Greeting everyone,
Hope all had a wonderfu thanksgiving and are ready to complete this class requirements. It has been a wonderful experience having everyone participate in such an activity. Good luck with the rest of this class.
Ivyspecial (Janis)
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Thankful Thoughts
Greetings,
At this time of year it is always a good idea to reflect back and give thanks for the many blessing we have gotten throughout this year.
As more vendors and factory workers of Chryler and Ford face closure and reduction of workers with families. It is comforting to know that as an Educator in the New Year most of us will still be employed.
In the last few weeks and months, we have all watched in amazement as the stock market took dives and many lost investments. It is comforting to know that all Teacher Retirement monies are safe and will be there when I am ready to retire.
As history was made with the first African American elected to the highest office of the land-President. It was comforting to know that in my life time such an event could occur and I would be alive to witness such.
As many lost homes and family members in the wake of all the hurricane winds, flood waters and fires. It is comforting to know that my family members will be gathered in one place at Thanksgiving safe and in good health.
However, several of our students may not be in such a comforting state this Thanksgiving. Some may experience anxiety, depression, a loss of material or emotional attachments, limited food sources, and less than adequate housing and heating needs. For those students, we should remember what blessings we have and seek to be a bit more understanding and giving at this time of year.
Let us each take comfort in knowing that at this time of year we have given a student just a bit more time to finish that assignment without consequences or we have allowed one tardy to be excused.
Let's each remember that the student is somebody daughter or son and treat them as you would want another Educator to treat your child.
Thanksgiving is a time of sharing and being thankful for what you have. This year take the time to share what you have with someone less fortunate. Who knows maybe next year that person you gave to will remember this act of kindness and give that same act of kindness to another. For truly I do believe it takes an entire village to raise a child and kindness is contagious.
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone.
Ivyspecial (Janis)
At this time of year it is always a good idea to reflect back and give thanks for the many blessing we have gotten throughout this year.
As more vendors and factory workers of Chryler and Ford face closure and reduction of workers with families. It is comforting to know that as an Educator in the New Year most of us will still be employed.
In the last few weeks and months, we have all watched in amazement as the stock market took dives and many lost investments. It is comforting to know that all Teacher Retirement monies are safe and will be there when I am ready to retire.
As history was made with the first African American elected to the highest office of the land-President. It was comforting to know that in my life time such an event could occur and I would be alive to witness such.
As many lost homes and family members in the wake of all the hurricane winds, flood waters and fires. It is comforting to know that my family members will be gathered in one place at Thanksgiving safe and in good health.
However, several of our students may not be in such a comforting state this Thanksgiving. Some may experience anxiety, depression, a loss of material or emotional attachments, limited food sources, and less than adequate housing and heating needs. For those students, we should remember what blessings we have and seek to be a bit more understanding and giving at this time of year.
Let us each take comfort in knowing that at this time of year we have given a student just a bit more time to finish that assignment without consequences or we have allowed one tardy to be excused.
Let's each remember that the student is somebody daughter or son and treat them as you would want another Educator to treat your child.
Thanksgiving is a time of sharing and being thankful for what you have. This year take the time to share what you have with someone less fortunate. Who knows maybe next year that person you gave to will remember this act of kindness and give that same act of kindness to another. For truly I do believe it takes an entire village to raise a child and kindness is contagious.
Have a great Thanksgiving everyone.
Ivyspecial (Janis)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
So what else is new?
Greetings
As this holdiay approaches, everyone under stress on the job, finances low, and expectations high with less support; how can those big auto executives who fly in private jets to meetings expect the average working person to feel sorry they are experiencing a financial need. Teachers everyday work to make ends meet on the salary provided so why should Congress give to them monies to bail them out? No one is bailing out the schools with monies to help students achieve. No one is giving to districts monies to increase teacher salaries to keep the students with the most qualified staff. No one is giving monies to schools to include more technical programs rather than so many academically driven classes for those students who are not college material.
So what else is new that those with money expect that they should get more money at the expense of those who work hard for our money.
The time has long come for those who have money to waste fail if they must. Why should hard working factory workers, suppliers, and vendors of cars bail out those who know so little about the "backs" on which these executives build their homes and fly in their jets?
Don't get me wrong, I know life is not fair and not everyone was born to be rich. But what else is new. It seems that the rich keep getting richer and the poorer keep getting poorer.
I for one support all those in Congress and in the government that have said NO to General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. Give up some of your own monies and pensions to help your own companies survive if you care that much about our economy. Do what the rest of most hard working Americans do-plan ahead, cut back, tighen the belt, eat our less, make few major purchases, and survive on what you have!
If we bail them out this time, what will we do the next time?
