Dec. 2-6, 2013
This week, I spent the entire time observing Steve and Nancy in South Pinellas County. I also got the opportunity to observe Steve's wife (Diana, TVI) work with a few students on one of the mornings that both O&M Specialists were unavailable. I am really glad this internship was designed this way (to experience other professionals at the very end), b/c it allowed me to go from running full speed to slowing down to quiet reflection before a complete stop. I still had some challenges, but it was so good.
It is crazy to think that out of this entire internship, the only bus travel I experienced was one. However, the attempt at observing a bus travel was probably about 6 times. Awhile back, I remember Bryan arranging for a HS student to perform bus travel 3-4 times and around the 4th time (no lie!), it actually worked out. We had one bus blow right past a student and one that came so early (beyond schedule) that we were 10 minutes early, but 10 minutes too late. The other times were just poor scheduling and configuring on our part. And now, this week (with Steve), we were preparing for bus travel with a student, we arrived to his school, prepared to pick him up and perform the lesson, and it was a no-show. My conclusion to all this bus business: come prepared and be prepared to experience flexibility!
I think out of all the students we saw between the 2 O&M Specialists this week, Bryan sees about that many students in one day! I experienced the most relaxed and laid back schedules I dreamed of. Did I prefer these schedules over Bryan's? I don't know. I think I kind of like being busy and going. However, I didn't seem to have as many aches and pains. That's for sure.
I really appreciated getting to know the different styles of teaching that both Steve and Nancy bring to the table. I can relate with each of their styles. In fact, now that I have sat under the teaching of all three, I am convinced that Bryan put me through some serious boot camp! It is so crazy to think about how all of this began, how I went into it not knowing anything outside of what is in those textbooks to experiencing the full gamut pure sweat and ache, yet reward and life-enhancement.
I appreciated Nancy taking me around the many different schools and introducing me to so many TVIs, paraprofessionals, and more. I loved watching how she connected with the students and how she had such a mother's heart for them. I can relate to that. I appreciated Nancy's honesty and challenge to do what it takes to be a good teacher. I look forward to including her as a sounding board for future references and situations. The one thing that I appreciate her telling me (that was not very easy to hear at the time) was that she feels like I think I have to have it all figured out before I begin this journey when in fact, none of us really have it "figured" out. This idea just gives me another reason to take a chill pill and to soothe that perfectionistic nature of mine.
I appreciated Steve's laid back nature, his many years of experience, and strength, yet gentleness when teaching. It was so crazy how he could go from one aggressive student at an ESE school (carrying himself like a large rock and being firm with the student so as to not encourage behavior) to an elementary student, requiring gentleness and patience. Sometimes I think those traits require more strength than actual gross motor skills and large fibrous muscles. I appreciated Steve's advice on pertaining to honesty in the school system and what is specifically written in the handbook and code of ethics. He challenged my thinking in certain ways and shared stories that inspired me.
The very last day of this week was such a blessing and it was the perfect transition from a hard-earned work-filled week to a closing chapter of the entirety of this internship. Of all the schools, meeting, students, and people we attended, we only served one student (Nathan) in the community. This student is completely blind and autistic. He challenges me to the core, but it was so great to see Nancy (unafraid) of touching, teaching, and sacrificing herself for this student. And, there I was - at that McDonald's table, with Nathan and Nancy in front of me while I ate the vanilla cone she bought for me (in celebration of this conclusive work). Observing Nathan's autistic outbursts and jitters helped me feel fearful again (like I once did at the start of working with Andrew and Dino). But, I saw Nancy - instructing that student with a mother's love in her heart and no flinch of fear. Regardless of what I was feeling in that moment, I realize that I was once there - at the plank of fear, but I know what it is to move past that.
And, now I know that when those emotions come...I know that those emotions will soon come to pass and as soon as my inexperience becomes experience...I will be more prepared than when I started - just as is with this.
THE END.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013
Week 15
Nov. 18-22, 2013
At the start of the week, I observed Steve Hinkley for the first time at Nina Harris (an ESE school in my area). I asked Bryan if I could observe him on this day, b/c I am highly interested in this population of kids and for some reason, I kept thinking this was my last week of interning. After Bryan and I reviewed the master calendar for the internship, we realized my last week of interning would be after the first week of Dec. Yay! I get a full week of observing Steve and Nancy after the Thanksgiving break!
I observed Steve work with 4/5 students that day. 1 student was absent. It was so good for me to see his teaching approach and teaching styles with the kids. His students reminded me so much of our students at Paul B. I kept referring to them as a mix between "this student" and "that student". I really appreciated Steve's strength, ability to encourage the students toward the develoment of determination, and his creativity. With this one student, he had her walk to his office (independently), find the frisbee on his desk, walk out to an open field, and throw it back and forth to each other. It was fun for all of us and such a good lesson for me to observe the student's contrast vision, fine and gross motor skills, peripheral vision, central and peripheral vision, and more. One of the things I also learned about this experience was that Bryan sure has a much harder and much more interesting caseload at Paul B. Stephens. I found out after observing Steve's students that Bryan has some of the hardest students (Dino, Sarah, and Andrew) that even Steve has ever dealt with and this was encouraging for me, b/c I was blossoming with these specific students.
This week, we had another QPVI meeting, which they mentioned might be ending after the next one in Dec. I learned so much at this meeting about professional conduct, character, paperwork requirement for TVIs, and desires for management over the vision program of Pinellas. At this meeting, I was able to introduce myself to the teacher I will be working with in May for my TVI internship and Beverly Bennett (Lighthouse of Pinellas representative). Beverly gave a speech on the transition program provided at the Lighthouse and educated us on what they offer for students who qualify for that position. I was shocked to see Beverly, b/c I was planning on going to see her personally right after the meeting to ask her about a position I am interested in at the Lighthouse. I was able to introduce myself to her and ask her more about the position. The position is working with babies and the requirement would be to be TVI and O&M certified with an ability to get training in 2 early intervention Visas. She told me there was a gentleman flying all the way from CA to interview, but if that did not work out and the position was still available in May, she would consider me.
Another O&M Specialist, Nancy Montcalm asked Bryan if I could assist her with her American Teach-In lesson at her daughter's school (Anona Elementary) on Thurs. This was so neat and I'm so glad she asked me to do this with her. Nancy has been teaching a little longer (22 yrs) than Bryan. She arranged such a neat lesson for the class. It was also interesting to observe her teaching style in comparison to Bryan's and Steve's, b/c she is a woman. I was most impressed by her speech and her little activity for the kids to learn braille. She had me pass out 6 skittles to each student and she had an activity for the whole class to place each skittle on a braille cell (ditto). Then, she instructed everyone to move the skittles around to certain dots, to eat ones on certain dots, and she told them how each of these different arrangements made different letters. By the end of the lesson, I have never seen so many 4th graders so excited about braille! After this, she arranged 11 different stations in the room for the students to experience. She had Perkins braillers, braille books, maps, touch-and-feel bags, canes (which I instructed and prompted students to use outside the classroom), magnifiers, telescopes, talking and graphing calculators, and more! I hope I get the privilege of doing something like this in the future for a gen ed school.
After her presentation, I observed Nancy work with a high school student (blind and autistic), which was good for me to see (especially since I will be working at a HS resource room from Jan-May for my TVI internship).
When Nancy and I met Bryan at the mall for a community lesson with Jon and Alex, it was interesting how our lessons took a different twist and turn. This happened when we were walking in the mall toward the ice skating rink and skylight and found a helicopter in the dead center of its perimeters. The helicopter was advertising flying lessons/tours and the assistant allowed the students to get in the helicopter and feel all its parts. That was the coolest thing ever! What are the chances? That's when Bryan and Nancy told me about the importance of going with the flow and not getting upset when the lesson doesn't come out as planned.
At the start of the week, I observed Steve Hinkley for the first time at Nina Harris (an ESE school in my area). I asked Bryan if I could observe him on this day, b/c I am highly interested in this population of kids and for some reason, I kept thinking this was my last week of interning. After Bryan and I reviewed the master calendar for the internship, we realized my last week of interning would be after the first week of Dec. Yay! I get a full week of observing Steve and Nancy after the Thanksgiving break!
I observed Steve work with 4/5 students that day. 1 student was absent. It was so good for me to see his teaching approach and teaching styles with the kids. His students reminded me so much of our students at Paul B. I kept referring to them as a mix between "this student" and "that student". I really appreciated Steve's strength, ability to encourage the students toward the develoment of determination, and his creativity. With this one student, he had her walk to his office (independently), find the frisbee on his desk, walk out to an open field, and throw it back and forth to each other. It was fun for all of us and such a good lesson for me to observe the student's contrast vision, fine and gross motor skills, peripheral vision, central and peripheral vision, and more. One of the things I also learned about this experience was that Bryan sure has a much harder and much more interesting caseload at Paul B. Stephens. I found out after observing Steve's students that Bryan has some of the hardest students (Dino, Sarah, and Andrew) that even Steve has ever dealt with and this was encouraging for me, b/c I was blossoming with these specific students.
This week, we had another QPVI meeting, which they mentioned might be ending after the next one in Dec. I learned so much at this meeting about professional conduct, character, paperwork requirement for TVIs, and desires for management over the vision program of Pinellas. At this meeting, I was able to introduce myself to the teacher I will be working with in May for my TVI internship and Beverly Bennett (Lighthouse of Pinellas representative). Beverly gave a speech on the transition program provided at the Lighthouse and educated us on what they offer for students who qualify for that position. I was shocked to see Beverly, b/c I was planning on going to see her personally right after the meeting to ask her about a position I am interested in at the Lighthouse. I was able to introduce myself to her and ask her more about the position. The position is working with babies and the requirement would be to be TVI and O&M certified with an ability to get training in 2 early intervention Visas. She told me there was a gentleman flying all the way from CA to interview, but if that did not work out and the position was still available in May, she would consider me.
