Utilizing Resources

One of my roommates is volunteering at a rehab center at one of the nearby hospitals.  She never discloses any names or information she shouldn't share about the patients but she often shares information about the patients she thinks that I may benefit from.  For example, the other day she came home and asked me if I've ever worked with a student who has Echolalia.  I had never worked with a student with this disorder nor have I ever heard the term echolalia before.  She began to explain to me that one of the therapists that she works with has a patient with this speech disorder where she repeats everything that she hears.  For example the therapist would ask Patient X, "Did you eat breakfast this morning." The patient would answer, "Did you eat breakfast this morning." The therapist would then answer, "Yes I ate breakfast." Then the young girl would also answer, "Yes I ate breakfast."  My roommate told me that this continued for the whole session.  She would repeat just about everything the therapist said. 

I found this so interesting that I had to research it.  It is actually a common speech disorder in people with Autism, Tourette syndrome, Alzheimers, schizophrenia, and Asperger syndrome.  I have witnessed my grandma with Alzheimers repeat everything that my aunt tells her to say but I have never seen such a disorder in a child.  The young girl is only 5 years old so she has plenty of time to either grow out of the syndrome or learn how to communicate properly with further practice. 

This has been the first year where I have found myself utilizing my peers more often as resources for new knowledge and different experiences.  My roommate is going into occupational therapy and works with many children with disabilities that I will probably see in my future classroom.  She asked the therapists that she works with if I could come in to observe and now I will be able to see children that could potentially be in my classroom outside of the classroom in a different setting.  This conversation between me and my roommate shows just how effective and important collaboration is in the teaching profession. 

My future in special education

This past Wednesday in TE we were discussing our placement for the year and a lot of discussion was surrounded around our CT's and their involvement in the classroom.   I was surprised to hear the lack of interest most of the teachers had with their students.  I'm not sure if they have been in the classroom for long period of time that they become immune to a situation that we thought was a big deal because we have never experienced it.  I'm sure that having your own classroom and 25-30 kids you are responsible for is a lot to take on but I hope that throughout my teaching career every situation my student's are going through whether they are big or small, I will treat with just as much attention as that student deserves. 

One of the girls in my class mentioned that throughout her schooling she was a girl that moved around a lot and was labeled as a high risk student.  Unfortunately the teachers were giving her the wrong attention.  She was was thought to be troubled so she was always questioned and patted down at her high school for drugs or weapons.  This scenario shows are schooling system is failing.  The teachers are not getting to know the students as individuals to find out their group of friends, how their home life is, what their interests are, etc.  If their teachers would have gotten to know this student they would have found out she had a stable home life with one of her family members, she was at the top of her class and had no drug problems.  She stated that she had one teacher throughout her twelve years of schooling that stood out from the rest.  This one teacher has motivated her to become a teacher herself because they impacted her life in such a positive way that she wants to do the same for her students.  I hope that whether I know it or not that I impact a student as much as this teacher did to one of my classmates. 

This past week I found myself helping both my CT and my mom with technology that I use daily that they are just now becoming familiar with.  My CT was beginning to use iTunes in the classroom (just for music) and was asking me how to get her music from her home computer onto her school computer.  This wasn't the first time that she asked me to use her through computer find what she was specifically looking for.  My mom also just started using skype and facebook to stay in contact with my sister who is in China.  My sister created both of these accounts for her but my mom now uses them actively.  She went from not having a lap top to being lost without her own.  The things that I find easy to use and a part of my everyday routine are new and difficult for these couple adults a part of older generations.  My CT, being only 12 years older than me, still isn't familiar with the technology that is out there and what it can bring to the classroom.  This makes me wonder if she just isn't out there looking for new technology to bring to the classroom or if it is an issue with the school not allowing/using technology.  

This semester has opened my eyes to the opportunity that I have at this age to experiment with different technologies and become familiar with the ones that I could find useful.  It is going to be my responsibility as a teacher to stay up to date with the new technologies and use them in the classroom.  I don't only want to become familiar with technologies that my students may need to better their learning but also what is popular and what my students are using on a day to day basis.  This could help hold the students interest and also give them opportunities to learn while using these technologies at home.  I have a professor that hardly uses the computer, we have to hand every paper in manually, and gives us all of our handouts for class in paper form rather than over the computer.  I don't find this class interesting and her way of teaching gives me the idea that a lot of her views are old fashioned and nothing that I will use in the classroom.  I don't want my students to feel this way about me in my future teaching career.