If anyone has a particular interest in learning about autism, please check the blog of Dr. Kristina Chew. I adore her. Chew teaches here at Saint Peter's College in the gone, but not forgotten- and currently reviving classics department. She has a ten year old son, Charlie who is autistic. Just this past Thursday, I babysat Charlie while Dr. Chew attended a function for the Honors program. He was well behaved, but there was no way I could take my eyes off of him for a second. I watched him for an hour and a half. In that time, I learned a lot about the disorder and got a quick sense of what parents of autistic children face on a daily basis.
http://www.autismvox.com/ is the website of the blog.
There is also additional information and another blog on Dr. Chew's main website:
www.kristinachew.com
http://autism.wordpress.com/category/education/ this link here names the postings on Dr. Chew's "Autismland" blog that deal with autism and education.
I am so totally into blogging now.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Probably one of the best things I have ever seen...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tIyt8oSLVs
I advise that you click on the above link immediately. Really. You don't even have to finish reading this post (I'll understand, trust me). It's not often that I watch something that changes a part of my existence or view of the world, but this absolutely did.
I don't want to ruin what you are about to watch, but the video got me thinking about what the last years of teaching are going to be like. I'm not saying that I'll retire from teaching (you never know where life will take you), but if I were to teach until I'm old and gray, I wonder what I will want to leave as my final message to my students. Teachers spend years perfecting lesson plans, thinking up strategies to effectively manage their classrooms, and deciding on which locales will make the best field trips. I'm not satisfied with that. In order to be a great teacher-a remembered and honored teacher-you have to leave a stamp on a student's heart. Powerpoints and lecture notes are important, but at the end of the end, it's about the way you taught them to live.
Watch the video.
I advise that you click on the above link immediately. Really. You don't even have to finish reading this post (I'll understand, trust me). It's not often that I watch something that changes a part of my existence or view of the world, but this absolutely did.
I don't want to ruin what you are about to watch, but the video got me thinking about what the last years of teaching are going to be like. I'm not saying that I'll retire from teaching (you never know where life will take you), but if I were to teach until I'm old and gray, I wonder what I will want to leave as my final message to my students. Teachers spend years perfecting lesson plans, thinking up strategies to effectively manage their classrooms, and deciding on which locales will make the best field trips. I'm not satisfied with that. In order to be a great teacher-a remembered and honored teacher-you have to leave a stamp on a student's heart. Powerpoints and lecture notes are important, but at the end of the end, it's about the way you taught them to live.
Watch the video.
Monday, February 11, 2008
WWW Gems
There are a large number of great resources on the net-fortunately more than enough to hover over the "crap" that often floods the internet. http://www.proedinc.com/ is an excellent example of a great educational resource. I came across this website while searching for journal articles for my thesis class. It is an international, online publishing company where professionals in the field can write for the various journals published by the website. Aside from the journals, http://www.proedinc.com/ publishes standardized tests and markets resources for special educators.
I'm a poor college student, so I'm not able to purchase the great tools from PRO-ED Inc. However, if I ever decide to become a special educator or school administrator, I wouldn't think twice about ordering tools through this company. Definitely poke around the site and see all that they have to offer.
Another gem is brought to us by the Discovery Channel's website. http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/
I'm very picky about the various lesson plan sites on the web. I know as a first year teacher especially, I'll need some help with lesson planning in a pinch. This site offers a number of lesson plans covering english, history, and scientific studies-and more! The plans are in depth, super interesting, and fun.
Tonight's homework: search the web. How much treasure can you dig up?
I'm a poor college student, so I'm not able to purchase the great tools from PRO-ED Inc. However, if I ever decide to become a special educator or school administrator, I wouldn't think twice about ordering tools through this company. Definitely poke around the site and see all that they have to offer.
Another gem is brought to us by the Discovery Channel's website. http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/
I'm very picky about the various lesson plan sites on the web. I know as a first year teacher especially, I'll need some help with lesson planning in a pinch. This site offers a number of lesson plans covering english, history, and scientific studies-and more! The plans are in depth, super interesting, and fun.
Tonight's homework: search the web. How much treasure can you dig up?
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
On a random sidenote...
Download Sara Bareilles's album, "Little Voice" because it's INCREDIBLE!
Here is my sound off on the autism article I posted previously...
I like the idea of treating students with autism as learners, as opposed to labeling them disadvantaged. Many of them can learn and they need to be encouraged and guided by their teachers. This may require the teacher to spend more time with the autistic learner. The article gives a number of ways for the teacher to organize her curriculum so that reading is the focal point. We all know how important literacy is, and there are creative ways to improve this among students such as oral reading and visual aides.
On the same token, I am a proponent of special needs students being within their own specialized program. Intergration works, but only if the student is mentally capable enough for it. My sister is Alyssa is a special needs students (not autistic), and she attends a special needs school in Chatham, NJ. She is not able to learn in a typical classroom, and we are fortunate that there are schools that can help her learn and development at her own pace. Even with special attention in a regular classroom-she could not learn.
I gave a presentation yesterday in my Honors Methods of Research class. I spoke about the teacher's responsibility to guide special needs students in the "typical" classroom. This is something all teachers should be willing to devote time to. Not every "special needs" student can attend a school like my sister does. It was decided through testing (IEP) that they are able to learn in a standard classroom setting, just with some adjustments and extra help.
Here is my sound off on the autism article I posted previously...
I like the idea of treating students with autism as learners, as opposed to labeling them disadvantaged. Many of them can learn and they need to be encouraged and guided by their teachers. This may require the teacher to spend more time with the autistic learner. The article gives a number of ways for the teacher to organize her curriculum so that reading is the focal point. We all know how important literacy is, and there are creative ways to improve this among students such as oral reading and visual aides.
On the same token, I am a proponent of special needs students being within their own specialized program. Intergration works, but only if the student is mentally capable enough for it. My sister is Alyssa is a special needs students (not autistic), and she attends a special needs school in Chatham, NJ. She is not able to learn in a typical classroom, and we are fortunate that there are schools that can help her learn and development at her own pace. Even with special attention in a regular classroom-she could not learn.
I gave a presentation yesterday in my Honors Methods of Research class. I spoke about the teacher's responsibility to guide special needs students in the "typical" classroom. This is something all teachers should be willing to devote time to. Not every "special needs" student can attend a school like my sister does. It was decided through testing (IEP) that they are able to learn in a standard classroom setting, just with some adjustments and extra help.
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