Ivyspecial (Janis)
As this holdiay approaches, everyone under stress on the job, finances low, and expectations high with less support; how can those big auto executives who fly in private jets to meetings expect the average working person to feel sorry they are experiencing a financial need. Teachers everyday work to make ends meet on the salary provided so why should Congress give to them monies to bail them out? No one is bailing out the schools with monies to help students achieve. No one is giving to districts monies to increase teacher salaries to keep the students with the most qualified staff. No one is giving monies to schools to include more technical programs rather than so many academically driven classes for those students who are not college material.
So what else is new that those with money expect that they should get more money at the expense of those who work hard for our money.
The time has long come for those who have money to waste fail if they must. Why should hard working factory workers, suppliers, and vendors of cars bail out those who know so little about the "backs" on which these executives build their homes and fly in their jets?
Don't get me wrong, I know life is not fair and not everyone was born to be rich. But what else is new. It seems that the rich keep getting richer and the poorer keep getting poorer.
I for one support all those in Congress and in the government that have said NO to General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. Give up some of your own monies and pensions to help your own companies survive if you care that much about our economy. Do what the rest of most hard working Americans do-plan ahead, cut back, tighen the belt, eat our less, make few major purchases, and survive on what you have!
If we bail them out this time, what will we do the next time?
Ivyspecial (Janis)
Monday, November 17, 2008
Why Blame the School?
Greetings,
As educators, I am sure all of us have said or personally voiced the words; "So why blame the school for your child's chosen actions?"
I am frusted to constantly be reminded by some parents that the school is wrong and the students should be involved in the discipline if we want to teach them how to behave.
When are parents going to understand that if they allow their child to behave in an inappropriate manner at home over a prolonged period of time, then do not be surprised when you get that phone call from the school detailing how "Johnny or Susie" is being assigned a disciplinary consequence for choosing to misbehave.
Why do parents come to the school and pretend they are upset or shocked to learn of their child's inappropriate actions when it is clear the child is doing these same actions at home and as the parent you are not consistently assigning that child a consequence at home in an attempt to change the behavior?
How can a parent expect learning to happen for their child if they are allowed to misbehave in the classroom and stop the learning process for all? When are the parents going to own up and step up to assist the schools with teaching all children that some behaviors are unacceptable and will not be tolerated?
Parents that partner with the school and address immediately the misbehaviors of their child are usually those that do not have to return to the campus again for the same misbehavior.
Students must learn that society is not tolerable of behaviors that are socially unacceptable and if as teachers we do not teach acceptable behavioral choices; the cycle of misbehavior continues. Administrators must stop allowing parents to dictate and determine the how and when the student will be disciplined when there are policies and consequences in place that should be adheared to consistently.
How can we ask students to consistently behave when we as those in charge of the students are inconsistent in applying the rules? Are these actions sending mixed messages to the students?
When are parents going to stop blaming the school for their child's misbehvior with excuses? Just as parents want to hold schools and teachers accountable for performance, I think parents need to held accoutable for their child's misbehavior and lack of performance.
I consider that school alone is not the only teacher..parents are apart of the solution also. Parents need to stop blaming the schools and look into their parenting techniques and gain ownership instead.
This educator has taken enough of the blame for someone else.
Ivyspecial (Janis)
As educators, I am sure all of us have said or personally voiced the words; "So why blame the school for your child's chosen actions?"
I am frusted to constantly be reminded by some parents that the school is wrong and the students should be involved in the discipline if we want to teach them how to behave.
When are parents going to understand that if they allow their child to behave in an inappropriate manner at home over a prolonged period of time, then do not be surprised when you get that phone call from the school detailing how "Johnny or Susie" is being assigned a disciplinary consequence for choosing to misbehave.
Why do parents come to the school and pretend they are upset or shocked to learn of their child's inappropriate actions when it is clear the child is doing these same actions at home and as the parent you are not consistently assigning that child a consequence at home in an attempt to change the behavior?
How can a parent expect learning to happen for their child if they are allowed to misbehave in the classroom and stop the learning process for all? When are the parents going to own up and step up to assist the schools with teaching all children that some behaviors are unacceptable and will not be tolerated?
Parents that partner with the school and address immediately the misbehaviors of their child are usually those that do not have to return to the campus again for the same misbehavior.
Students must learn that society is not tolerable of behaviors that are socially unacceptable and if as teachers we do not teach acceptable behavioral choices; the cycle of misbehavior continues. Administrators must stop allowing parents to dictate and determine the how and when the student will be disciplined when there are policies and consequences in place that should be adheared to consistently.
How can we ask students to consistently behave when we as those in charge of the students are inconsistent in applying the rules? Are these actions sending mixed messages to the students?
