demonstrate a risk factor in many different ways. If a family doesn't have enough money to buy the necessities and this problem is exposed to the children, then this could put a lot of stress on that student. Also this could mean that the child is not being fed properly; there is a lack of money for proper medical care, along with many other factors all of which will inevitably lead to poor performance in school. How could a student focus if they are dealing with all of these other problems? If they are focusing on an empty stomach it would be impossible to do school work.
First Day of Learn and Serve



I started learn and serve this past Monday September 28th. This is a week late due to the fact that I was placed late.
I am placed in a first grade inclusion classroom at Hyde Park Elementary School.
I have learned little about the students so far and do not know who my teacher is yet. My observation teacher was sick so there was a substitute in the class for the day. My first day was a pretty rough one. Since there was a substitute I was forced to just walk in and figure it out on my own. This can be considered a learning experience as I was already nervous and then on top of that I was taken out of my comfort zone. Although the sub knew that I was going to be there she was not very friendly and really ignored the fact that I was there at all. I was forced to just go with the flow and get through the day.
I tried to identify some of the student on my own. Seeing who was easily distracted, had trouble behaving themselves, and who was very quiet and kept to themselves.
When I first came in the students were having writing time and their task was to write a story about something that they knew well. The substitute teacher put two of the boys with me; I was to help them write their stories. These two students did have a lot of trouble focusing on their task at hand, they where all over the place. I also only felt like the sub put me with the students so that I was in the corner and me and these "problem" students were out of her way.
During the course of time that I was there, there was a different teacher who came into the room to teach a lesson and she used the smart board. Although the students still maintained their same behaviors as before the teacher had a much better way with classroom management and a way of making everyone focus on her. Also using the smart board as a tool was amazing. She was able to have the students come up and play games while they were learning at the same time; it is a wonderful tool.
My first day way definitely stressful but very good and at the same time it was a wonderful learning experience. Children have a lot of stress no matter what age they are at. They have to manage their school experience and their home life. If kids have a bad home life this can make school only that much more difficult if they are constantly focusing and thinking about what is going on at home how are they supposed to be able to be successful in school, this is a lot to ask for. I don't think teacher and councilors realize how much stress students are under at all ages. As teachers it is important to remember that we never know everything that is going on in a student's life and we really need to take this into consideration when evaluating students.

Chapter six in the text (Kirk, Gallagher, Coleman, & Anastasiow, 2009), describes the fact that family life and family history play a very large role in the way that a student will conduct themselves. If a child lives in a home where there is much aggression and punishment is done through aggressive behaviors that child is more likely to grow up and have these behaviors themselves over an individual who grows up in a home where these behaviors are not as present. At young ages much of a child's learning is done at home and they often model what they see because they do not know any better at the time. Some students learn that what they are seeing at home is not right and others never do and their behavior ends up going in a downward spiral.

Kirk S. , Gallagher J.J. , Coleman M.R. , & Anastasiow N. (2009). Educating Exceptional Children (12th ed. , pp. 183-217). Boston, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Bonus Blog Entry (She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith)

Niagara University Theater (hyperlink)

She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith
(Or, the Mistakes of an Evening)

Setting: Hardcastle mansion in the English countryside about sixty miles from London.

Characters:
Mr. Hardcastle- is a middle-aged gentleman who lives in the old mansion in the countryside. Prefers the simple rural life and its old- fashioned manners and customs.
Mrs. Dorthy Hardcastle- Wife of Mr. Hardcastle. Values material possessions and wants to sample high society. Wants to match her son up with her niece to keep her inheritance in the family.
Charles Marlow- Young man who comes to the country to woo the Hardcastles' daughter. He is shy around refined young ladies and at ease with women of humble birth and working-class status. His character is used to satire England's preoccupation with, and overemphasis on class distinctions. He is a like able character by the audience.
Kate Hardcastle- Pretty daughter of the Hardcastle who is wooed by Charles Marlow. When he thinks she is of a lower class his shy nature is broken and she is able to see what he really thinks of her.
Tony Lumpkin- Son of Mrs. Hardcastle by her first husband. He is a fat, ale drinking man who has a ambition. His mom wants to set him up with her niece but they despise each other.
George Hastings- Friend of Marlow who loves Constance Neville. Comes up with a plan to elope with her and gets the help of Tony who only wants her out of his life.
Constance Neville- Young lady, orphan, loves the Hastings but hates the ides of being hooked up with Tony.
Sir Charles Marlow- Father of Charles
Servants in the Hardcastle Household
Maid in the Hardcastle Household
Landlord of the Three Pigeons Alehouse
First, Second, Third, and Fourth Fellows- Drinking friends of Tony