Another O&M Specialist, Nancy Montcalm asked Bryan if I could assist her with her American Teach-In lesson at her daughter's school (Anona Elementary) on Thurs. This was so neat and I'm so glad she asked me to do this with her. Nancy has been teaching a little longer (22 yrs) than Bryan. She arranged such a neat lesson for the class. It was also interesting to observe her teaching style in comparison to Bryan's and Steve's, b/c she is a woman. I was most impressed by her speech and her little activity for the kids to learn braille. She had me pass out 6 skittles to each student and she had an activity for the whole class to place each skittle on a braille cell (ditto). Then, she instructed everyone to move the skittles around to certain dots, to eat ones on certain dots, and she told them how each of these different arrangements made different letters. By the end of the lesson, I have never seen so many 4th graders so excited about braille! After this, she arranged 11 different stations in the room for the students to experience. She had Perkins braillers, braille books, maps, touch-and-feel bags, canes (which I instructed and prompted students to use outside the classroom), magnifiers, telescopes, talking and graphing calculators, and more! I hope I get the privilege of doing something like this in the future for a gen ed school.
After her presentation, I observed Nancy work with a high school student (blind and autistic), which was good for me to see (especially since I will be working at a HS resource room from Jan-May for my TVI internship).
When Nancy and I met Bryan at the mall for a community lesson with Jon and Alex, it was interesting how our lessons took a different twist and turn. This happened when we were walking in the mall toward the ice skating rink and skylight and found a helicopter in the dead center of its perimeters. The helicopter was advertising flying lessons/tours and the assistant allowed the students to get in the helicopter and feel all its parts. That was the coolest thing ever! What are the chances? That's when Bryan and Nancy told me about the importance of going with the flow and not getting upset when the lesson doesn't come out as planned.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Week 14
Nov. 11-15, 2013
On Monday, one of our wheelchair-bound students' parents joined us on our lesson to see the progress their daughter has made. It was pretty awesome. They invested in this extremely expensive wheelchair and the company is currently loaning them this headrest device and that is what we were impressing them with (how well she has adjusted to the use of the headrest and certain positions of her head to make it move). She is able to move forward, turn left and right with purpose and it is just the coolest thing to watch (especially since when we first started working with her, she could barely put her head back to move forward at all).
I also got some big success in working with a deafblind student on Bryan's caseload. This student has CHARGE syndrome and sometimes she acts out for no apparent reason. On this particular day, we took a walk outside (freezing) and she started to react by stomping her feet and groaning and whaling her arms. Immediately, I motioned for her to enter the building and we headed to the library. I just wanted to try something new. So, I had her put on some headphones and listen to a story. I was amazed to find her loving the story as she listened. She started clapping, smiling, making pleasant groans, and stomping her feet in a happy way. That was very rewarding for me.
I am definitely getting close to 100% independence with these kids. I've experienced so much and I can imagine it would even be so much more if this lasted through the whole school year. There is really so much to write about and it's hard to choose which experiences to focus on.
I'm learning how to work with a student who recently broke his finger. This kid is wheelchair-bound and he uses his hands to wheel himself in the chair. This is good experience for me, b/c I'm learning to work through exactly what to do. I feel so limited with this situation and I've had great success where he loves to work (cafeteria with all the sensory things going on and Sandra, who he LOVES). He does not have much success anywhere else, but it is also a challenge, b/c the time I have him is when it is lunch time so it is hard to have the lesson in the back of the kitchen at lunch time.
It was neat to challenge Lucas with something I hadn't challenged him with before - reversing the route. I had him do his usual route from class to playground, but this time I told him to reverse the route. At first, he was so confused and ready to go into the door that we normally go in from the playground, but I continued to stand by the gate of the playground and call his name. After he started heading my way, I told him what we were doing and he didn't seem opposed to it (which I thought he would be - b/c of his limitations). I have seen such a big progress in his abilities since we first started working with him. Or, is it b/c I'm paying more attention to the kids now than when I first met them?
This week, I'm learning how to work through a student's behavior in working with me. Our "honeymoon phase" has quickly ended and now all he wants to do when he hears me coming is attack me (with his nails or with his cane). The first time he did it (threw the cane at me several times), I just kept giving it back to him and encouraging him to work through it. The second time he threw it at me, I left it in the classroom and shortened his walking time and just took him out to the sensory playground. It really is such a tough decision, b/c either way we are rewarding bad behavior.
I saved the best for last, b/c that is when it happened this particular week. I was walking Daniel down the hall after working with him (walking with his walker from class to playground and back to class). About 10 ft away from his class, all of a sudden, his pants start to fall down (out of nowhere) along with his diaper. He started to moan and I started to panic and push him faster. Finally, we made it to the class (where there was help for this kind of thing inside). Hoping to find just an assistant there, it was a full class. The first person I saw was the assistant. I was so relieved and I asked him for help, but then I looked over and saw the rest of the class and other teachers. I could not help myself and out of embarrassment and humor, I could not stop laughing for the life of me. I really couldn't tell anyone at the time why I was so awestruck on what to do in that moment, but later as I reflected upon it, I guess I was just afraid of getting in trouble for touching this kid and being the one to blame for pulling his pants down. I don't remember learning about this in any of my classes before. Then again, I only had 1 multiple disabilities class! So, in the classroom - the assistants taught me what to do should that kind of thing happen again - to simply pull up the diaper and pants back up again.
On Monday, one of our wheelchair-bound students' parents joined us on our lesson to see the progress their daughter has made. It was pretty awesome. They invested in this extremely expensive wheelchair and the company is currently loaning them this headrest device and that is what we were impressing them with (how well she has adjusted to the use of the headrest and certain positions of her head to make it move). She is able to move forward, turn left and right with purpose and it is just the coolest thing to watch (especially since when we first started working with her, she could barely put her head back to move forward at all).
I also got some big success in working with a deafblind student on Bryan's caseload. This student has CHARGE syndrome and sometimes she acts out for no apparent reason. On this particular day, we took a walk outside (freezing) and she started to react by stomping her feet and groaning and whaling her arms. Immediately, I motioned for her to enter the building and we headed to the library. I just wanted to try something new. So, I had her put on some headphones and listen to a story. I was amazed to find her loving the story as she listened. She started clapping, smiling, making pleasant groans, and stomping her feet in a happy way. That was very rewarding for me.
I am definitely getting close to 100% independence with these kids. I've experienced so much and I can imagine it would even be so much more if this lasted through the whole school year. There is really so much to write about and it's hard to choose which experiences to focus on.
I'm learning how to work with a student who recently broke his finger. This kid is wheelchair-bound and he uses his hands to wheel himself in the chair. This is good experience for me, b/c I'm learning to work through exactly what to do. I feel so limited with this situation and I've had great success where he loves to work (cafeteria with all the sensory things going on and Sandra, who he LOVES). He does not have much success anywhere else, but it is also a challenge, b/c the time I have him is when it is lunch time so it is hard to have the lesson in the back of the kitchen at lunch time.
It was neat to challenge Lucas with something I hadn't challenged him with before - reversing the route. I had him do his usual route from class to playground, but this time I told him to reverse the route. At first, he was so confused and ready to go into the door that we normally go in from the playground, but I continued to stand by the gate of the playground and call his name. After he started heading my way, I told him what we were doing and he didn't seem opposed to it (which I thought he would be - b/c of his limitations). I have seen such a big progress in his abilities since we first started working with him. Or, is it b/c I'm paying more attention to the kids now than when I first met them?
This week, I'm learning how to work through a student's behavior in working with me. Our "honeymoon phase" has quickly ended and now all he wants to do when he hears me coming is attack me (with his nails or with his cane). The first time he did it (threw the cane at me several times), I just kept giving it back to him and encouraging him to work through it. The second time he threw it at me, I left it in the classroom and shortened his walking time and just took him out to the sensory playground. It really is such a tough decision, b/c either way we are rewarding bad behavior.
I saved the best for last, b/c that is when it happened this particular week. I was walking Daniel down the hall after working with him (walking with his walker from class to playground and back to class). About 10 ft away from his class, all of a sudden, his pants start to fall down (out of nowhere) along with his diaper. He started to moan and I started to panic and push him faster. Finally, we made it to the class (where there was help for this kind of thing inside). Hoping to find just an assistant there, it was a full class. The first person I saw was the assistant. I was so relieved and I asked him for help, but then I looked over and saw the rest of the class and other teachers. I could not help myself and out of embarrassment and humor, I could not stop laughing for the life of me. I really couldn't tell anyone at the time why I was so awestruck on what to do in that moment, but later as I reflected upon it, I guess I was just afraid of getting in trouble for touching this kid and being the one to blame for pulling his pants down. I don't remember learning about this in any of my classes before. Then again, I only had 1 multiple disabilities class! So, in the classroom - the assistants taught me what to do should that kind of thing happen again - to simply pull up the diaper and pants back up again.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Week 13
Nov. 4-8, 2013
I love being creative with these kids! This week, my creativity spilled out onto Austin. To incorporate something new, I had him experience the twisty slide and climbing a ladder (on the playground). It was so cool and he loved it. However, perhaps it is not the safest bet to have the students climb a ladder that high up. I loved introducing the twisty slide to Dino and watching his expression of learning about it as he went down. I appreciate his willingness to trust me to take him to new places on the school grounds. I loved how Daniel appeared he thought he was going to die when he went down the twisty slide as well, but he had the biggest smile on his face on the way back to class. What an adventure! I also loved introducing the swing to Austin and showing him how to find the middle of the swing and where to sit down independently.
I also learned about some assistive technology device (DynaVox) used a homebound wheelchair student. I attended a meeting with Bryan and some other professionals about the device. It was really interesting.
Some new things Bryan is teaching me are incorporating the use of the wheelchair with Andrew. Bryan worked independently with Andrew on this lesson while I assisted and Andrew was not too happy about this new task. He bit his own arm up so bad like I had never seen before. All he accomplished for this lesson was 2 purposeful movements on one wheel toward a projected sound source (located at a slight down slope). If I thought the playground was impossible to begin with, oh brother!
Some students who are knocking my socks off with progress are Morgan (incorporating left, right, and forward motions with controls of the head on the headrest of wheelchair), Alysia (traveling up to 200-300 ft independently with pre-cane), Carsyn (traveling up to 100 ft independently with pre-cane), Sarah (pace of walking up and over curbs is phenomenal).
