Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 5/17/13

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels: E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

MathisPower4U - Youtube videos: Math tutorials on arithmetic to calculus and beyond (L:G; SA: M)

The Art of Storytelling - “Experience a Story: Listen to stories, read and view pictures inspired by our collections created by visitors like you.;Tell a Story: Become a storyteller as you write and record a story inspired by works in the museum’s collection.; Picture a Story: Create your own work of art using objects and characters found in some of the museum’s most noteworthy paintings. Enjoy, and let your creativity flow through pictures and words!” (L:G; SA: A)

Video Notes - take notes while watching a video; put the url of the video in and watch on one side while taking notes on the other side. Then share your notes if you want to. (L:G; SA: A)

The Economics of Seinfeld - “Seinfeld ran for nine seasons on NBC and became famous as a “show about nothing.” Basically, the show allows viewers to follow the antics of Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer as they move through their daily lives, often encountering interesting people or dealing with special circumstances.It is the simplicity of Seinfeld that makes it so appropriate for use in economics courses. Using these clips (as well as clips from other television shows or movies) makes economic concepts come alive, making them more real for students. Ultimately, students will start seeing economics everywhere – in other TV shows, in popular music, and most importantly, in their own lives.” (L:M,H; SA: M, SS)

Popcorn Maker - “Popcorn Maker makes it easy to enhance, remix and share web video. Use your web browser to combine video and audio with content from the rest of the web — from text, links and maps to pictures and live feeds.” (L: T; SA: A )

Original Image: Tools by Pat Hensley

Drop Out Rates Can Be Deceiving

In Diplomas Elusive for Many Students With Learning Disabilities from On Special Education - Education Week, Christina Samuel shares,

For the 2010-2-11 year, “Nationwide, the dropout rate for SLDs was 19 percent. But 22 states had dropout rates higher than the national average; South Carolina, at 49 percent, had the highest dropout rate.”

I was not shocked to see that my state had a high percentage of drop outs but it may be because I know what they include in the drop out category. As in many statistics, numbers can tell just about anything but if you are comparing apples to oranges, the numbers are meaningless. Unless all of the states calculate drop outs with the same criteria, these numbers don’t show anything and makes South Carolina look worse than it is. I’m not saying that our dropout rate is bad, but I am saying that it may not be as bad as it is portrayed.

I know that I taught self contained students who earned an occupational diploma from my district. Since this diploma is not recognized by the state, it is actually listed as an attendance certificate. Also, because my students were not required to pass some kind of exit exam and didn’t receive a state diploma, they are classified as drop outs. They are considered drop outs even though they have completed twelve or more years of school!

I feel this label really does a disservice to my students. It is demeaning and really minimizes all the hard work they put into towards completing a public school education. Many of my students were very bright but learned differently than students in general education classes. In fact, I helped many earn a GED after they finished public school. Some of my students may have had behavior issues (which may have been worse because of the frustration with learning) and put into a self contained class because a general education teacher could not handle them. Some students were slower learners and rather than getting accommodations in a general education class, they were dumped in my class. Even if I found out after a year that they were wrongly placed, they would have had to repeat that year over in order to earn Carnegie units from a general education class and many were too discouraged then to try.

In order to get an occupational diploma, my students had to work in an unpaid internship in 11th grade and then get at least 360 continuous paid employment hours in their 12th grade year in order to graduate. This means they could not get fired or quit or they had to accumulate hours all over again. We didn’t just teach them how to get a job but how to keep one also.

When I would go out to their place of employment, many employers would tell me how conscientious my students were and that they were more dependable than some of their other employees. I think it is because my students realized they already had a strike against them (their disability) and had to work harder than anyone else so it couldn’t be used against them.

I had a student with autism who completely organized a doctor’s office medical records. He was steady and a hard worker and didn’t seem to get distracted from his goal. This office raved about him so much they offered him a permanent job after graduation. I had another student who started working as a bag boy with Publix and eventually earned promotions each year that when I saw him years after graduation, he is a department manager and has stock options in the company.

I could go on and on about different students’ successes but it amazes me that students like this are listed as drop outs. I wonder if we followed the ones who have graduated, how many of them have full time jobs? Do graduation rates really predict success rates? I’m not sure. It sure seems like most of my students who are considered “drop outs” are pretty successful after graduation.

I really think statistics can be deceiving if we aren’t comparing numbers that use the same criteria rather than just having the same label.

What do you think? Please share.

Image: 'boys and dropout rates'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7815007@N07/8640356813
Found on flickrcc.net

Square Pegs

In One size does not fit all…, Paul Bogush asks,

“What are you doing for the square pegs?  What do you see in their future when they walk into your class?”

I think we need to make sure that we pay close attention to these square pegs. According to Fortune 500 magazines, many of the rich, famous, or in leadership positions were the square pegs in the classroom. These are the ones that learned to survive in the real world by developing coping skills from their school days.

I was one of the kids that tried to fit in to the round hole. I believe now, looking back, that I was really a square peg but I learned to adapt so that I could fit into a round hole. No one made exceptions for me and I was so determined to succeed that I found my own way to make myself fit. I was very self motivated and determined but many of the students in my classes did not have the same characteristics.

My husband would have been that kind of student who never fit in and never knew how to make himself fit in. He was considered a lousy student and deemed a failure. Luckily he went into the navy where failure wasn’t an option and learned coping skills (out of pure survival I think) that helped him succeed. Years later he went on to college and even became a judge. I share this story with many parents so they can realize that it is important not to give up on students who don’t fit the mold. Many parents don’t ever give up but it is really hard for them to convince the professionals not to give up.