When are parents going to stop blaming the school for their child's misbehvior with excuses? Just as parents want to hold schools and teachers accountable for performance, I think parents need to held accoutable for their child's misbehavior and lack of performance.
I consider that school alone is not the only teacher..parents are apart of the solution also. Parents need to stop blaming the schools and look into their parenting techniques and gain ownership instead.
This educator has taken enough of the blame for someone else.
Ivyspecial (Janis)
Friday, November 14, 2008
Here we go again!
Greetings
Have you ever felt like you are on a merry- go -round that is just going and going with really no definite end is sight? Well this is exactly how I am feeling with yet another program being implemented without really working with the other.
Students with an emotional disability diagnosis have documented behavior intervention plans included in their paperwork as a proactive measure to help avoide disruptions. However, if a staff member fails to follow the approved plan; the result is a classroom disruption that usually requires a discipline referral writeup that makes the teacher stop teaching to address the behavior and complete the paperwork before the student can be removed from the classroom.
Would it not have been easier to just have followed the plan provided? Would it not be more advantageous for the student to be involved in instruction rather than being removed from the classroom?
And by the way did I mention that the school's performance is recorded as "unacceptable" by state standards?
So now I am confused. How will the school show performance growth and improvements if the students are not there to learn?
With that said, only recently another behavior program was implemented to address disruptive behavior of special education students. This plan is called Intervention, Redirect, and Return (IRR). Staff members learned of this new program at a campus faculty meeting and was told it would become effective the next day for particular students. Staff members were explained the steps of the program and the special education persons who would be overseeing the program and the forms that would be required for teachers to fill out when the removal of the student was necessary.
The problem with this is here we go with another program to implement without knowing or documentating that the intervention plans already in place were not effective. Why do we always want to implement another program before we work the "kinks" out of the old? How do we know the plans did not work, we didn't use them? So what if the new program of IRR does not work, will staff members get another program to use?
It's a merry-go-round that just keeps going and going with no definite end in sight. When will the educational system understand that no reform can be effective if it is never tried, changed, tried, and changed yet again if necessary to be successful. Educators must stop the chain of trying one dismissing that one only to put another in its place once again.
It's no wonder teachers are confused and the students with an emotional disability are out of control-no one is sure what to use to help the students. Change is great at times, but changes without documentation is a diaster waiting to happen.
What's your opinion?
Ivyspecial (Janis)
Have you ever felt like you are on a merry- go -round that is just going and going with really no definite end is sight? Well this is exactly how I am feeling with yet another program being implemented without really working with the other.
Students with an emotional disability diagnosis have documented behavior intervention plans included in their paperwork as a proactive measure to help avoide disruptions. However, if a staff member fails to follow the approved plan; the result is a classroom disruption that usually requires a discipline referral writeup that makes the teacher stop teaching to address the behavior and complete the paperwork before the student can be removed from the classroom.
Would it not have been easier to just have followed the plan provided? Would it not be more advantageous for the student to be involved in instruction rather than being removed from the classroom?
And by the way did I mention that the school's performance is recorded as "unacceptable" by state standards?
So now I am confused. How will the school show performance growth and improvements if the students are not there to learn?
With that said, only recently another behavior program was implemented to address disruptive behavior of special education students. This plan is called Intervention, Redirect, and Return (IRR). Staff members learned of this new program at a campus faculty meeting and was told it would become effective the next day for particular students. Staff members were explained the steps of the program and the special education persons who would be overseeing the program and the forms that would be required for teachers to fill out when the removal of the student was necessary.
The problem with this is here we go with another program to implement without knowing or documentating that the intervention plans already in place were not effective. Why do we always want to implement another program before we work the "kinks" out of the old? How do we know the plans did not work, we didn't use them? So what if the new program of IRR does not work, will staff members get another program to use?
It's a merry-go-round that just keeps going and going with no definite end in sight. When will the educational system understand that no reform can be effective if it is never tried, changed, tried, and changed yet again if necessary to be successful. Educators must stop the chain of trying one dismissing that one only to put another in its place once again.
It's no wonder teachers are confused and the students with an emotional disability are out of control-no one is sure what to use to help the students. Change is great at times, but changes without documentation is a diaster waiting to happen.
What's your opinion?
Ivyspecial (Janis)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Teacher Burnout or Retirement
Greetings
In most educational systems, teachers are expected to do more with less support and resources. Reports within education journals reveal that less numbers of persons are entering the field of education indicating that classrooms may soon have larger numbers of students per room. With NCLB, classroom must have highly qualified and certified staff in all classrooms. But are we asking professionals to do more with less pay and expect staff to remain in the system? Are we not creating teacher burnout and forcing the seasoned staff to consider retirement options?