One of the biggest surprises this week was working with a student who just broke his finger. This is a wheelchair-bound student. I am glad I had this experience, b/c had it been me - the O&M Specialist (without Bryan), I would have mothered the poor kid and opted to not push the lesson. Instead, Bryan brushed it off as no big deal and motioned for me to take him anyway. I know Bryan is in his head laughing at me, but I can't help carrying around with me a mother's heart. :) Due to this broken finger, Jacob's progress has ceased quite a bit. I wonder how long it will take his finger to heal.
By the end of the week, these kids were just about done with me. Carsyn hit his head on a pole after aimlessly wailing for no good reason, Andrew just about bit me and was done with me by the end of our lesson together Thurs, Dino threw his cane at me 4 times and attempted to scratch me after I tried to get him under control, and Daniel peed all over the floor in the front office after stopping by to say hello to the lady at the front desk. Call for laughs another day, but in these moments, I was disturbingly learning.
I'm glad the week ended with an amazing community lesson in the mall with 4 students and 3 teachers. Nancy joined us to help out with the lesson. Grace, Ella, Jon, and Alex all experienced the movie theatre, its size, D-Box display, arcade, concession stand, some free icecream samples, and concierge desk. By far, this was the coolest lesson I've seen thus far. It was probably a classic lesson I would have written about in one of my classes prior to working with these real-life students. Now, I was experiencing it for real and firsthand.
I love being creative with these kids! This week, my creativity spilled out onto Austin. To incorporate something new, I had him experience the twisty slide and climbing a ladder (on the playground). It was so cool and he loved it. However, perhaps it is not the safest bet to have the students climb a ladder that high up. I loved introducing the twisty slide to Dino and watching his expression of learning about it as he went down. I appreciate his willingness to trust me to take him to new places on the school grounds. I loved how Daniel appeared he thought he was going to die when he went down the twisty slide as well, but he had the biggest smile on his face on the way back to class. What an adventure! I also loved introducing the swing to Austin and showing him how to find the middle of the swing and where to sit down independently.
I also learned about some assistive technology device (DynaVox) used a homebound wheelchair student. I attended a meeting with Bryan and some other professionals about the device. It was really interesting.
Some new things Bryan is teaching me are incorporating the use of the wheelchair with Andrew. Bryan worked independently with Andrew on this lesson while I assisted and Andrew was not too happy about this new task. He bit his own arm up so bad like I had never seen before. All he accomplished for this lesson was 2 purposeful movements on one wheel toward a projected sound source (located at a slight down slope). If I thought the playground was impossible to begin with, oh brother!
Some students who are knocking my socks off with progress are Morgan (incorporating left, right, and forward motions with controls of the head on the headrest of wheelchair), Alysia (traveling up to 200-300 ft independently with pre-cane), Carsyn (traveling up to 100 ft independently with pre-cane), Sarah (pace of walking up and over curbs is phenomenal).
One of the biggest surprises this week was working with a student who just broke his finger. This is a wheelchair-bound student. I am glad I had this experience, b/c had it been me - the O&M Specialist (without Bryan), I would have mothered the poor kid and opted to not push the lesson. Instead, Bryan brushed it off as no big deal and motioned for me to take him anyway. I know Bryan is in his head laughing at me, but I can't help carrying around with me a mother's heart. :) Due to this broken finger, Jacob's progress has ceased quite a bit. I wonder how long it will take his finger to heal.
By the end of the week, these kids were just about done with me. Carsyn hit his head on a pole after aimlessly wailing for no good reason, Andrew just about bit me and was done with me by the end of our lesson together Thurs, Dino threw his cane at me 4 times and attempted to scratch me after I tried to get him under control, and Daniel peed all over the floor in the front office after stopping by to say hello to the lady at the front desk. Call for laughs another day, but in these moments, I was disturbingly learning.
I'm glad the week ended with an amazing community lesson in the mall with 4 students and 3 teachers. Nancy joined us to help out with the lesson. Grace, Ella, Jon, and Alex all experienced the movie theatre, its size, D-Box display, arcade, concession stand, some free icecream samples, and concierge desk. By far, this was the coolest lesson I've seen thus far. It was probably a classic lesson I would have written about in one of my classes prior to working with these real-life students. Now, I was experiencing it for real and firsthand.
Week 12
Oct. 28- Nov. 1, 2013
This was an interesting week, b/c I started getting sick and literally making myself get up and go to work everyday. I wanted so bad to stay in bed, but DayQuil was my best friend. By Thurs, I was toast, but that's when Mickey was coming so I had to pull myself together and I missed so much work last week.
This week, Bryan gave me increasingly more independence with each student and I felt he was more confident in leaving me with them. Some of the experiences I appreciated trying on my own were when I let Sarah keep walking past the duck pond when she missed that right turn (again!). We were always correcting her at this turn, I just wanted to see if she would notice she missed that turn. I think she got suspicious at the round-about, but I'm not entirely sure. The next lesson to the duck pond did not reflect she understood this is where she is supposed to turn. I am brainstorming how I could get her to remember this.
I loved the independence of taking Morgan up the pedestrian walk as I thought this was good therapy for her weak muscles. The top of the pedestrian walk is a good reward for her -looking out over the cars pass by. I loved the independence of working more with Andrew. This week, I learned a new way to connect with him (instead of him associating me with work all of the time). When I rubbed his back and encouraged him verbally, he seemed to go from biting his arm to smiling and appearing calm. I loved the independence of introducing Jana to the sensory playground and the rides out there. This was her first time on the teeter totter and spinner. Although she needs more practice strengthening her muscles to use these things, she still got to experience them, which was cool.
Some things that puzzled me this week were working with Alex and him getting emotional in the middle of our lesson. He seemed so out of it and almost like he was sleeping in the middle of our lesson. When I asked him if he was okay, he brushed me off and said he did not want to talk about it. This was a hard experience for me to swallow, b/c I was not sure what that was all about. Bryan told me it was just a brain reaction he occasionally presents.
This was an interesting week, b/c I started getting sick and literally making myself get up and go to work everyday. I wanted so bad to stay in bed, but DayQuil was my best friend. By Thurs, I was toast, but that's when Mickey was coming so I had to pull myself together and I missed so much work last week.
This week, Bryan gave me increasingly more independence with each student and I felt he was more confident in leaving me with them. Some of the experiences I appreciated trying on my own were when I let Sarah keep walking past the duck pond when she missed that right turn (again!). We were always correcting her at this turn, I just wanted to see if she would notice she missed that turn. I think she got suspicious at the round-about, but I'm not entirely sure. The next lesson to the duck pond did not reflect she understood this is where she is supposed to turn. I am brainstorming how I could get her to remember this.
I loved the independence of taking Morgan up the pedestrian walk as I thought this was good therapy for her weak muscles. The top of the pedestrian walk is a good reward for her -looking out over the cars pass by. I loved the independence of working more with Andrew. This week, I learned a new way to connect with him (instead of him associating me with work all of the time). When I rubbed his back and encouraged him verbally, he seemed to go from biting his arm to smiling and appearing calm. I loved the independence of introducing Jana to the sensory playground and the rides out there. This was her first time on the teeter totter and spinner. Although she needs more practice strengthening her muscles to use these things, she still got to experience them, which was cool.
Some things that puzzled me this week were working with Alex and him getting emotional in the middle of our lesson. He seemed so out of it and almost like he was sleeping in the middle of our lesson. When I asked him if he was okay, he brushed me off and said he did not want to talk about it. This was a hard experience for me to swallow, b/c I was not sure what that was all about. Bryan told me it was just a brain reaction he occasionally presents.
Week 11
Oct. 21-25, 2013
At the start of the week, Cindy Campbell came out to observe me for the last and final time of her requirements. This was a really good experience for me as she observed me working with one of my favorite blind students at Paul B. His name is Austin. I had him go from the cafeteria, out the back patio, along a long sidewalk parallel to a parking lot, onto the playground, up some stairs, down a slide, and back to class. He always has such a great attitude. I love working with him. When Cindy and I had our final meeting in Bryan's office before she left, that gave me the opportunity to reflect upon my performance and progress thus far. I was most encouraged by how the strengths she asked me to claim were actually what my weaknesses were in our last meeting. The strengths I mentioned were confidence.
At the start of the week, my daughter's immunity started to go downhill. I was not in school much as I had to monitor her fevers (which lasted 5 days) and take her to the doctor. On Wed, there was an iPad training for the vision department in our area. I attended that in the beginning, but had to leave to take her to the doctor. On Fri, it was Teacher Work Day (which I was unable to attend). Bryan told me he got caught up on all the documents required for the field (screenings, evaluations, applications for Cane Quest, mileage, etc.). I was able to review some of these documents afterwards.
At the start of the week, Cindy Campbell came out to observe me for the last and final time of her requirements. This was a really good experience for me as she observed me working with one of my favorite blind students at Paul B. His name is Austin. I had him go from the cafeteria, out the back patio, along a long sidewalk parallel to a parking lot, onto the playground, up some stairs, down a slide, and back to class. He always has such a great attitude. I love working with him. When Cindy and I had our final meeting in Bryan's office before she left, that gave me the opportunity to reflect upon my performance and progress thus far. I was most encouraged by how the strengths she asked me to claim were actually what my weaknesses were in our last meeting. The strengths I mentioned were confidence.
At the start of the week, my daughter's immunity started to go downhill. I was not in school much as I had to monitor her fevers (which lasted 5 days) and take her to the doctor. On Wed, there was an iPad training for the vision department in our area. I attended that in the beginning, but had to leave to take her to the doctor. On Fri, it was Teacher Work Day (which I was unable to attend). Bryan told me he got caught up on all the documents required for the field (screenings, evaluations, applications for Cane Quest, mileage, etc.). I was able to review some of these documents afterwards.
Week 10
Oct. 14-18, 2013
This week, I started to do more of the coursework required for the position. By the end of the week, I was writing reports on all the students seen and sending it to Bryan so he could record it in his notes. I'm also learning about how Mary Anne (supervisor) takes and uses the information we input. Bryan explained to me the graphing system that is used for this and how they chart student performance based on these graphs. However, it is such a complex dynamic (O&M) and there are so many facets to the profession. I wonder how this could be possible.
