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Upon reflection...things I want to remember.
It used to be hard for me to teach students whose thinking
and learning approaches differ from my own, mostly because I did not know how to teach differently, and because it was a bit
intimidating. But since taking this class it has become easier. I have been given skills and information that will help me teach better. And so I think that the first thing I must do is to acknowledge that there are students who learn differently
and that it is possible to teach them.
I need to be clear about what the teaching objectives
are and then build lessons and activities that accomplish those objectives, differentiating where needed. I think that it is very important to build relationships with students so that the teacher knows their
strengths and weaknesses, interests and abilities, so that the lessons and activities will be interesting and beneficial to
all students.
1. "Labeling them disables them." from the Four Corners Professional Workshop 2008.
2. Take a look at what is claiming the attention of the students and work that into your teaching to help the students
learn what you need to teach them. (Four Corners Professional Workshop 2008)
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An observation...
Ay is a student in Teacher's third grade class.
The school is located in a residential neighborhood not far from Main Street.
Ay must ride the bus to school because she lives on Crouch Mesa, several miles away.
The neighborhood that she lives in is different from the neighborhood in which she goes to school. Her neighborhood is made of dirt roads, barbed wire fences, few trees and mobile homes. The neighborhood in which she goes to school is made of brick homes, landscaped yards, and paved roads,
where many mothers either walk their children to school or drive them.
Ay loves to be outdoors with animals, especially
on her grandmother’s farm in Cuba, New Mexico. She gets to go there on
most weekends. She is comfortable living in her neighborhood because she has
friends to play with, and places to play outside. She has a lot of cousins and
enjoys being with them.
Ay’s classroom is at the very end of
the hallway. The walls of the hallway are covered in children’s school
work. The classroom is very neat and orderly, with one wall being all windows. There are 21 desks arranged in three groups and each group is a team. The teacher has two desks that she moves between, depending on what she is teaching and where she needs
to be to help the students. The
teacher likes order and quiet, except when they are to answer questions or participate. When she is given a choice of where
to read she chooses to lie under her desk.
As a teacher of Ay I would use her interest
in animals and her family relationships to help her make connections to ideas and concepts that are being taught. I need to remember that she doesn’t live in the same “typical” American neighborhood
that is usually portrayed in textbooks or even most story books, and so should seek out literature and examples that more
relate to her circumstances.
Ay has a beautiful smile and enjoys making contact
with other students, although she is not real social. She will help other students when asked to do, but doesn’t seem
to volunteer. I think it would be good to have her work with other students.
Ay needs help in reading. She is below grade level, but she checks out books from the library above her reading ability because they
are about horses. I would use that courage and determination to help her become
a better reader. One problem that needs to be addressed is that when she is reading
with other students, the other students are too quick to help her instead of giving her enough time to work on the problem,
this also happens in classroom discussions. She needs time to respond and so
I should teach all the students about being courteous and allowing each other time to perform the tasks asked of them.
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Reflection
“Tell your Story,” these are the
words that came at the end of my conversation with Martha Mason at The Arc, but I think are the most important words and so
I will begin with them. I went to The Arc because I had been referred to her
by Pruda Trujillo at Syllvan Learning Center. I wanted find out about community
resources available to teachers, students and community members that associate with people with disabilities. I was told that
Martha was the person to talk too. She answered all of my questions, but more
than that, she told me stories of people who had been helped, and stories of people who still need to learn.
The goal of The Arc is to improve the quality of
life for people with developmental disabilities and their families. One of the
ways that Martha is trying to accomplish that goal is to provide opportunities for the disabled to tell their stories, through
websites, scrapbooking classes, presentations and conferences. Like anything
unfamiliar or uncomfortable, when you hear the story surrounding it, it is easier to relate too. As she spoke about what goes on at the Arc and shared some stories, I thought also about all of the stories
I have heard this semester, and all of the stories that I have shared with others and I couldn’t agree with her more. Telling one’s own story is a way for getting to know a person’s needs,
problems, and strengths.
I was also reminded of a paper I wrote several
semesters ago about storytelling and the benefits of it. One benefit was that
telling stories helps us to interpret events beyond our immediate experience. I
have not had very many opportunities to work with people with developmental disabilities and so personal stories help give
me some insight and understanding that I might not get otherwise. I have thought
often of the stories told during our Families as Faculty project; they have been a help to me.
Another purpose of storytelling is to share experiences that contribute to social and cognitive development…to
feel joy for another’s happiness, or sadness at their misfortunes. When
I can feel emotionally what the other person is going through, I then connect with that person and am more willing to help
and support them.
I thought too, what a valuable tool this would be
in the classroom, to have the students tell their stories. It would be a great
way to build community in the classroom, as well as to help me as a teacher find out what I need to become a better teacher. I think that generally all people like to tell their stories, to be understood, what
a powerful tool. I am grateful for this opportunity.
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