Teacher organizations are reporting high numbers of memberships being initiated as professionals seek support and protection from all the constant expections of the classroom and administration. Teachers' performance appraisals now document student success. Teachers with high failure rates each six weeks are cautioned by administration to implement more support sessions to students to help their grades improve and never assign a report card grade that will have little possiblility of being brought up by the end of the term without numerous documented contacts with the parent or guardian.
When did the teachers become the sole responsible person for student success? How can teachers be held accountable when other elements that impact student success are apart of the problem also? When will the parents be held accountable for their child not achieving?
Are there any answers that can make the teaching situation less overwhelming for teachers or are we moving toward teacher burnout and retirement of our seasoned teachers?
Ivyspecial (Janis)
In most educational systems, teachers are expected to do more with less support and resources. Reports within education journals reveal that less numbers of persons are entering the field of education indicating that classrooms may soon have larger numbers of students per room. With NCLB, classroom must have highly qualified and certified staff in all classrooms. But are we asking professionals to do more with less pay and expect staff to remain in the system? Are we not creating teacher burnout and forcing the seasoned staff to consider retirement options?
Teacher organizations are reporting high numbers of memberships being initiated as professionals seek support and protection from all the constant expections of the classroom and administration. Teachers' performance appraisals now document student success. Teachers with high failure rates each six weeks are cautioned by administration to implement more support sessions to students to help their grades improve and never assign a report card grade that will have little possiblility of being brought up by the end of the term without numerous documented contacts with the parent or guardian.
When did the teachers become the sole responsible person for student success? How can teachers be held accountable when other elements that impact student success are apart of the problem also? When will the parents be held accountable for their child not achieving?
Are there any answers that can make the teaching situation less overwhelming for teachers or are we moving toward teacher burnout and retirement of our seasoned teachers?
Ivyspecial (Janis)
Monday, November 10, 2008
State mandated testing and Special Education Students
Greetings everyone,
Having been employed as an educator for more than 25 years, it is overwhelming to see how far education has come and how far we still have to go to see all students with abilities that will afford them the opportunities to be productive citizens once they graduate from high school.
Can we all recall long ago that students were not placed in separte learning places for instructions unless you were severely impaired at which time, you were in a location not attached to the main building. But for the most part, all students learned in the same classroom with the same books and one teacher.
Then came the time when students who had trouble learning were then removed to another location (special education) to gain instruction that was more suited for their level of functioning. But with this separte placement came separate instruction,resources, and expectations. Then it was noticed that these students were not progressing past the third or fourth grade in skills and many were graduating from high school with less skills to handle job placement.
Therefore to remediate this problem, Pres. Bush signed into law, No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Well what this NCLB has created was yet another problems to now expect that students who for most of their educational experience have been in seclusion with separate expections and curriculums to perform as their peers or be subject to failure. And this makes what kind of sense? This does not improve the educational experience of these students let alone increase the chances that they will graduate with their enrolled grade level peer group. Now schools are overrun with over aged students and teachers are faced with students who not only have learning problems but are now having problems with behavior. Therefore, who is learning? Who is benefiting from such a ruling? How can a student who is more than three years behind their enrolled grade level peers catch up and pass a grade level state exam? What kinds of programs are most beneficial to close such a gap in achievment and who pays the cost?
I am so confused!
Ivyspecial (Janis)
Having been employed as an educator for more than 25 years, it is overwhelming to see how far education has come and how far we still have to go to see all students with abilities that will afford them the opportunities to be productive citizens once they graduate from high school.
Can we all recall long ago that students were not placed in separte learning places for instructions unless you were severely impaired at which time, you were in a location not attached to the main building. But for the most part, all students learned in the same classroom with the same books and one teacher.
Then came the time when students who had trouble learning were then removed to another location (special education) to gain instruction that was more suited for their level of functioning. But with this separte placement came separate instruction,resources, and expectations. Then it was noticed that these students were not progressing past the third or fourth grade in skills and many were graduating from high school with less skills to handle job placement.
Therefore to remediate this problem, Pres. Bush signed into law, No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Well what this NCLB has created was yet another problems to now expect that students who for most of their educational experience have been in seclusion with separate expections and curriculums to perform as their peers or be subject to failure. And this makes what kind of sense? This does not improve the educational experience of these students let alone increase the chances that they will graduate with their enrolled grade level peer group. Now schools are overrun with over aged students and teachers are faced with students who not only have learning problems but are now having problems with behavior. Therefore, who is learning? Who is benefiting from such a ruling? How can a student who is more than three years behind their enrolled grade level peers catch up and pass a grade level state exam? What kinds of programs are most beneficial to close such a gap in achievment and who pays the cost?
I am so confused!
Ivyspecial (Janis)
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