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.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Interesting Article
Well, before I get into that, I just want to share something with you...
I'm doing an honors thesis (perhaps you know that honors students at the college have the opportunity and are encouraged to write a thesis during their senior year), and the research for this opportunity began this week. Dr. Hopkins of the math department is teaching the research methods course, which will lead us into defining our topics and doing copious amounts of research thereafter. I am doing an education related thesis and I have chosen Dr. Ayala as my advisor (I'm sure many in my class know how amazing she is).
For about five minutes this semester, I thought about going to interior design school after SPC. Decorating both living and commercial space has always been a passion, but something I never really thought of as a career path (mainly because it's so competitive! And if you can't start out on top, why bother?). So, I started thinking of ways to combine my passion for design and education so I could write a thesis about it and open up new doors for myself. I am going to write about environmental psychology and design in the classroom. I haven't found anything super useful on the internet (scary because this thesis has to be 50 pages, exciting because I feel like a pioneer!!). But my preliminary Google searches led me to "environmental psychology" http://www-personal.umich.edu/~rdeyoung/envtpsych.html. And now I am really excited to research and write this paper.
I plan on giving you guys updates as that process moves along...
(back to the "interesting article")
Another topic I love to research is autism. It is such a buzzword in the medical and educational worlds, and it fascinates me. I found this cool article about literacy development in autistic students. Take some time to read it now, and I'll post later in the week with my thoughts--leave comments!
http://www.paulakluth.com/articles/litdevautism.html
I'm doing an honors thesis (perhaps you know that honors students at the college have the opportunity and are encouraged to write a thesis during their senior year), and the research for this opportunity began this week. Dr. Hopkins of the math department is teaching the research methods course, which will lead us into defining our topics and doing copious amounts of research thereafter. I am doing an education related thesis and I have chosen Dr. Ayala as my advisor (I'm sure many in my class know how amazing she is).
For about five minutes this semester, I thought about going to interior design school after SPC. Decorating both living and commercial space has always been a passion, but something I never really thought of as a career path (mainly because it's so competitive! And if you can't start out on top, why bother?). So, I started thinking of ways to combine my passion for design and education so I could write a thesis about it and open up new doors for myself. I am going to write about environmental psychology and design in the classroom. I haven't found anything super useful on the internet (scary because this thesis has to be 50 pages, exciting because I feel like a pioneer!!). But my preliminary Google searches led me to "environmental psychology" http://www-personal.umich.edu/~rdeyoung/envtpsych.html. And now I am really excited to research and write this paper.
I plan on giving you guys updates as that process moves along...
(back to the "interesting article")
Another topic I love to research is autism. It is such a buzzword in the medical and educational worlds, and it fascinates me. I found this cool article about literacy development in autistic students. Take some time to read it now, and I'll post later in the week with my thoughts--leave comments!
http://www.paulakluth.com/articles/litdevautism.html
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL ONE OF 37 STUDENTS???
Today in my Principles and Techniques of Teaching class, we were discussing our high school experiences. When I said that I went to a small, all girls private school and graduated one of only 37 girls, faces dropped. I loved it. Out of that small group, I made six life long friends. We laugh about our high school days all the time.
Anyway, I was doing the first assignment for this class and one of the questions required me to explain my high school experience. I'll share my response with you:
I like to think that I did not have a typical high school experience. My school was very small, and the girls in my class were very close. There was very little “backstabbing” among us all. There was drama, but nothing they shook everyone up. As far as academics, they could have stepped up the curriculum a bit. For example, many of the teachers were they because they were tired of being housewives (and had a teaching degree wasting away). In turn, they did not challenge us the way they could and should have. The professors that attempted to challenge us were semi-retired geniuses who ended up curving the grades greatly because their students were in danger of failing. However, I had the opportunity to gain 15 college credits through a program with Seton Hall University-all of which were accepted by Saint Peter’s College. And, essentially, Lacordaire was a country club. My senior year, I had a number of free periods, which we were allowed to leave campus during. All of these frees were spent at Starbucks, where I gained back the 20 lbs. I had spent the summer before that year losing. I had an incredible group of friends which are still my friends today.
Does that sound like your high school days? I doubt it.
Anyway, I was doing the first assignment for this class and one of the questions required me to explain my high school experience. I'll share my response with you:
I like to think that I did not have a typical high school experience. My school was very small, and the girls in my class were very close. There was very little “backstabbing” among us all. There was drama, but nothing they shook everyone up. As far as academics, they could have stepped up the curriculum a bit. For example, many of the teachers were they because they were tired of being housewives (and had a teaching degree wasting away). In turn, they did not challenge us the way they could and should have. The professors that attempted to challenge us were semi-retired geniuses who ended up curving the grades greatly because their students were in danger of failing. However, I had the opportunity to gain 15 college credits through a program with Seton Hall University-all of which were accepted by Saint Peter’s College. And, essentially, Lacordaire was a country club. My senior year, I had a number of free periods, which we were allowed to leave campus during. All of these frees were spent at Starbucks, where I gained back the 20 lbs. I had spent the summer before that year losing. I had an incredible group of friends which are still my friends today.
Does that sound like your high school days? I doubt it.
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