MK's BLOGG

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

placement (special day) experience

JOURNAL PROMPT/BLOG #2——>At Placement Site

I really enjoyed my placement. Honestly in the beginning, I was really nervous about going into my placement classroom. This isn’t because I don’t like kids or because I know I was going to face some challenges, or because it was a new placement, but mainly because I am unfamiliar with students with disabilities. This was the first time that I was going to be in a special day class and I had no proper training or previous experiences on how to work with these individuals. I was afraid that I would do something wrong or offend someone. It all made me nervous and scared. My stomach was tight and I was on top of everything the first day.

On my first encounter, a little girl walked up to me (I’m guessing to give me a hug) but being paranoid, I stepped back, thinking she was trying to hit me because I didn’t look familiar. She just looked at me. I felt horrible. But I am thankful that now I can just go in and hug them.

From what I have learned in SPED 343 and my psychology class really help me understand and calmed me and the way I was able to work and be able to get to know them. By the fourth time I went into the classroom, I have already made some friends and it just all seemed like a general Ed class. I wasn’t nervous anymore. I really like the students. My placement teacher made it a fun experience and was very kind about letting me work with individuals in helping them. She was often busy with the class and hardly had time to talk to me and the aides but the structure of the class was well-constructed. The students are progressing. I’ve come to accept that these students are such hard workers and I can see myself working and being comfortable teaching and becoming their friends. Many of them only struggle with little things such as not being able to sit still, having a hard time, writing, having speech problems, or taking a bit longer to finish an assignment; just like we all do at some things. Working with disability students helped me to become more patient and loving. It just may be the thing for me!

hello…

time to get back on and start posting!!! fun fun fun!! hay tumblr!, it’s been a while!

SPED355 JOURNAL PROMPT 1- SPED placement

HOW I FEEL ABOUT MY PLACEMENT: NEG’s, POS’s, and IMPACTS

First Reflective Posting

Going into my placement has been one interesting experience. I really enjoy the teacher, getting to know many other aids, and best, getting to know the students, although I feel like it is all very challenging. I’ve been to my placement three times and each time I have gotten the chance to observe and also help out the students but I don’t think I have really impact them in any realistic way yet. I probably won’t because I may only serve 15 hours there overall. With that said though, I will try my best to go in as open minded as possible and I am hoping that I will be a positive influence to at least one of them. The purpose of my service is to really go in and help these students learn, help them believe in themselves, and encourage them to the best of their ability. But being with them will give me more experience in becoming a teacher and let me decide if it is a possible path that I may want to focus my teaching on.

I’ve never really had the chance to be around anyone who has a disability to the point where I can totally understand their difficulties. From what I have learn in my psych class about syndromes and specific misplace of loss in a chromosome that can lead to a disability or a malfunction child is just so disappointing, sad, and it frustrates me. What made mad were the babies who are born with FAS. And this is because it is a preventable syndrome and just from the mother drinking alcohol can cause the life of a child. So going with this just makes it a little hard to see what so little can do to these precious students. With very small background knowledge of disabilities, I think it will create a barrier for me to try to connect with these awesome kids. However, I think I am a pretty positive person and being around kids and teaching is what I want to do so I hope that I may be able to get that across somehow. I feel like it’s not always the best thing, but I am more focused on the child socially than I am with them educationally. So when I go in, my goal is to help them with their math and sentence writing but I also add in some jokes or a personal thing about my struggle. I like to see them laugh and also know that I care for them. I like to give hug (although I’m not sure if the state even allows that anymore) and just check up on them. My main goal before I finish my hours is to learn all their names and have them find/share a strength/talent that they have.

student teaching metaphors

http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/CC/0193mar2010/CC0193ReadComm.pdf

great article. good teacher’s insight. one day we may be the teacher and have our own assistants, we can reflect upon this. as beginners now let’s make our journey there the best and most enjoyable!