Plot:
The plot consists of many characters that assist to the drama of the play. The scene first begins with Dorthy Hardcastle who is complaining to her husband about the trip she wants to take to London. Mrs. Hardcastle complains of the lack of friends and company she has in her life, and wants to change, while Mr. Hardcastle says he is just fine with his old friends his wife and his old way of life. They live in their home with their daughter Kate, and Tony, a son from Mrs. Hardcastles first marriage. Tony has become a "fat slob" who likes to spend most of his time in the local alehouse. he cannot wait till he comes of age which allows him to receive a 1500 pound inheritance. Mrs. Hardcastle desperately wants to set up Tony and her niece, Constance Neville, in order to have the inheritance remain in the family.
Mr. Hardcastle wants his daughter Kate to be matched with Mr. Charles Marlow who is a scholar with many good qualities. Even though Tony and Constance are assumed to be matched together they despise one another. tony plays a trick on Mr. Hardcastle because he resents the treatment of him lately and wants to get even. tony pretends that the hardcastle house is an "inn" which Marlow and Hastings stay at. Later on in the night, Tony and Constance are insulting each other and Hastings promises Tony he will get Constance off his hands if he promises to help Hastings win her over. Because Marlow still believes he is in the "inn" he is becoming annoying to Mr. Hardcastle. He is very rude and leaves his stuff all over the place.
The plot thickens as Charles Marlow, Marlow's father, arrives at the "inn" Everyone realizes that the Hardcastles house is not an inn and Marlow removes himself, even though he has confessed his love for Kate, many more developments are made, such as the real age of Tony, and Kate, Marlow, Canstance, and Hastings are all betrothed.

Lindsey and I worked together to summarize the plot, characters, and setting from this website.

Coming up with a student guide would not be an easy task especially when keeping the difficulty of students with learning disabilities but it can be done. Tee guide would have to include the plot, characters, and setting of the play in order for the students to get familiar with what they are going to see. This will they will have a basic idea of what they play is about before anything else. Next the guide should include scenarios where the students are able to reflect and think about what they would do if they where in the same dilemma the character or how they would feel if the same thing had happen to them. For example a question could be how would you feel if your mother was trying to put you in a relationship only for her benefit. This could be a good way of having the students "put themselves in the story." The students shoudl also have all of this information readily available to them so that if they do not have enough time to read over things in class they can do it on thier own time in order to better understand. Also the packet should not be to wordy or long. It should be fun and engaging.

SCRIBD ASSIGNMENT, Week 4

Blog #4 Chapter #4

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RISK FREE BLOG, Week 3

Differentiated Instruction
When given the assignment to take picture we where given the instruction that it could only be of shapes and lines. This could be for individuals with learning disabilities for other students they would have to take pictures of landscapes and scenes. Also the picture that I have chosen has more that one shape rectangles and circles. A simpler picture could only contain one shape. We where also told to have partners. Students who are not capable of taking the pictures and doing the assignment all on their own have a a partner to help and assist them, but still allow them to participate and join in on the activity. Something else that could be done is when explaining things such as line segments and circumference in a math class. Allowing students to go out and take pictures of the objects may help them to understand the concepts being presented.
Briefly explain the six ways to accelerate students, as described by Stanley?
Student acceleration= passing students through the educational system as quickly as possible.
Stanley came up with six ways of accelerating students. These include early school admission, skipping grades, telescoping grades, advanced placement, dual enrollment in high school and college, and early college admission. Early school admission means that a child that seems above the others is allowed to enter kindergarten at an earlier age than normal. Skipping grades means that a child can skip a whole semester or an entire grade all together. Telescoping grades this simply means that the same amount of material is covered at a much faster pass (completing high school in three years rather than four). Advanced placement is when students take college credit classes while they are still in high school. This is designed in order to shorten the time in which the student is in college. Dual enrollment in high school and college means that while the student is finishing high school they are also enrolled in college. Early college admission, there are students who are so accelerated that they are capable of completing college as early as thirteen years of age.
Just as all students are at different levels of learning all students who are gifted and talented are at different levels. acceleration programs are designed to aid the students, if a student is learning things that they already know and are never being challenged this is going to begin to stunt their learning process. These students are going to become content and there learning is going to come to a halt.
All of these actions are not weighed lightly though. There is also a serious possibility that some of these actions can seriously damage a student socially. Going to college as a thirteen year old can be very damaging. I could not imagine at that age going through the actions i am going through now. Although they may be educationally ready for college are they mature enough.
How can we modify curriculum to accommodate the student's special gifts and talents?
One way of changing the curriculum to accommodate students with gifts and talents is curriculum compacting. This adds in students having to learn things that they "already know" rather than sitting around and having to learn things over again they are able to move at their own pace. If they are ready they can move on to other material and show the assessment when they are ready. This could be either a large test or a portfolio of work that they have done. The best areas for compacting are those that deal with mastering basic skills, vocabulary, basic application skills, factual knowledge in a given subject, and basic comprehension in reading.
Another way of changing the curriculum is content sophistication. This is used to challenge students to use higher levels of thinking to understand ideas that average students of the same age would find difficult or impossible to understand. What is trying to be achieved her is to get these students to understand important abstractions, scientific laws, or general principles that can be applied to many circumstances.
The idea behind changing the curriculum is to have all students at different levels be learning in the same classroom. You don't want to hinder one student from learning because they are far above or far below the others you want students to be learning at some level at all times.
It is not just the curriculum that needs to change the person doing the teaching needs to change to a certain extent as well. It is a combination of the both molding and reforming in order to accommodate children with gifts and talents. Although the curriculum being changed can help these students to a great degree unless the teachers understand that they need adjust there teaching strategics the curriculum is not nearly enough. The teachers need to realize that everyone is not the same and having different levels in there classroom is a challenge but it is manageable if worked on thought about and with time al will mesh well. Teachers must have the ability to reach children with learning disabilities, those with gifts and talents and all those inbetween at come point in thier lesson.

