Thread: roll call! -- Tell us about you!

Hi!

Originally Posted by Bananas

I teach Special Education. I have 4th through 8th grade students for Language. I teach Special Education. I have 4th through 8th grade students for Language.

Can you recommend a good first day activity for my 7th-8th students who have autism?

Originally Posted by Bananas

I will also be doing inclusion in 7th grade Science.

As a "Student Inclusion Suport Teacher" at my last placement at a middle school, I had the opportunity to partner with an 8th grade sciecne teacher. I found it amazing that the general ed 8th graders also liked the adaptations I set up for my included students. This was a good thing for my students who don't like to be singled out as "different."

Originally Posted by Bananas

We have lived in Nebraska for a number of years, but are now back in our home state of Illinois.

After a two-week trip to meet "long lost relatives," I discovered that my relatives from my mom's side all originated from Illinois, specifically from Dongola, Illinois dating as far back as the early 1800's.


I have a little Papillion named Sweetie; this is probably a positive example of a dog living up to her name [grin].

Becky

Hi Monica!

It's nice to address another person by name rather than username handle.

Originally Posted by mom2mikey

I'm Monica and I'm making a move in to special education after 14 years in "regular" education.

I have been reading your posts as you set up your new classroom, and printed them out for my own personal reference.

Originally Posted by mom2mikey

I'm a single mom (through adoption) to one spunky, funny, sometimes cracky, 7 year old Mikey. Mikey has Down syndrome and keeps me hopping.

What inspired you to adopt Mikey? Did you know he had Down's Syndrome upon adoption?

I had a cousin with Down's Syndrome. But she was placed in an institution because my aunt and uncle could no longer care for her. And they adopted therafter.

It's been my experience that despite the DS, these kids are smart and know what is going on around them. When you say Mikey keeps you hopping, I bet part of that has to do with his ability to wrap you around his little finger to get what he wants....typical of any 7 year old boy [grin].

Originally Posted by mom2mikey

I used to teach high school mathematics, science and computers.

My graduate degree is in online teaching and learning; I will be using computers an awful lot with my students who have autism (I was taught to never say my "autistic students.") Your students will be at an obvious advantage because you are very knowledgeable about math, science, and computer science. SO COOL!!!


Becky

Hi PLD!

Originally Posted by proudliberaldem

I spent the last 6 years teaching 6-8 grade and decided they were too old.

Why do you say this?

My rationale for teaching 7th-8th grade students with moderate-to-severe disabilities was based on my role as a new special ed teacher. Having spent most of my five student teaching placements in urban middle school environments, I felt that by these students already having an academic history and subsequent IEPs to draw from, it would relieve me from having to develop brand new IEPs for very young children. I felt that that was a good place for a more experienced teacher to be in.

On the other hand, districts were offering me predominantly K-3 classrooms. There was only one junior high school opening. And from what I understand, many other teachers also do not like working with this age group. It is like they are in transition between elementary school and puberty.

Becky

Hi Robin,

Originally Posted by robinsew

If so, can you steer me in the right direction as to study guides and materials I will need for this test? I am open to any advice, including any programs out there to help 53 year old college graduates that are victims of domestic abuse.
Thankyou in advance.

Having been brought up in an abusive environment x 2, it takes exceptional courage to to what you are doing.

I found these sites that might help you in your teacher certification efforts in Florida:


1. I would try the State of Florida's Department of Education first. I found this URL that lists certification requirements:

[url="http://www.fldoe.org/edcert/cert_types.asp"]http://www.fldoe.org/edcert/cert_types.asp[/url]


2. I found this site for the Florida Teacher Certification Examinations (FCTE) at URL:

[url="http://www.firn.edu/doe/sas/ftcehome.htm"]http://www.firn.edu/doe/sas/ftcehome.htm[/url]

You can download a test preparation guide, review exam dates, and register.


3. Also at the Florida DOE is a list of school districts. I would recommend visiting these districts online (there are links to the distric websites), review job postings, and then review subsequent certifcation requirements. Some districts might require different things. The URL is:

[url="http://www.firn.edu/doe/eias/flmove/supers.htm"]http://www.firn.edu/doe/eias/flmove/supers.htm[/url]


I hope this stuff helps. Good luck to you!

Becky

Hi Bananas,

My post is a bit long and 'gently' opinionated in some places. But you asked [grin].

Originally Posted by Bananas

(Teachersmittie Wrote: ".... got married on my lunch hour.") This little tidbit could use some more details for the enquiring mind! That is interesting!

In the 1980's, I was working as a Senior Train Commander in East Germany which was a high profile high stress job. My responsibilities included transporting German, American, and French citizens in and out of West Berlin through the East German corridor. At this time, Germany was divided as East and West Germany. Berlin was located in East Germany. I was stationed in West Berlin, which was an occupied territory. Thus, the East German and Russian governments erected the Berlin Wall.