I'm definitely getting a lot more independence with the students. Bryan is still accompanying me from a distance and sometimes he is working with the students, but I am beginning to feel the independence that comes with this job. I'm always amazed at the students' progress. For instance, Alysia (a student who used to kick and scream and wail on end) was introduced to the pre-cane and by the end of this week, she is cooperating and walking with it up to 15 feet with prompts on her back. Even though there is progress here, I still wonder how the pre-cane actually helps. It seems unstable and I wish there were more support built into it for students like her. I guess I have to wait this thing out and see how it pans.
Some other things to gauge my progress up to this point can be reflected on my lessons with students named Andrew and Dino. This week, Bryan let me transfer Andrew from his wheelchair to the playground rails of the ramp independently, but he still had to remind me to stop and wait for him to explore. I have a tendency to think, "work" often and this reminder was good for me. I'm glad he told me that, b/c after I waited for Andrew to explore, he went from sucking a pole to wrapping himself around something entirely different (which made him happy). On the way back to class, Andrew was smiling. I couldn't believe it! By the end of the week, I worked with Andrew independently without Bryan's provision and I had him go from his wheelchair all the way up a ramp, up stairs, down a slide, and walking back to class in his gait trainer. This was huge!
When I worked with Dino this week, I worked independently with him. I'm pretty sure Bryan left me alone with him entirely. I found some music on my iPhone and played it for him while we practiced touch technique with the cane from his class to the cafeteria. I used to be so afraid of this kid, b/c I've heard so many rumors about how he tackles people and now I am working with him independently. Whoop!
I'm also getting more practice with a gait belt support for Jana (one of our blind students at Paul B.). If she does not have this on, Cate Waller showed me how to use her shirt for support.
I'm learning the importance of not touching students so much and using verbal instruction primarily (especially for this kid, named Jon). I worked with him in the mall independently and we were definitely not getting along, b/c of this issue. He wanted to go his own way and I kept wanting to correct him with physical prompts (b/c he would not listen)!
By the end of the week, I was really working independently with almost every student, but leaning a lot on Bryan's feedback and support.
This week, I started to do more of the coursework required for the position. By the end of the week, I was writing reports on all the students seen and sending it to Bryan so he could record it in his notes. I'm also learning about how Mary Anne (supervisor) takes and uses the information we input. Bryan explained to me the graphing system that is used for this and how they chart student performance based on these graphs. However, it is such a complex dynamic (O&M) and there are so many facets to the profession. I wonder how this could be possible.
I'm definitely getting a lot more independence with the students. Bryan is still accompanying me from a distance and sometimes he is working with the students, but I am beginning to feel the independence that comes with this job. I'm always amazed at the students' progress. For instance, Alysia (a student who used to kick and scream and wail on end) was introduced to the pre-cane and by the end of this week, she is cooperating and walking with it up to 15 feet with prompts on her back. Even though there is progress here, I still wonder how the pre-cane actually helps. It seems unstable and I wish there were more support built into it for students like her. I guess I have to wait this thing out and see how it pans.
Some other things to gauge my progress up to this point can be reflected on my lessons with students named Andrew and Dino. This week, Bryan let me transfer Andrew from his wheelchair to the playground rails of the ramp independently, but he still had to remind me to stop and wait for him to explore. I have a tendency to think, "work" often and this reminder was good for me. I'm glad he told me that, b/c after I waited for Andrew to explore, he went from sucking a pole to wrapping himself around something entirely different (which made him happy). On the way back to class, Andrew was smiling. I couldn't believe it! By the end of the week, I worked with Andrew independently without Bryan's provision and I had him go from his wheelchair all the way up a ramp, up stairs, down a slide, and walking back to class in his gait trainer. This was huge!
When I worked with Dino this week, I worked independently with him. I'm pretty sure Bryan left me alone with him entirely. I found some music on my iPhone and played it for him while we practiced touch technique with the cane from his class to the cafeteria. I used to be so afraid of this kid, b/c I've heard so many rumors about how he tackles people and now I am working with him independently. Whoop!
I'm also getting more practice with a gait belt support for Jana (one of our blind students at Paul B.). If she does not have this on, Cate Waller showed me how to use her shirt for support.
I'm learning the importance of not touching students so much and using verbal instruction primarily (especially for this kid, named Jon). I worked with him in the mall independently and we were definitely not getting along, b/c of this issue. He wanted to go his own way and I kept wanting to correct him with physical prompts (b/c he would not listen)!
By the end of the week, I was really working independently with almost every student, but leaning a lot on Bryan's feedback and support.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Week 9
Oct. 7-11, 2013
This week, I'm learning more specifically about how to record student progress at the end of the day or student's lesson. It's good, because I'm also able to think more about what I'm doing when I'm teaching the kids and especially to think about what I'm going to do before I even begin a lesson. I also appreciated the teacher's feedback on what I recorded.
We also are in the process of evaluating a student at an elementary school in which we gave him his first official cane. He is just the littlest thing and using that cane so well already. Bryan says he is a natural and he foresees him learning the routes around the school in no time. How exciting to watch this curious kid develop great skills!
I'm learning how to just get over my fears and work through the challenge of possibly being bit, attacked, or slobbered on. I've been telling myself to just jump in and do it, because now is the time to get the practice. And, it's been working! :) I worked more with Andrew and Dino this week - 2 boys I swore I would not be handling at the beginning of the internship. With Andrew, I had almost complete independence working with him and he took completely everything out of me. I helped him trail a rail (15-20ft) that led to some shaky poles and helped him walk all the way back to class with his walker. This was really hard physically because he fought the entire way up the rail except for the walk back to class (which he loves - circle time!). With Dino, I think I'm finally finding a good rhythm for him that works for both of us. He loves music and so I had Stevie Wonder playing while he was practicing his touch and trail techniques with arc trainer support.
I also got to observe Bryan teach a new assistant how to work with one of the students. This was really cool, because I am so used to being the student. It was nice to take a step back and watch him teach someone else.
I also got to observe some really cool community lessons in downtown Dunedin - amazingly beautiful area of town. This was the very first time I've ever worked with audible signals at lighted intersections. Yes, can you believe it? This was actually my favorite lesson thus far. I learned so much and got to see the student perform so many obstacles under the blindfold in such a short amount of time. It was neat that Bryan took the time to teach the terms: parallel park and jay-walking at this time.
Another student I used to be fearful of working with was a deafblind student, named Sarah. Bryan has been backing off more and more and encouraging me to work with her more independently. At first, I did not appreciate that, but now I do. :) We are starting to make a connection and build a necessary relationship. Today, when I was working on some homework for this deafblind class I'm taking, I got ideas of new lessons I could incorporate with her and I got pretty excited about it. Thanks, Bryan! :)
This week, I'm learning more specifically about how to record student progress at the end of the day or student's lesson. It's good, because I'm also able to think more about what I'm doing when I'm teaching the kids and especially to think about what I'm going to do before I even begin a lesson. I also appreciated the teacher's feedback on what I recorded.
We also are in the process of evaluating a student at an elementary school in which we gave him his first official cane. He is just the littlest thing and using that cane so well already. Bryan says he is a natural and he foresees him learning the routes around the school in no time. How exciting to watch this curious kid develop great skills!
I'm learning how to just get over my fears and work through the challenge of possibly being bit, attacked, or slobbered on. I've been telling myself to just jump in and do it, because now is the time to get the practice. And, it's been working! :) I worked more with Andrew and Dino this week - 2 boys I swore I would not be handling at the beginning of the internship. With Andrew, I had almost complete independence working with him and he took completely everything out of me. I helped him trail a rail (15-20ft) that led to some shaky poles and helped him walk all the way back to class with his walker. This was really hard physically because he fought the entire way up the rail except for the walk back to class (which he loves - circle time!). With Dino, I think I'm finally finding a good rhythm for him that works for both of us. He loves music and so I had Stevie Wonder playing while he was practicing his touch and trail techniques with arc trainer support.
I also got to observe Bryan teach a new assistant how to work with one of the students. This was really cool, because I am so used to being the student. It was nice to take a step back and watch him teach someone else.
I also got to observe some really cool community lessons in downtown Dunedin - amazingly beautiful area of town. This was the very first time I've ever worked with audible signals at lighted intersections. Yes, can you believe it? This was actually my favorite lesson thus far. I learned so much and got to see the student perform so many obstacles under the blindfold in such a short amount of time. It was neat that Bryan took the time to teach the terms: parallel park and jay-walking at this time.
Another student I used to be fearful of working with was a deafblind student, named Sarah. Bryan has been backing off more and more and encouraging me to work with her more independently. At first, I did not appreciate that, but now I do. :) We are starting to make a connection and build a necessary relationship. Today, when I was working on some homework for this deafblind class I'm taking, I got ideas of new lessons I could incorporate with her and I got pretty excited about it. Thanks, Bryan! :)
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Week 8
Sept. 30 - Oct. 4, 2013
We had 2 IEP meetings this week, 3 screenings, and I'm getting so much more independence with these kids. I'm also learning so much more than I thought I would at the beginning. The progress of these kids are really knocking my socks off (even from the time we first started working with them).
I'm learning a lot about patience in the sense that when students progress, it doesn't necessarily mean they are apt to continue progressing at the rate they first had. In fact, they may just regress (like this student - Alex). I'm learning to bite my tongue a lot (when I'm giving him instruction) to provide him with the room he needs to figure it out on his own (even if he gets lost or is taking a lot time - to me, to figure it out).
I'm learning about the importance of teaching orientation skills versus mobility skills and when to apply one or the other. For instance, there is this one student who we have been working with to improve muscle tone and simple and practical use and development of his gross motor skills. After a lot of whining, Bryan realized he should alter his lessons to incorporate things that were more rewarding for him instead of seemingly work all of the time. Now, we are teaching the student how to use the wheelchair more efficiently and experience the world that way. It is going so well. I can tell the student is really enjoying the places I've been bringing him to.