… ANYMORE HUGS??…(EDTE 255)

Does anyone else have any more hugs to offer? Today is officially my last day at my awesome placement and with my special pal. I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to be with this teacher and her student this semester at this time. I have learned so much as a person and preparing to become the teacher that I can’t wait to become. Not everything I learned was positive, I also learned more about my weaknesses going into the education field and I am so lucky to have found this now than later. Some days I just wonder what’s so hard about teaching, I can’t wait to be a student teacher and be on my way but then on other days, my placement just reminds me of how unprepared I am. Learning more about me and about the field itself was wonderful but one of my favorite things about having our placements is the luck of making connections and building relationships with the students and teachers.

I was really lucky because I had an awesome placement teacher and a great group of students in the classroom that I volunteered in. I not only was able to learn all their names but I was also able to work with every single one of them at least twice and they know me too!! I feel horrible because every time I walk in the class, the students would give me stares or say “hi Mai Kou” and I happen to always be walking in the middle of a lesson too, which makes it worse. They’re such happy kids and they’re just so full of life. They would absolutely brighten and better our society and future if we really get them to see school and life the way they do now. Seeing them makes me long for the day in which I get to spend eight hours, five days a week with my own set of students. Anyways, so I told a few students that this would be my last week and they thought I was just kidding, but then I wasn’t. So I brought them baked cookies that I made with all my heart, candies, and cards for them today and as I was leaving, I just had to let it out knowing that I will be placed at a different site next semester. How does a teacher do that? How can you say bye to a set of kids every year! UGH!!! I can’t and I don’t want to! I’m so selfish I know but it’s so hard because they’re my friends now. I know all that they like to do, I played hide and seek, soccer, basketball with them. I watched some of them cried before, laughed with them, did math, read with them, built atoms, ran, took a few to the nurse’s office, we did so much together.

Today I couldn’t concentrate in the class assignments today knowing that today I have to seal the cap. My special pal was so sad and I can’t help it. I know someone else will go back for him next semester. He has grown so much and I know he will be just awesome without me!What made it much harder was the teacher told the student that it was my last day and she had me sit at the front while the students all raised their hands to thank me for the little things that I do during my time there that they appreciated. It was so sweet to hear so much compliment, but most to hear some very shy student speak especially on the littlest things I do that I didn’t think anyone would notice or remember. :( . Kids are definitely my passion and teaching them is my goal.

I was given so much hugs and I gave away so many as well. I don’t even think I am allowed to, but I couldn’t help it I just feel like I had to. Room 29, I will miss you all! Hopefully time will permit for me to go back and visit, though it may not feel the same anymore. I hope I can go back and volunteer there again. May the best come to the students and my placement teacher! I hope everyone else in my cohort had a great and fun experience as well.

.Forever treasured.

~mky

the theme for our class this week is respect and just thought i should share a few piks here! :)

Hide and Go Seek (EDTE 255)

I’m dying down as I’m counting the last few days left of placement. It’s hard to try to pull yourself away from all these beautiful children and my awesome special pal. I’m actually sad about it. I just feel so belong there. Today was a great day. I feel like my feelings sort of took away from it though because i just keep think, “Mai Kou in a few more weeks and you’re gone, maybe never to see these students again.” ugh! It hurts.

Today at recess, instead of staying in,my special pal and six of his other friends, we decided to go out and enjoy the beautiful weather. I have been staying in for about two weeks now just helping the teacher correct and file paper, listen to stories, or work with students on math. Going out today helped brought some joy to my soul. We played hide and go seek for the whole recess. It was funny because we kept getting more and more people to play an it was hard to see who had already been seen and who is actually playing. I ran around the whole time with the kids giggling and being young. I really didn’t know if i am allow to do that. I don’t know what kind of example of influence that would be on the students. I just hope they took it well and think that “future teachers” can be fun and loves to be young as well. (sorry future teachers if they didn’t see it that way).

My special pal shared with me his new comic he has made today and we joked about his characters. He’s doing well with communicating a little bit more in class and talking to his classmates. I am very proud of him and i hope ill get to see him soon after break! :)