In this context, my soon-to-be-husband was stationed in West Germany. In order to come and see me, he had to go through a huge paperwork and security process to drive through this corridor, including his drive had to be timed. If he drove any faster or slower, it was a "red light" that potential East Germans were trying to escape in such vehicles in such situations.

It was even harder for me to travel outside of East Germany. My job was 24/7. The only time I could get off was during a week day afternoon; I subsequently had to work that weekend doing train duty. So my husband was able to obtain a 3-day pass form his unit and drive in to meet me.

At lunch time, I raced over to a friend's house, changed into my J.C. Penney catalog dress, met Mike, and we continued to race to the City Hall (aka Berlin Rathaus) to get in line and get married. A day later, a co-worker of mine told me my boss had called to speak to me. She reminded him that I was getting married. He replied, "oh...that's right."

Since the Berlin Wall came down, my duty assignment and the train I worked on no longer exists. I have thought of donating my uniform to the Smithsonian Institute. If you really like history, you can refer to the Incident at Marienborn where east germans actually tried to escape by jumping onto our trains; and the moral and ethical dilemma the then Senior Train Commander had to contend with. I subsequently met this guy by sheer coincidence.

My greatest challenges were dealing with equipment and track damage due to political activists striking out against Americans.

That is my wedding story.

Originally Posted by Bananas

(Teachersmittie Wrote: ".... policy makers and administrators who confuse multi-culturalism with multi-ethnicism in education.") Would you please enlighten me about the difference between multi-culturalism and multi-ethnicism when you have some time? I am not familiar with the second term.

I became sensitive to this when some local schools made the decision that Christmas would no longer be celebrated for fear of offending other "cultural" holidays such as Kiwanzaa, Ramadan, Chinese New Year, and so many other holidays. I started buying holiday cards that said "Seasons Greetings" or "Happy Holidays" on them for fear that I might offend someone else who didn't celebrate this Christian holiday.

And my husband said "no!" We grew up in the USA; we grew up with 'Merry Christmas,' and we should not have to change our practices as such.

As I started my teacher training, I started to become more aware of this dilemma. The way I have defined it for myself is that the US CANNOT be all things to all people. Multiculturalism originated in Canada, believe it or not, from a political ideology that the U.S. later adopted in the 1960's. It was fueled by increased immigration and racial tension.

It's my belief that the USA is but one culture as a nation. And our one nation consists of many ethnicities. And it is these individual ethnicities that we should learn to understand and tolerate and appreciate regarding heritage.

I think in our schools, we should recognize our Nation as the basis for our culture. As a Geography Major in college, one of the main things we were taught was how the USA was founded to begin with: people immigrating here to either escape persecution or to expand markets. It is our democracy that has supported that.

The tricky part that I have yet to resolve in my head is, if it is democracy that defines our culture, then why not DO AWAY with celebrating Christmas in the schools? In this light, that means we would also have to do away with ALL Christian holidays (e.g., Christmas and Easter).

I believe that multiculuralism as it is practiced now from an educator's point of view undermines national unity. When I lived in Germany, I remember a German once told me that the U.S. has no tradition. I think our tradition is based on the metaphor of a "melting pot." But we all live in the same country together.


I would simply like to get back to basics of serving the children and their individual needs, and not to fulfill real or perceived political agendas. I would like to work with administrators who are very good at maintaining that balancing act...one that is not easy to do. Fortunately I have met one such administrator, and she has become a great role model and mentor to me. Our children are our future; let's not have the present force their futures for them.

Originally Posted by Bananas

Darn! I missed the part about the two books you have written. 8) Would you like to share what they are named and a bit about the content! Thanks!

The first book: Electronic Resumes and Online Networking, 1st and 2nd editions for Career Press in New Jersey.

The second bok: The Unofficial Guide to Getting a Job at Microsoft for McGraw-Hill in New York.

You can check them both on Amazon.com.


Becky

Originally Posted by teachersmittie

Hi!

Originally Posted by Bananas

I teach Special Education. I have 4th through 8th grade students for Language. I teach Special Education. I have 4th through 8th grade students for Language.

Can you recommend a good first day activity for my 7th-8th students who have autism?

Originally Posted by Bananas

I will also be doing inclusion in 7th grade Science.

As a "Student Inclusion Suport Teacher" at my last placement at a middle school, I had the opportunity to partner with an 8th grade sciecne teacher. I found it amazing that the general ed 8th graders also liked the adaptations I set up for my included students. This was a good thing for my students who don't like to be singled out as "different."

Originally Posted by Bananas

We have lived in Nebraska for a number of years, but are now back in our home state of Illinois.

After a two-week trip to meet "long lost relatives," I discovered that my relatives from my mom's side all originated from Illinois, specifically from Dongola, Illinois dating as far back as the early 1800's.