I'm learning that it is not so scary to be slobbered on and possibly bit (which I did not, just saying). If there was any student I was completely afraid of, it was this one kid named Andrew. A lightbulb went off in my head the other day when I realized I should just dive in and do it instead of wait for the courage to drop from the sky and into my lap. I'm proud to say Bryan has allowed me to work almost independently with him and it has been fabulous (a workout for sure, but fabulous). For instance, I wheeled him out to sensory playground and helped him wrap himself on the spinner, then towards his walker, walking all the way back to class (with physical and verbal prompting from behind his walker). This is one of the students I am considerably impressed by his abilities since school started.
I'm learning about how important it is to push the students even farther than I think they can be pushed. For instance, on this particular day we were working with Andrew, we had done so much with him and he was hot and sweaty and our time with him was running short. I recommended to Bryan for Andrew to be put in his wheelchair and we could wheel him back to class. Bryan motioned for his walker (just to see how far he could make it back to class). It turned out Andrew made it all the way from that point back to his class (walking by himself in the walker with physical prompt on the back of the walker). I could not believe it! And just think, he would have not had the opportunity to do that had it not have been Bryan advocating for his abilities.
I'm learning how to be sensitive to students' emotions and reactions to lessons and alter lesson plans accordingly. For instance, when working with Grace she has often demonstrated fear of isolation consistently. So, Bryan changed the objective of his lessons to incorporate more exploration and experience of her environments. I'm so glad he did this and that I got to see him problem solve this situation.
I'm learning to be sensitive to certain students who are tactile defensive. This one student gets so upset with me when I correct him and touch him at the same time. He starts to give me an attitude and I really need to draw strict boundaries with him on this so my lessons with him are more effective. It is hard, because he is so little and he reminds me of my son. :)
I'm learning how to write objectives and record data after student lessons in my sleep. I've been using Bryan's special assistive technological device for this so I know how to do when I am a teacher.
On one of our community lessons, a high school student taught me how to use voice over on my phone and I also got to observe her take an imaginary bus to CVS, find the store (by herself), go inside, and purchase a drink. Watching her problem solve during this time was interesting.
For one of the screenings, we got to meet a student who receives vision services in her home. We spent an hour and a half screening the student there and talking with the student's mom. All that and Bryan motioned that he did not think his services would benefit the student based on the specific circumstances and home environment.
Did I mention I'm learning a lot? :)
We had 2 IEP meetings this week, 3 screenings, and I'm getting so much more independence with these kids. I'm also learning so much more than I thought I would at the beginning. The progress of these kids are really knocking my socks off (even from the time we first started working with them).
I'm learning a lot about patience in the sense that when students progress, it doesn't necessarily mean they are apt to continue progressing at the rate they first had. In fact, they may just regress (like this student - Alex). I'm learning to bite my tongue a lot (when I'm giving him instruction) to provide him with the room he needs to figure it out on his own (even if he gets lost or is taking a lot time - to me, to figure it out).
I'm learning about the importance of teaching orientation skills versus mobility skills and when to apply one or the other. For instance, there is this one student who we have been working with to improve muscle tone and simple and practical use and development of his gross motor skills. After a lot of whining, Bryan realized he should alter his lessons to incorporate things that were more rewarding for him instead of seemingly work all of the time. Now, we are teaching the student how to use the wheelchair more efficiently and experience the world that way. It is going so well. I can tell the student is really enjoying the places I've been bringing him to.
I'm learning that it is not so scary to be slobbered on and possibly bit (which I did not, just saying). If there was any student I was completely afraid of, it was this one kid named Andrew. A lightbulb went off in my head the other day when I realized I should just dive in and do it instead of wait for the courage to drop from the sky and into my lap. I'm proud to say Bryan has allowed me to work almost independently with him and it has been fabulous (a workout for sure, but fabulous). For instance, I wheeled him out to sensory playground and helped him wrap himself on the spinner, then towards his walker, walking all the way back to class (with physical and verbal prompting from behind his walker). This is one of the students I am considerably impressed by his abilities since school started.
I'm learning about how important it is to push the students even farther than I think they can be pushed. For instance, on this particular day we were working with Andrew, we had done so much with him and he was hot and sweaty and our time with him was running short. I recommended to Bryan for Andrew to be put in his wheelchair and we could wheel him back to class. Bryan motioned for his walker (just to see how far he could make it back to class). It turned out Andrew made it all the way from that point back to his class (walking by himself in the walker with physical prompt on the back of the walker). I could not believe it! And just think, he would have not had the opportunity to do that had it not have been Bryan advocating for his abilities.
I'm learning how to be sensitive to students' emotions and reactions to lessons and alter lesson plans accordingly. For instance, when working with Grace she has often demonstrated fear of isolation consistently. So, Bryan changed the objective of his lessons to incorporate more exploration and experience of her environments. I'm so glad he did this and that I got to see him problem solve this situation.
I'm learning to be sensitive to certain students who are tactile defensive. This one student gets so upset with me when I correct him and touch him at the same time. He starts to give me an attitude and I really need to draw strict boundaries with him on this so my lessons with him are more effective. It is hard, because he is so little and he reminds me of my son. :)
I'm learning how to write objectives and record data after student lessons in my sleep. I've been using Bryan's special assistive technological device for this so I know how to do when I am a teacher.
On one of our community lessons, a high school student taught me how to use voice over on my phone and I also got to observe her take an imaginary bus to CVS, find the store (by herself), go inside, and purchase a drink. Watching her problem solve during this time was interesting.
For one of the screenings, we got to meet a student who receives vision services in her home. We spent an hour and a half screening the student there and talking with the student's mom. All that and Bryan motioned that he did not think his services would benefit the student based on the specific circumstances and home environment.
Did I mention I'm learning a lot? :)
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Week 7 (cont'd...)
Sept. 23-27, 2013
This week, we accomplished 2 screenings and attended
another IEP meeting. I also had my first observation from one of the supervising
teachers. It was a productive week as I am also taking on more students
independently and really enjoying it.
On one of the screenings for a student, I started to
learn how creative you have to be to accomplish this thing. These are the objectives I noticed Bryan got from the student while he screened him: (1) who the student was and
where he came from, (2) if the student had mobility training in the past, (3) if
the student uses peripheral/central vision, (4) what the student sees exactly
when he is looking out at a view, (5) if the student knows anything about his
visual impairment, (6) if the student has issues with night vision, (7)
observing the student’s depth perception, (8) student’s ability to go up and
down stairs, (9) if the student knows where certain rooms or buildings are in
the school, (10) the student’s ability to read words from signs from certain
distances, (11) if the student uses or used a telescope, and (12) if the
student uses glasses and if he does, how often he relies upon the glasses to see. This screening took place over 3 different sessions.
The observation by one of the supervising teachers went
very well. For this, I worked with Michelle, high school student with RP (retinitis pigmentosa). I had her blindfolded at a drop-off location in a residential area. When she came out of the car, I had her put the blindfold on, gave her directions (verbally) of a block route (u-route) travel from the current location to a coffee shop. Then, she was required to locate the store, go inside, make a purchase, and find a table. I was really impressed with her ability to do all of this with only one verbal prompt, because I afforded her about 6 prompts at most on the pre-written lesson plans. She ended up crossing a few intersections (stop signs) and one lighted intersection. When we made it to the coffee shop, I met her at the table she found and that is when she took off her blindfold and we were able to chat about her progress. Afterwards, I had her describe how she would reverse the route and then, she reapplied the blindfold and did just that with again, just one verbal prompt. I was proud of myself for biting my tongue the time she got lost in some bushes and had to find her way back out and onto the sidewalk and also when she could not make out when to cross the lighted intersection until after about 3 traffic cycles.
I am beginning to feel more and more confident about this position. Yay! :)
Monday, September 30, 2013
Week 7
Sept. 23-27, 2013
A couple of weeks ago, we started incorporating a transition student (Erica) to be the cheerleader for this student (Morgan) of ours. Erica is able to walk independently with a walker, but uses a wheelchair to get around at school. Morgan is unable to walk independently and uses a motorized wheelchair that is able to move by joystick, someone pushing it from behind, or with the headrest. This week, Erica is getting more and more pumped up to work with us and Morgan. It is so sweet. I love to see Erica's face and the joy she receives for rooting Morgan on. The progress that Morgan has demonstrated thus far has been mind-blowing. By tilting her head back on the headrest, she moves forward. She quadrupled her progress in a matter of days.
This week, we screened another child who has microphthalmia with no vision in his right eye, peripheral vision in his left eye. This kid blew all of our socks off! He has excellent orientation skills, is able to trail beautifully, has good contrast vision, and appears to be scanning when he moves his body in space. I think Bryan and Nancy wanted to fight over this one. This kid is so cute - I don't blame them. :)
I am working more with a student named Grace. This lesson meant a lot to me, because I felt like I was really connecting with the student and helping her past her fears of being afraid. She tends to be whiny about every twist and turn she takes and she is constantly questioning out loud if she is going the right way or to verbalize that she does not know where she is. At first, this student was extremely challenging for me in the sense that I did not know how to draw boundaries around her constant questions. After using coins within our lessons to encourage her to ask less questions, I found that this idea was genius! This made me feel good for coming up with something on my own! I started out by telling her I would only give her 4 questions (or coins) and she was only allowed to ask a question if she gave up a coin. By the end of the lesson, with as many coins as she had left, she got to trade them in for a prize (Starbursts). This was a really fun experiment with her and I did see some major improvements.
A couple of weeks ago, we started incorporating a transition student (Erica) to be the cheerleader for this student (Morgan) of ours. Erica is able to walk independently with a walker, but uses a wheelchair to get around at school. Morgan is unable to walk independently and uses a motorized wheelchair that is able to move by joystick, someone pushing it from behind, or with the headrest. This week, Erica is getting more and more pumped up to work with us and Morgan. It is so sweet. I love to see Erica's face and the joy she receives for rooting Morgan on. The progress that Morgan has demonstrated thus far has been mind-blowing. By tilting her head back on the headrest, she moves forward. She quadrupled her progress in a matter of days.