I also learned many things from my husband on how to help my students fit in. Then I began to talk to other adults who felt like square pegs when they were growing up and I asked them for tips on how to help my students. Sometimes I opened up this discussion with my students and it is interesting that many of them have some ideas of how they can fit in better but feel like no one is listening to them. Allowing the student to give input actually empowers them and makes them feel more confident.

I’d love to be able to give you a laundry list of things that worked for every student but every student is different. Sometimes I had to try different things and if they didn’t work, I had to try something different. This sometimes took a lot of patience for both of us, the student and myself. I prepared the student for this possibility before we tried something so that the student didn’t feel like a failure if something didn’t work.

To find strategies that work, I had to take the time to survey the student and try to determine what style of learning works best for that student and in which situation. Sometimes a student may have different learning styles depending on the task the student is being asked to complete.

I also need to learn as many different strategies as possible so that when I when I need to try a specific strategy, I will have an assortment of things to try. It is like a construction worker who must have the right tools on hand to complete a project. If you don’t have the right tools, the end product might not turn out the best that it could.

This whole process will also help the students when they leave my classroom. They need to learn how to advocate for themselves and look for strategies that will work for them. Instead of sitting passively waiting for someone to help them, they will be able to take an active role in their own learning.

How do you help the square pegs in your classroom? Please share.

Image: 'unemployment was high in lego land'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/73645804@N00/2472232245
Found on flickrcc.net

Things I Thought I’d Never Do

In Kaylie: Top Five Things I NEVER Thought I’d do as a Special Ed Teacher from Reality 101: CEC's blog for new teachers, Kaylie says,

“For all current teachers, please share what makes your lists of ‘Things I NEVER Thought I Would DO as a Special Ed Teacher’.”

As I began to think that I didn’t have anything to list, some things did pop into my head. Here are things from my list.

I never thought I would:

1. Dig 30 holes by hand with my students (3’ in diameter and 3’ deep) so the trees we ordered could be planted. I ended up in holes that I couldn’t get out of and students had to pull me out. The trees were so big, that a crane actually lifted them off the truck and placed them in the holes.

2. Start a worm compost system in my classroom.

3. Learn how to mat and frame pictures in order to teach my student a skill he wanted to learn.

4. Have a student go into labor in my classroom.

5. Take my class on a 8 mile hike with me to a waterfall at the state park.

6. Cry when a student gave me a dozen long stem red roses at graduation as his way of thanking em for teaching him to read(his parents say this was his own idea and bought with his own money).

7. Double date for the prom with my students.

8. Call 911 on one of my students who had perfect attendance in my class when I found out he was wanted by the police. It was a sad day for me. Later, when talking with him, I explained that I had to do the right thing and wouldn’t cover for my students.

9. Attend wedding showers, weddings, and baby showers for my former students.

10. Keep in touch with many of my students 20 years later.

What are some things you never thought you would do as a teacher? Please share!

Image: 'Rake & shovel'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28481088@N00/1932087056
Found on flickrcc.net

Florida Adventure May 2013

Tuesday, 5/7/13

We left home at 7am and it was good timing. Traffic was smooth the entire way. We stopped for breakfast on the north side of Atlanta because the traffic started to back up due to an accident. After breakfast at Steak-n-Shake, I drove us through the heavier traffic through Atlanta. We stopped in Montgomery, AL for lunch at Mrs. B’s Home Cooking and the food was delicious. If we go through there again, we will definitely stop here for lunch! It was $9 for an entrée, 2 sides, bread, and a drink. We arrived at Fort Pickens State Park around 3:30 (central time) and set up our campsite (C45) for $20 per night. We drove around the area and Pensacola Beach. Since we had to pay $1 to get over the bridge, we stayed on the island and decided on a Subway sandwich for dinner which we ate at our campsite. We walked over to the beach and watched the sun set. Our campground had Pensacola Bay on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other.

Wednesday 5/8/13

We had breakfast at the Coffee Cup Restaurant on E. Cervantes St. in Pensacola. In fact, we went here for breakfast every day because it is where the locals and cops ate plus the food was cheap and good. Then we spent the day at the National Naval Aviation Museum which was free and lots of fun. We took the trolley out to the flight line and saw 2 of the Blue Angels take off on a practice flight. Lunch at the Cubi Café was reasonably priced too. Later in the day we were there for the Blue Angels autograph session. We ate dinner before returning to the campground and walked the birding trail around the Marsh. We saw 2 snakes: a rattlesnake and a copperhead. On the way back to the campground we walked along the beach on the gulf side. The mosquitoes were really awful and they feasted on Don.

Thursday 5/9/13

I woke up with red bumps all over my feet and a few on my hands. We think I might have been bitten by sand fleas since I had been wearing my sandals and Don wore his tennis shoes. After breakfast, we went to Fort Barrancas and explored. About 2 hours later, the park ranger found us and let us know that she was locking up because the fort was actually not open to the public. She had been giving a tour to a school group which is why the gates were unlocked. After apologizing, we left and stopped at the Barrancas National Cemetery. Then we stopped at Walmart to pick up some supplies and had lunch at the Coffee Cup Restaurant. After lunch we went to Fort Pickens where the park ranger (the same one from that morning) was giving a tour so we joined her. Hooters was our place of choice for dinner. The 10 wings were $6.99 but the sodas were $3 each!

Friday 5/10/13

I woke up at 4am and the wind was picking up and it was cloudy enough that I couldn’t see any stars. After checking the weather online and noting that the fog was moving in, I woke Don up at 4:30 and we packed up the tent to head out. We were going to head to Manatee Springs State Park but the rain looked like it would hit there too so we headed for home.

We had a great time and would definitely come back here again!