1. Welcome
Hello. My name is Abbigale DeLand and I have a brother. His name is Hunter, he is thirteen, and he has Down Syndrome. He is my inspiration from that of which made me want to become a Special Education teacher. Ever since I was five years old I have been the big sister to Hunter. Some people ask if it's "hard" living with Hunter, but that's like me asking you if it's hard to live with two eyes.
When Hunter goes through difficult or even every day things it takes him more effort and concentration than what it would take someone who does not have a disability. That is what inspires me to want to work with those who have disabilities, I like to go the extra mile with them and show them that they can do it. What a better way to learn how to help those with disabilities than from a brother first hand, rather than from a textbook.
I think experience is key when going into this field, and with that being said I have been learning how to help those with special needs ever since I was young. Every special needs child learns in a different way just like another child, but it's that extra step that they need that I am willing to give. This is why I want to become a special education teacher.
I recorded a really nice video on audacity and no matter what I did it would not go over because my computer would freeze and say denied :( ..so I am sorry to say I do not have the video. But here are the words that are in my video.
"Ninth
grade was a very inspirational year for me. When I was in ninth grade I went
with my family to attend Hunter's first Special Olympics and I loved it! I love
what they do for the children there and of course I loved to help out my
brother and cheer him on. But a part of me wondered what it would be like to
help out other special needs children. So I decided to try going back the next
year as a volunteer and help out the other children as well. I absolutely loved
helping out. I loved it all so much that I went to the Special Olympics for the
next two years that I could go to in high school, and I plan on going to future
events in the years to come. Seeing Hunter and others with similar disabilities
being happy is what makes me happy. So what could be a better choice for me
other than special education? I plan to become a special education teacher by
attending college and getting experience in the field, by helping out at
various events to help the disabled. I believe you should do what you love and
from that you will always be happy. That is exactly what I want to do in life
and becoming a special education teacher is how I plan to achieve this goal. In
this I believe."
2. My Classroom
Brocton Central School in Brocton, New York is a relatively small school with about 500 students k-12. The school has a combined elementary school, middle school, and a high school. The special education class consists of twelve students, eight girls and four boys. Two of the girls have Down Syndrome the other six girls have severe Autism. Out of the four boys three have severe Autism and one has Down Syndrome. Their ages range from eight to eleven. The children will learn at a third grade level and will fluctuate up or down according to their needs.
This is my classroom floor plan. The bottom left corner is where the door is. In on the right is where the cubbies are. When the students walk in they can put their belongings in their cubbies which will have their names on the top. The red squares are the students desks, and the black circles are exercise balls that they will sit on (they are the ones that are flat on the bottom so that they won't roll around). They have ipads in their desk. The big red desk is the teachers desk, the black rectangles in the top left are shelves for the teachers books that they will use for class. The bottom left is a smart board for the students to interact. The reasoning behind the exercise balls is because it makes it much more functional. After I teach a lesson using the smart board they can slide their bums around and work on their desks right after the lesson. If I sit at my desk while I correct papers I can keep an eye on them incase they need help. The big yellow circle is the arts and crafts table, and there are two black rectangles which are shelves that hold all of the art supplies. The big pink rectangle is where the students will work with computers. The green circle with all of the little dots around it is an area rug with bean bag seats placed around it for the students reading time or when we have a break to play around. The black rectangle in the upper right corner is a toy chest for the students during play time. The blue star is a star shaped fish tank. The children will be able to feed the fish when they are good, instead of getting gold stars their reward will be to feed the fish, each student will have their own fish. Also in my room there will be microphone speakers for any deaf students. The students will have laptops too where they will record their daily activities and take them home to show their parents. This is where the teacher can make comments for the parents to comment back when neccessary. 
3. Assistive Technology
Joshua is almost legally blind. He requires special needs in the classroom, he uses a brail typewriter to do his class work. This supports the student by helping him get his class work finished while being independent at the same time.
4. Feedback
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/embeddedform?formkey=dHkyM2FJZXpmNHBUanVwTFZibFB1SFE6MQ
5. Annotated Bibliography
I didn't borrow any information from websites I used what I already knew in my head and what I learned in class to complete this project.
6. Self-Reflection
This class has really helped me realize that there can be a whole lot more to being a teacher than reading off information from a powerpoint. You CAN make learning fun and interesting, it doesn't have to be boring. In this class I have taken many risks. A few of the many risks for me are creating a blog account and a twitter acount and actually posting on them and letting my opinions be voiced on the internet. That was hard for me, because in the beginning I felt really uncomfortable with my personal beliefs and feelings becoming known. But with an unexpected twist I became comfortable with it.
I have gained so much without even realizing it. I have learned many sources to use as a teacher to help me make lessons and I have learned how to use a lot of the things that I will use in a classroom setting when I become a teacher someday. I have grown a lot in perspective of becoming a teacher because now I have ideas to plan and use in the future.
No comments:
Post a Comment