This week, we screened another child who has microphthalmia with no vision in his right eye, peripheral vision in his left eye. This kid blew all of our socks off! He has excellent orientation skills, is able to trail beautifully, has good contrast vision, and appears to be scanning when he moves his body in space. I think Bryan and Nancy wanted to fight over this one. This kid is so cute - I don't blame them. :)
I am working more with a student named Grace. This lesson meant a lot to me, because I felt like I was really connecting with the student and helping her past her fears of being afraid. She tends to be whiny about every twist and turn she takes and she is constantly questioning out loud if she is going the right way or to verbalize that she does not know where she is. At first, this student was extremely challenging for me in the sense that I did not know how to draw boundaries around her constant questions. After using coins within our lessons to encourage her to ask less questions, I found that this idea was genius! This made me feel good for coming up with something on my own! I started out by telling her I would only give her 4 questions (or coins) and she was only allowed to ask a question if she gave up a coin. By the end of the lesson, with as many coins as she had left, she got to trade them in for a prize (Starbursts). This was a really fun experiment with her and I did see some major improvements.
Week 6
Sept. 16-20, 2013
This week, we had a meeting for the entire visual impairment department of the county held at an administration building (I think). The meeting went well and I learned a lot about what I don't know and still need to learn. It seems like the majority of a TVI's career is spent swimming in paperwork (which is rapidly changing at the speed of lightning). This part of the career made me a little more apprehensive about doing my TVI internship next semester. Then again, I'm almost half way through this thing! Wahoo!
This week, I also learned about the importance of teaching the students about the term, mirror image. When Bryan was working with one of the students, she squared off on one of the building's doors while he walked over a connecting bridge and stood at the opposite building's door. He explained to her that he too was standing and squaring off at a door across the way that looked entirely like the one she was at.
I also got to observe Karlos for the first time in the community. This student is becoming one of my favorites. He is so adventurous, not afraid of anything, and good on his feet (given his eye condition). He has high myopia, retinal detachment in the right eye and significant loss of field restriction in the left eye. He has remarkable coordination, considering his eye condition. He uses a telescope, which he currently lost and cannot find (Ugh!) and receives vision and O&M services (bi-weekly). Bryan is helping me more with the development of goals and objectives for the students before and after we work with them. For this specific day, Karlos referred to cardinal directions, manipulated lighted intersections, parking lot negotiation, use of telescope (borrowed from Bryan), maps, self-advocacy, cane skills, and route planning. I loved this lesson and I was mostly inspired by Karlos' abilities.
This week, we had a meeting for the entire visual impairment department of the county held at an administration building (I think). The meeting went well and I learned a lot about what I don't know and still need to learn. It seems like the majority of a TVI's career is spent swimming in paperwork (which is rapidly changing at the speed of lightning). This part of the career made me a little more apprehensive about doing my TVI internship next semester. Then again, I'm almost half way through this thing! Wahoo!
This week, I also learned about the importance of teaching the students about the term, mirror image. When Bryan was working with one of the students, she squared off on one of the building's doors while he walked over a connecting bridge and stood at the opposite building's door. He explained to her that he too was standing and squaring off at a door across the way that looked entirely like the one she was at.
I also got to observe Karlos for the first time in the community. This student is becoming one of my favorites. He is so adventurous, not afraid of anything, and good on his feet (given his eye condition). He has high myopia, retinal detachment in the right eye and significant loss of field restriction in the left eye. He has remarkable coordination, considering his eye condition. He uses a telescope, which he currently lost and cannot find (Ugh!) and receives vision and O&M services (bi-weekly). Bryan is helping me more with the development of goals and objectives for the students before and after we work with them. For this specific day, Karlos referred to cardinal directions, manipulated lighted intersections, parking lot negotiation, use of telescope (borrowed from Bryan), maps, self-advocacy, cane skills, and route planning. I loved this lesson and I was mostly inspired by Karlos' abilities.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Week 5
Sept. 9-13, 2013
Sept. 9 - My very first "real" IEP meeting - (ahem!) soo much different than the actors made it to be in the classroom. It was professional, yet inviting and welcome to the family that represented the little boy we serve at Curlew Creek Elementary. I really appreciated Bryan's input at the meeting (especially when he started to make the information more personal by verbally sharing his purposes in working with the student).
One of the students I really enjoyed working with this week is this kid, named Jon at Forest Lakes Elementary. We got him excited about Cane Quest and this seemed to encourage him to perform better during O&M lessons. Bryan hid the coins that the leprechaun left behind and set them next to a metronome. Jon had to listen intently to where the sound of the metronome was coming from and use proper techniques to find it and the coin(s). This was really fun, too, when he and Alex competed for the coins. It was so adorable to see the two of them like 2 blind mice in the dark with their little canes, practically about to push each other over to get to that ticking metronome. It amazes me the ability of Jon to locate the source of the sound and walk directly (for the most part) to it. What was also interesting about Jon this week is his persona in general. He was caught being off his meds the past couple of weeks and this made him very edgy, unstable, and regressive. Since he's been back on his meds this week, I can tell a huge difference and it is so much easier to work with him this way. He is so much more compliant.
Grace L. - student with extreme photo sensitivity; great lack of distance vision; uses a telescope; always appears fidgety (like she has to pee!). This was my first time working with Grace. She amazed me all the way. We took her to the mall and Bryan challenged her to find specific locations in the mall while we were at the directory (downstairs). She did everything independently. I was impressed by all of her abilities.
Grace B. - Bryan conducted an in-service in her class this week. On this particular morning, I walked into a kindergarten room of little children with blindfolds on, being led by their classmates. It was a big melt-my-heart moment to see this. I also really appreciated Bryan's instruction to the class after this experience. He taught them about the long cane and the meaning of visual impairment and blindness.
Morgan - completely missing her lower field of vision; has good contrast vision; needs to regularly exercise her cane skills (she seems really weak in this area); needs to exercise crossing streets and looking both ways before crossing. We took Morgan up the pedestrian bridge just outside the school grounds and watched the cars drive under us on the highway. That was really neat. I'm beginning to see more of what Bryan was telling me in the beginning about how he thinks this job is more of like an art form. You have to be really creative and think on your feet to teach these kids.
This week, I'm getting a lot more independence with the kids. Bryan is beginning to allow me to work 90% independently with them. In fact, I love it when he lets me run ahead of him and grab the kid out of class and begin working with him. It makes me feel useful and I'm really putting into action all of the things I learned these past few yrs (or weeks even). I also appreciate when he trusts me enough to let me have the kids and then he tells me he will meet me at the final destination. This allows me the space to develop my own teaching techniques along with the private recollection and practice of what I've been taught without the pressure of his opinion about what I'm doing.
At the end of this week, we had a teacher work day and this turned out to be really refreshing. I needed it so bad! I was able to catch up with the other 2 O&M specialists in the county, get to know them better, and observe how they work together. Bryan showed me how Nancy orders all of the O&M equipment and keeps it in her office and that is where he gets all of his equipment (which is stored in his van). Steve showed me how to put red tape on a pre-cane device. At the end of the day, we ate at a Greek restaurant and troubleshot how we could share the ever-increasing case load of ours (about 30 now). Steve and Nancy only have about 13 each while we have close to 30 (max).
Sept. 9 - My very first "real" IEP meeting - (ahem!) soo much different than the actors made it to be in the classroom. It was professional, yet inviting and welcome to the family that represented the little boy we serve at Curlew Creek Elementary. I really appreciated Bryan's input at the meeting (especially when he started to make the information more personal by verbally sharing his purposes in working with the student).
One of the students I really enjoyed working with this week is this kid, named Jon at Forest Lakes Elementary. We got him excited about Cane Quest and this seemed to encourage him to perform better during O&M lessons. Bryan hid the coins that the leprechaun left behind and set them next to a metronome. Jon had to listen intently to where the sound of the metronome was coming from and use proper techniques to find it and the coin(s). This was really fun, too, when he and Alex competed for the coins. It was so adorable to see the two of them like 2 blind mice in the dark with their little canes, practically about to push each other over to get to that ticking metronome. It amazes me the ability of Jon to locate the source of the sound and walk directly (for the most part) to it. What was also interesting about Jon this week is his persona in general. He was caught being off his meds the past couple of weeks and this made him very edgy, unstable, and regressive. Since he's been back on his meds this week, I can tell a huge difference and it is so much easier to work with him this way. He is so much more compliant.
Grace L. - student with extreme photo sensitivity; great lack of distance vision; uses a telescope; always appears fidgety (like she has to pee!). This was my first time working with Grace. She amazed me all the way. We took her to the mall and Bryan challenged her to find specific locations in the mall while we were at the directory (downstairs). She did everything independently. I was impressed by all of her abilities.
Grace B. - Bryan conducted an in-service in her class this week. On this particular morning, I walked into a kindergarten room of little children with blindfolds on, being led by their classmates. It was a big melt-my-heart moment to see this. I also really appreciated Bryan's instruction to the class after this experience. He taught them about the long cane and the meaning of visual impairment and blindness.
Morgan - completely missing her lower field of vision; has good contrast vision; needs to regularly exercise her cane skills (she seems really weak in this area); needs to exercise crossing streets and looking both ways before crossing. We took Morgan up the pedestrian bridge just outside the school grounds and watched the cars drive under us on the highway. That was really neat. I'm beginning to see more of what Bryan was telling me in the beginning about how he thinks this job is more of like an art form. You have to be really creative and think on your feet to teach these kids.
This week, I'm getting a lot more independence with the kids. Bryan is beginning to allow me to work 90% independently with them. In fact, I love it when he lets me run ahead of him and grab the kid out of class and begin working with him. It makes me feel useful and I'm really putting into action all of the things I learned these past few yrs (or weeks even). I also appreciate when he trusts me enough to let me have the kids and then he tells me he will meet me at the final destination. This allows me the space to develop my own teaching techniques along with the private recollection and practice of what I've been taught without the pressure of his opinion about what I'm doing.
At the end of this week, we had a teacher work day and this turned out to be really refreshing. I needed it so bad! I was able to catch up with the other 2 O&M specialists in the county, get to know them better, and observe how they work together. Bryan showed me how Nancy orders all of the O&M equipment and keeps it in her office and that is where he gets all of his equipment (which is stored in his van). Steve showed me how to put red tape on a pre-cane device. At the end of the day, we ate at a Greek restaurant and troubleshot how we could share the ever-increasing case load of ours (about 30 now). Steve and Nancy only have about 13 each while we have close to 30 (max).