RISK FREE BLOG, Week 2

What impact does that least restrictive environment have on the job of the general education teacher, on the quality of life for students with disabilities, and on students without disabilities?
Least restrictive environment= as much as possible, children who have disabilities must be educated with children who are not handicapped.
Although the least restrictive environment is in many cases the best situation for a special needs student to be placed it it often does create more work and makes life at times for difficult for all involved. Teachers must create environments in which both disabled and non disabled students will thrive. This can involved modifying lessons plans and classroom structure.
At times it is often difficult for student that are not disabled to understand why a disabled student is in their classroom and how they are to act and treat this student especially in the younger grades. An example of this is given through Katie's story within the text. One of the techniques that her mother used each year in Katie's classroom was to go in at the beginning and explain and answer any questions the students may have about Katie.
The non restrictive environment is often described as helping the disabled student. Through this process these students are given a more equal education and are able to work with student there same age. What is often times not talked about is the fact that this environment also plays a large role in the life of the non disabled students. This gives the students the opportunity to work with the disabled students, help them, volunteer and take responsibility. " It seems to me as though inclusive education naturally promotes what the national movement in schools proposes to teach:universal values(Kirk, 2009, p.47) ."
How are special educators using technology in the instruction of exceptional students?
It is often due to students with special needs that teachers and faculty have become more willing to incorporate technology into there classroom. Teaching these students has forced them to use means that they never would have considered in the past. Theses devices include computers adapted to special needs, hearing aids, print magnifiers, and machines that trace eye movements as the students read. There are two different categorizes of technology for students with special needs. These include assistive and instructional.
Assistive= tools that enhance the functioning of people with special needs. This could be braille for someone who is blind and hearing aids for those who are deaf. This is what truly helps the disabled communicate. Without the power of communication students are not able to learn. If I was not able to hear or speak how would I communicate with the teacher in order to learn the material.
Institutional= involves the computer and related tools that support and expand the computer's usefulness. This is in most cases being used in order to deliver material in a more effective and appropriate manor.