I have a little Papillion named Sweetie; this is probably a positive example of a dog living up to her name [grin].

Becky

I press the quote button now, wanting to do the quote within the quote coupled with doing it multiple times, but that is too complex for this tired soul this late at night. My friend and her two-year-old son watched part of a DVD with us, and her darling dynamo has tuckered me out. So I will address your questions at the end.

I have no idea what to specifically do on the opening day. I only had one 5th grade boy with severe autism in my room for one year with an aide, so she did continuation of the work from previous years at a different school. I had some ideas for drawing him in with what our group did, but he had his own separate curriculum which was dependent upon his tolerance for staying in the classroom the entire class.

The two things which come into my mind are to label some pertinent objects in the room by either words or pictures. An introduction to their physical space, and their personal area (desk, shelf, etc.) as appropriate. These could correspond to cards on a ring that go with them each day.

Likewise, going through the day introduces a new schedule for them. It is a time to introduce the cards to the ring so they can be exposed to their routine.

The other idea I love is to do fingerspelling with my kids to help them with their spelling words. I copied and pasted a hand showing the fingerspelling sign for each letter of the alphabet, and typed the corresponding letter under the hand. I then laminated each and attached magnets on the back. I put this across the top of my whiteboard. I teach a few letters each week, spelling out a simpler spelling word each child shares. I always say the letter while I show the hand sign, and repeat it several times. I give each of my students a chance to come up and sign the word as they say the letter aloud. This gives them a chance to hear to put with their hand movement. This really caught the attention of my guy, and he always signed H for my last name.

Not much for you go go on, but a few thoughts.

Science is not my strong suit, but I am looking forward to the year. The teacher is fantastic in what she comes up with the students to do, and she is a hard worker. Very easy to work with, so it should be a good year. She, as well as most of our other teachers, regularly provide an assortment of modifications as needed to a variety of students. It is great to be able to provide a safety net for those who fall between the cracks.

How sweet about Sweetie. Dogs often live up to their names. Bananas was a hyperactive dog and was 50 mph. How bananas is that? He was loved a bunch, though.

Now we have Zacchaeus, and he didn't climb a tree like the biblical little man, but he did climb the baby gate at 5 pounds. Then he mastered climbing the dog pen in the back yard. So we leashed him to keep him in the dog pen. Only he taught himself how to detach the spring-action leash from his collar so he could climb the dog pen to roam the neighborhood. We should have given him the middle name Houdini instead of Beethoven.

Hello everybody@

I'm chrissy and i'm from singapore. I'm 27 and i just recently became a teacher in a neighbourhood high school. I teach English and Elements of Office Administration.

The system is a little different in Singapore. To become a teacher, you need to apply to the National Institute of Education and depending on what you pursue (diploma, degree or post graduate diploma), you become bonded to the singapore government for period of 3-5 years. A teacher's first year is crucial because the school will grade and confirm you as a teacher.

How does it go for the rest of you around the world?

Cheers, Chrissy

Hi everyone -- here's what's going on in my life these days:

1. Walden University -- teaching online communications course in the MS in Nursing program AND the online grad writing course for the Walden Writing Center AND completing three online PD workshops (portfolio assessment, course design, teaching with groups).

2. Strayer University -- teaching two nights a week on campus (I had to buy "real" CLOTHES!!). One is beginning English and the other is research writing. Next semester I get to teach Business Communications (my favorite).

3. Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield MO -- teaching three sessions of the required Online Faculty Training Course (between Sept and Dec.) AND teaching an undergrad Sociology course.

4. Doctoral program -- will finish 5th or 6th (I can't remember) course at the end of October. After that I'm taking a short break from the doctorate because of the following............

5. I'm starting a a new grad certificate program in Criminology on Sept 4. Between Sept and Feb I will complete SIX grad courses in CJ. This is to get the 18 required grad hours to teach CJ in college. The cool thing is that I don't have to take all the required boring courses. I get to choose my six courses from the electives. I'm taking (in this order and some of these at the same time): Criminology, Security Management Ethics, Crisis and Hostage Negotiations, Criminal Profiling, Computer Crimes, and Deviant Behavior. I've already ordered all the textbooks -- the first came in yesterday and I'm in the middle of reading it already!! I love this stuff.

On the home front, everyone is doing well. Younger son (25) went back to school to get a degree in web design. Older son is starting a grad degree in exercise physiology. Daughter-in-law starts law school this fall. Hubby just shakes his head and rolls his eyes when we suggest he embark on a new education program LOL

What can I say - I have to keep up with the kids!!

Leslie
aka Lee
aka Sunnie
[depending on where you met me the first time and how long you've known me]

Thanks for the update. Someone has to keep the balls from falling as the juggling goes on!