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Week 4
Sept. 3-6, 2013
I'm learning by leaps and bounds. There is so much to take in, so much to remember, and especially so much I never, ever learned through a textbook in a classroom that I'm learning in real life right now. This time, I'll mention some of the things I'm learning from the students, specifically.
Andrew - the only surviving triplet of his deceased siblings (however, he currently has a 7-yr-old brother). Bryan has been working with him for 6 years now and he mentioned that he noticed Andrew has slipped into somewhat of a depression over the years. Andrew has congenital blindness and a lot of other sensory impairments. This is probably THE most challenging student on Bryan's caseload. I feel very insecure and I have a great lack of knowledge in working with Andrew. I am learning little by little and Bryan is allowing me to work through my fears (which I hate at the moment, but am thankful for when it's over with). Today, when I was walking with Andrew back to his class and supporting his crocodile, I started to question (in all honesty) if I would really be able to do this job. However, Andrew's progress (in what I've seen so far) has been phenomenal. Bryan got him to walk all the way back to his class from the sensory playground 2 days in a row and this was a HUGE milestone for him (only dropping one time).
Jacob - kindergarten student with congenital blindness and issues with his thyroid (weight gain issues). This student is also VERY challenging for me. This kid is mostly dead weight and when he is asked to lift a finger, he whines really loud. It is hard to identify what motivates him. Bryan was so creative in his approach with this kid. I feel like I would have NEVER come up with the things that he did in working with Jacob. For instance, this particular day we were in the gym - Bryan wanted Jacob to practice tummy time to strengthen his arms. He placed him on the gym floor and he said that normally, Jacob is repulsed from being on the floor and fights to get up so it forces him to use his arm and leg muscles. However, he was not moving. In fact, he started to fall asleep. So creatively, Bryan decides to move him closer to another student who was also practicing tummy time, because he knew this would repulse Jacob and get him to move. Ironically, Jacob just continued to lay there! So, Bryan puts the kid on top of Jacob and that is when we finally got him to start moving. It turned out that we got Jacob to move his arms and legs so much and strengthen his quads and hamstrings that he was smiling once he was back in his wheelchair and he was going back to class. Today, Bryan noticed Jacob in his class using his wheelchair to get around class and during our time with Jacob - instead of encouraging him to move in tummy time position, we got him to be mobile with the use of the wheelchair. This was really cool.
Austin - total blindness; walks with cane; just started walking 2 yrs ago; experiences balance issues; high school student; one of my favorite students; great personality and attitude about life; what a privilege to work with and learn from him! I really enjoy working with this kid. He has such a great attitude about life. When I accidentally walked him into a padded wall in the gym (by accident, of course), he made this goofy laugh and I will never forget it. I felt so bad, but this gave me an opportunity to see this forgiving side of him. I've really enjoyed working with Austin. Bryan has allowed me to work completely independent with Austin and every time I give this student instruction, he is always so positive and ready to go. We worked on routes in the school and curbs outside. He is learning to use his cane for support when going up and down curbs. This was something new I did not learn in school.
Michelle - high school with RP that totally amazes me. We are working to incorporate the use of the blindfold to prepare her for Cane Quest. We introduced her to the Book Port Plus, which will be used at Cane Quest for verbal directions. Together, she and I were instructed by Bryan out of the school and along the front of the building (along the sidewalk) toward the lighted intersection. I used a cane and so did she. She walked way faster than I did. When we got to the lighted intersection, I took off my blindfold and instructed her across each of the four corners of the intersection. She was so nervous and kept expressing angst, but she did not realize how good she was at what she was doing.
Alesia - pre-k student with CVI (missing corpus collosum). I absolutely love this darling little girl. She is so sweet and cute. Bryan tells me that sometimes the "sweet and cute" is the biggest culprit with these kids. He is gently reminding me not to get so hung up on the cuteness and to focus on the skills these kids need to attain for independence purposes. I really connected with Alesia (the first time) when Bryan left us alone just outside the playground. That is when I found out she loved being sung to and it made her spirit just rest. It was so beautiful the way she became so still and listened intently to my voice as I made a new song about her. After this, we pushed her on the tire swing (her favorite) and she allowed another kid to swing with her.
I could go on and on and on, but I will save the rest of my experiences for another excerpt.
I'm learning by leaps and bounds. There is so much to take in, so much to remember, and especially so much I never, ever learned through a textbook in a classroom that I'm learning in real life right now. This time, I'll mention some of the things I'm learning from the students, specifically.
Andrew - the only surviving triplet of his deceased siblings (however, he currently has a 7-yr-old brother). Bryan has been working with him for 6 years now and he mentioned that he noticed Andrew has slipped into somewhat of a depression over the years. Andrew has congenital blindness and a lot of other sensory impairments. This is probably THE most challenging student on Bryan's caseload. I feel very insecure and I have a great lack of knowledge in working with Andrew. I am learning little by little and Bryan is allowing me to work through my fears (which I hate at the moment, but am thankful for when it's over with). Today, when I was walking with Andrew back to his class and supporting his crocodile, I started to question (in all honesty) if I would really be able to do this job. However, Andrew's progress (in what I've seen so far) has been phenomenal. Bryan got him to walk all the way back to his class from the sensory playground 2 days in a row and this was a HUGE milestone for him (only dropping one time).
Jacob - kindergarten student with congenital blindness and issues with his thyroid (weight gain issues). This student is also VERY challenging for me. This kid is mostly dead weight and when he is asked to lift a finger, he whines really loud. It is hard to identify what motivates him. Bryan was so creative in his approach with this kid. I feel like I would have NEVER come up with the things that he did in working with Jacob. For instance, this particular day we were in the gym - Bryan wanted Jacob to practice tummy time to strengthen his arms. He placed him on the gym floor and he said that normally, Jacob is repulsed from being on the floor and fights to get up so it forces him to use his arm and leg muscles. However, he was not moving. In fact, he started to fall asleep. So creatively, Bryan decides to move him closer to another student who was also practicing tummy time, because he knew this would repulse Jacob and get him to move. Ironically, Jacob just continued to lay there! So, Bryan puts the kid on top of Jacob and that is when we finally got him to start moving. It turned out that we got Jacob to move his arms and legs so much and strengthen his quads and hamstrings that he was smiling once he was back in his wheelchair and he was going back to class. Today, Bryan noticed Jacob in his class using his wheelchair to get around class and during our time with Jacob - instead of encouraging him to move in tummy time position, we got him to be mobile with the use of the wheelchair. This was really cool.
Austin - total blindness; walks with cane; just started walking 2 yrs ago; experiences balance issues; high school student; one of my favorite students; great personality and attitude about life; what a privilege to work with and learn from him! I really enjoy working with this kid. He has such a great attitude about life. When I accidentally walked him into a padded wall in the gym (by accident, of course), he made this goofy laugh and I will never forget it. I felt so bad, but this gave me an opportunity to see this forgiving side of him. I've really enjoyed working with Austin. Bryan has allowed me to work completely independent with Austin and every time I give this student instruction, he is always so positive and ready to go. We worked on routes in the school and curbs outside. He is learning to use his cane for support when going up and down curbs. This was something new I did not learn in school.
Michelle - high school with RP that totally amazes me. We are working to incorporate the use of the blindfold to prepare her for Cane Quest. We introduced her to the Book Port Plus, which will be used at Cane Quest for verbal directions. Together, she and I were instructed by Bryan out of the school and along the front of the building (along the sidewalk) toward the lighted intersection. I used a cane and so did she. She walked way faster than I did. When we got to the lighted intersection, I took off my blindfold and instructed her across each of the four corners of the intersection. She was so nervous and kept expressing angst, but she did not realize how good she was at what she was doing.
Alesia - pre-k student with CVI (missing corpus collosum). I absolutely love this darling little girl. She is so sweet and cute. Bryan tells me that sometimes the "sweet and cute" is the biggest culprit with these kids. He is gently reminding me not to get so hung up on the cuteness and to focus on the skills these kids need to attain for independence purposes. I really connected with Alesia (the first time) when Bryan left us alone just outside the playground. That is when I found out she loved being sung to and it made her spirit just rest. It was so beautiful the way she became so still and listened intently to my voice as I made a new song about her. After this, we pushed her on the tire swing (her favorite) and she allowed another kid to swing with her.
I could go on and on and on, but I will save the rest of my experiences for another excerpt.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Week 3
August 26-30, 2013
I had gotten my wisdom teeth out 3 days prior to the start of this week so I was clinging tight to my pain pills (Ibuprofen and Tylenol) at the start of this week. Again, I was nervous that I would even be able to do this, but I discovered that being with these amazing little kids and supportive cooperating teacher made the pain lighten a bit.
Bryan spent the weekend putting together a schedule that we could work off for the remainder of this week. Even though we had this to refer to, it continued to change as we discovered surprises and other teachers' schedules that conflicted with ours. I really appreciated how Bryan was so easy going about this process and flexible. If it were me, I would be really upset and wanting things to be set in stone right off the bat. I realized that it just can't be that way and you have to be open to change on a constant basis.
One of the things that I also appreciate about Bryan is his value in building relationships with not only the students he works with, but also the other students in the classes, walking in the halls, other teachers, parents, faculty, staff, etc. In fact, I am convinced he would have a good relationship with a light pole if he could. Haha...
He explained to me the importance of building these relationships for many personal reasons, but to me I saw it as a reason to build up and support the students he works with, to teach those around him how to help and promote independence for the students, and that when they see his students (even when Bryan is not around), they treat them with respect (as they are treated) and this promotes a quality of life for them even in his absence.
Another important aspect I am learning about is PATIENCE, which I am realizing I thought I had, but never really did. My patience is being stretched in so many personal ways and this job requires more of that than I ever, ever realized. Take for instance, an experience I had of teaching little Johnny to walk the bus route from his classroom. This process took about 30 minutes while he spent a great deal of time wandering and I was getting scorched in the sun. It took everything in me to restrain from walking over, grabbing his hand, and pulling him to the finish line just so I could get out of the sun.
I have so many more experiences to post and I look forward to telling you more about them.