Entry #1- Chapter One

What are the special burdens of families with children who are disabled?
Families who have children who are disabled struggle with many burdens on a day to day basis. They have to approach life, and day to day activities in a different manor than most households. Every family and house has a way of going about day to day activities such as meals, school work, bedtimes, and other activities. Having a child with autism, health impairment, physical impairment, emotional impairment, etc. adds a whole new level of difficulty to the family structure.
One other difficulty parents face is providing daily care for the child. Being scared that they can't and finding the time to getting every task and every activity done in the hours of the day.When a child is at a very young age and they begin to eat table food very often eating by themselves with little assistance is not a problem. my boyfriend has three small nieces who are three, two and one. All three of them are very capable of when given there meals eating by themselves. Now of course there are times when eating is a challenge as with all small children. But the action of feeding themselves they are still capable of. As with Roger one of the boys described in the text he is at the age where he would normally be capable of eating on his own but due to the fact that he has trouble controlling the tools in which he needs in order to eat his meals, he needs the assistance of an adult. All though this may not seem like a big deal, and in the large picture it is not, but when you think about it this just adds to the difficulty this family has. If he can not feed himself than it takes longer for every meal to take place and than this just continues to carry on to every thing else in the day.
There are also much larger problems that families with disabilities face. This includes large medical bills, parents must play a much larger role in the education of their children. It is up to them to make a difference in their child's life.
It is common for family members to add to the damaging behaviors of the disabled child rather them aiding them with no intention to do this at all. "If the child is aggressive, hyperactive, and non communicative, the chances are strong that such behavior will be met with counter aggression and hostility, which can tend to make the child's original behaviors worse (Kirk, 2009, p. 15)." It is often difficult for families to realize and learn the best ways to deal with the behaviors of their child.
The family is the most important aid to a child with a disability. The family is like their backbone and without them they would be no where. There are many struggles that are put on these child's family but it is important to understand that these child are still human beings who can not help the state they need and need the same amount of love and affection as every other person in this world. It is the family structure that is best capable of doing so. "The child is always a child first and a child with problems second(Kirk, 2009, 18)."
How do parents and siblings respond to the presence of a child with disabilities in the family?
I believe that when a parent first finds out that they have given birth to a child with exceptional needs, it is not that they are devastated necessarily because of the fact that their child is disabled. My belief is what the vision of that perfect healthy baby is crushed. They are suddenly struggling with more than they ever imagined would be placed on their shoulders. Once they are given the knowledge and the tools to take care of the child their nerves are calmed and they understand that this is the new path that needs to be taken by them.
Within the text it is stated that most parents who must cope with a child with disabilities face to problems. One is the "symbolic death" of the child who was to be and the second is the problem of providing daily care of the child. it is often very difficult for parents accept the fact that here child may never be capable of being a independent adult and mature at the same level as other child at the same age. I don't think that anyone can truly know this feeling unless they go through it themselves. Parents with at normal levels can never truly understand what a parent of an exceptional needs student is going through.
Siblings often struggle with having a sibling with exceptional needs. This often roots from the fact that they are unsure of what is ahead and what there role within their siblings life is. Siblings cope much better when there parents lay everything out right in front of them. When they are unsure feeling as if they are going to have a lot more responsibilities, not have time for themselves with their parents and don't know what is ahead it is possible that they will come to resent their exceptional needs sibling. Often times it is possible for child to not verbally say what they are feeling and to just start acting differently and maybe even distant from the family. "It is the parent' responsibility to try to answer even unverbalized questions that the brother or sister may have about the child with disabilities and how that special child is affecting and will affect the family system(Kirk, 2009, p. 23)." It is often scary for child to except this whole knew aspect of their life but when everything is clearly explained to them I believe that acceptance is much easier to come to.

Journal Class #1

My belief is that everyone deserves equal opportunities and if that means that students with exceptional needs need more money in order for this to happen then that is what needs to occur. I don't understand why people think that these students play no role in society, this is wrong thinking everyone deserves the chance to be given every opportunity to reach their greatest potential. Just because these students struggle more than the average student and my not be able to sustain themselves at any point in their lives doesn't mean that they are not human beings and don't have the right to learn just as everyone else. Spending the money on the brightest may seem like a better idea to some but just as the student with a handicap these students have extraordinary needs as well, so does this just mean that all the money should be given to them? It is my belief that the wealth should be spread out to everyone. No one knows what the handicap student is capable of when given every opportunity to succeed just as no one knows what the very bright is capable of until they are given all the tools they need to work with. There is never going to be enough money for everyone to get everything they want. With this being said no one group should get it all it needs to be used in a way that everyone sees some benefit. No one group should be taken out of the equation.

Class #2 Reflection Questions

#7 Identify and briefly explain the six key principles of PL 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act.

The reason I choose this questions was because after I did the reading and looked through the questions I couldn't remember exactly what the principles where. I remembered reading about them but not exactly what they where. This wasn't something that stuck in my mind right off the bat so i though that look back again and talking about them would help me remember what they where.

• Zero reject- all children with handicaps have the right to public education just as the mainstream students do.
  
• Nondiscriminatory evaluation- each student must be given the opportunity to have an examination fit for them before being placed into a special education classroom.
  
• Individualized education program- (IEP) One must be written for every student in an special education program. It must contain where the student is currently, goals for that school year, how they are to be evaluated and what services that student will receive.
  
• Least restrictive environment- As much as possible student with handicaps should be educated with students who do not.
  
• Due process- a set of legal procedures set to ensure fairness in educational decisions.
  
• Parental participation- parents must be included in the IEP process and have access to the child's educational records.
  

#14 What is the impact of the "No Child Left Behind Act" and "High Stakes Testing" on schools?

The reason for me choosing this question is becuase it is something that i have thought alot about and have a strong opinion about.

I feel that both of these things have caused schools to focus on teaching for the tests rather than often times being able to focus on what is important. I believe that school is not only a place for students to learn the defined school material but also somewhere where thay can learn life long lessons and beacuse teachers are know so focused on jst teaching for the tests this opurtunity is no longer available and i think that is sad. One other thing is that this makes life very difficult for students with exceptional needs. They may not be capable of learning at the level of everyone else but that does not mean that they are not learning.