I had gotten my wisdom teeth out 3 days prior to the start of this week so I was clinging tight to my pain pills (Ibuprofen and Tylenol) at the start of this week. Again, I was nervous that I would even be able to do this, but I discovered that being with these amazing little kids and supportive cooperating teacher made the pain lighten a bit.
Bryan spent the weekend putting together a schedule that we could work off for the remainder of this week. Even though we had this to refer to, it continued to change as we discovered surprises and other teachers' schedules that conflicted with ours. I really appreciated how Bryan was so easy going about this process and flexible. If it were me, I would be really upset and wanting things to be set in stone right off the bat. I realized that it just can't be that way and you have to be open to change on a constant basis.
One of the things that I also appreciate about Bryan is his value in building relationships with not only the students he works with, but also the other students in the classes, walking in the halls, other teachers, parents, faculty, staff, etc. In fact, I am convinced he would have a good relationship with a light pole if he could. Haha...
He explained to me the importance of building these relationships for many personal reasons, but to me I saw it as a reason to build up and support the students he works with, to teach those around him how to help and promote independence for the students, and that when they see his students (even when Bryan is not around), they treat them with respect (as they are treated) and this promotes a quality of life for them even in his absence.
Another important aspect I am learning about is PATIENCE, which I am realizing I thought I had, but never really did. My patience is being stretched in so many personal ways and this job requires more of that than I ever, ever realized. Take for instance, an experience I had of teaching little Johnny to walk the bus route from his classroom. This process took about 30 minutes while he spent a great deal of time wandering and I was getting scorched in the sun. It took everything in me to restrain from walking over, grabbing his hand, and pulling him to the finish line just so I could get out of the sun.
I have so many more experiences to post and I look forward to telling you more about them.
Week 2
August 19-23, 2013
First week of school - WOO HOO! Gettin' in the full swing of things! Fun, fun!
I was pumped and ready to do this thing! I was ready to dive in! I had met a lot of the students by this point and excited to see them in action.
This first entire week we spent at Forest Lakes Elementary. Getting these kids accustomed to bus routes, classroom routes, transition of class (P.E., music, lunch, etc), etc. was Bryan's biggest concern of all the students on his caseload. I wondered about why this could be (at the time), but by the end of the experience and after working with the other students on his caseload, I could see why he would put so much focus on this group of students here.
I loved walking little Johnny sighted guide from Mr. Bryan's van to his classroom. He was so sweet and gentle. Bryan told me he was born without his corpus collosum and it was hard for him to make connections and the reason why he had sporadic spasms and whatnot. I didn't care about all that. I just thought he was so darn cute. When we got to his classroom, one of his old assistants was there and I found out I was not the only one who thought the same thing. I observed Bryan working with Jon on classroom routes (front door to wall, wall or window to desk, desk to rug, rug to hard floor, hard floor to bathroom, bathroom to sink on hard floor, sink back to desk, etc.). It was even cooler how I observed all of this and was able to reteach the classroom routes to Jon's assistant later on a week after this experience. I really enjoyed that, because it challenged me to remember this experience and made me feel like I was actually contributing to the experience instead of sitting there like a bump on a log. Haha...
Grace and Ella - 2 sisters, adopted from China (both at Forest Lakes) - beautiful, sweet, and charming all the way. These 2 girls were so precious in different, yet sweet ways. When I first met Ella, she gave me a great big hug before she even heard what my name was. She continued to give everyone hugs as we continued to talk and show her around her classroom. This was my first impression of her. When I first met Grace, she honestly seemed really clumsy and disoriented, but as time went on and as I observed her in the routines of her class, she became this brilliant student that amazed me more and more each time I saw her.
I could go on and on about these amazing students, but I need time to write about the others at the other schools. I am sure I will get to write more about these kids as I get to work with them more. Overall, I am so happy each day that I go to this internship. I truly feel like this is the highlight of my learning experiences thus far. I can't believe I spent so much energy being nervous about it when it really turned out to be just perfect the way it was.
First week of school - WOO HOO! Gettin' in the full swing of things! Fun, fun!
I was pumped and ready to do this thing! I was ready to dive in! I had met a lot of the students by this point and excited to see them in action.
This first entire week we spent at Forest Lakes Elementary. Getting these kids accustomed to bus routes, classroom routes, transition of class (P.E., music, lunch, etc), etc. was Bryan's biggest concern of all the students on his caseload. I wondered about why this could be (at the time), but by the end of the experience and after working with the other students on his caseload, I could see why he would put so much focus on this group of students here.
I loved walking little Johnny sighted guide from Mr. Bryan's van to his classroom. He was so sweet and gentle. Bryan told me he was born without his corpus collosum and it was hard for him to make connections and the reason why he had sporadic spasms and whatnot. I didn't care about all that. I just thought he was so darn cute. When we got to his classroom, one of his old assistants was there and I found out I was not the only one who thought the same thing. I observed Bryan working with Jon on classroom routes (front door to wall, wall or window to desk, desk to rug, rug to hard floor, hard floor to bathroom, bathroom to sink on hard floor, sink back to desk, etc.). It was even cooler how I observed all of this and was able to reteach the classroom routes to Jon's assistant later on a week after this experience. I really enjoyed that, because it challenged me to remember this experience and made me feel like I was actually contributing to the experience instead of sitting there like a bump on a log. Haha...
Grace and Ella - 2 sisters, adopted from China (both at Forest Lakes) - beautiful, sweet, and charming all the way. These 2 girls were so precious in different, yet sweet ways. When I first met Ella, she gave me a great big hug before she even heard what my name was. She continued to give everyone hugs as we continued to talk and show her around her classroom. This was my first impression of her. When I first met Grace, she honestly seemed really clumsy and disoriented, but as time went on and as I observed her in the routines of her class, she became this brilliant student that amazed me more and more each time I saw her.
I could go on and on about these amazing students, but I need time to write about the others at the other schools. I am sure I will get to write more about these kids as I get to work with them more. Overall, I am so happy each day that I go to this internship. I truly feel like this is the highlight of my learning experiences thus far. I can't believe I spent so much energy being nervous about it when it really turned out to be just perfect the way it was.
Behind the Scenes (Cont'd...)
August 12-16, 2013
From what I can recall, this was a pretty stressful week. Bryan arranged for orientations with about 5 visually impaired (VI) students to get acquainted with their new school.We spent about 2 1/2 hrs with Jack and his parents at Palm Harbor Middle School. This was a very long process and I remember Bryan telling me that this kind of thing usually did not take this long. It seemed to take a lot of time to appease both his parents and Jack as well. Plus, this was a fairly large school and I almost felt sorry for the poor guy that had to change classes and get in and out of his locker 7 times during the school day.
Then, we met Michelle at Palm Harbor University High School and helped her get acquainted with her classes. She was a superb student and was basically guiding us. I could tell she was taught O&M techniques well and she put them into practice well. I was impressed by her ability to get around the school independently.
On another day, we met at Forest Lakes and showed some other students (Jon, Grace, Ella, Alex) their classrooms. This was important, because they needed to learn the routes to class (either from bus or car circle) and routes in the classrooms (before all the noise and distraction of other students hit).
All of this was really good for me to see. I had no idea so much of this kind of planning went into it. I came home after this week completely spent. And, I remember Bryan continually reminding me that when the schedule set in, it wouldn't be as stressful as the first 2 weeks of pre-planning. I was hoping he was right, but I was still really enjoying it.
From what I can recall, this was a pretty stressful week. Bryan arranged for orientations with about 5 visually impaired (VI) students to get acquainted with their new school.We spent about 2 1/2 hrs with Jack and his parents at Palm Harbor Middle School. This was a very long process and I remember Bryan telling me that this kind of thing usually did not take this long. It seemed to take a lot of time to appease both his parents and Jack as well. Plus, this was a fairly large school and I almost felt sorry for the poor guy that had to change classes and get in and out of his locker 7 times during the school day.
Then, we met Michelle at Palm Harbor University High School and helped her get acquainted with her classes. She was a superb student and was basically guiding us. I could tell she was taught O&M techniques well and she put them into practice well. I was impressed by her ability to get around the school independently.
On another day, we met at Forest Lakes and showed some other students (Jon, Grace, Ella, Alex) their classrooms. This was important, because they needed to learn the routes to class (either from bus or car circle) and routes in the classrooms (before all the noise and distraction of other students hit).
All of this was really good for me to see. I had no idea so much of this kind of planning went into it. I came home after this week completely spent. And, I remember Bryan continually reminding me that when the schedule set in, it wouldn't be as stressful as the first 2 weeks of pre-planning. I was hoping he was right, but I was still really enjoying it.
Week 1 - Behind the Scenes
Monday, August 12, 2013
On this specific day, there was a meeting for all of the itinerant teachers of Pinellas County. This is when I first starting working with Bryan Evans, my Cooperating Teacher for the O&M internship. I was really nervous about this day and really didn't know what to expect. However, when I finally reached my destination and got plugged in with some old friends and classmates, I found myself to really enjoy being surrounded by adults (since I had been so accustomed to being at home with my kids for so many years as a stay-at-home-mom and student).
When I was at this meeting, I remember really connecting with Bryan and the other 2 O&M specialists. We seemed to form our own little niche in one little corner of the room. They made me feel welcome and taught me a lot in the short time we talked about the different sections of teaching that were divided in the room. What I enjoyed most from this experience was learning how children get designated to certain schools, teachers, and classrooms from this "mass production process" (as I like to put it). I never realized this was how it actually worked. In fact, at one point I was honestly wondering how in the world we were ever going to get through it all. After Bryan and the other 2 O&M specialists received their caseloads, they sat there with their I-pads and whatnot and almost as if they were zoning into another world with some foreign language caption that I could not make out, I wondered if we were ever going to see the other side of this. Bryan tried his best to explain to me what he was doing with his caseload as he was flipping through certain students, but it was all paperwork for me and not really concrete. I didn't really understand what he was talking about.
To end our madness, we all had lunch at a wonderful Thai restaurant. It was there that my day came to a perfect and memorable ending. Other TVIs showed up to have lunch with us as well. It was there at the table that I heard some remarkable stories of visually impaired students that have inspired the teachers themselves (and even I). I had heard of remarkable stories of these students in the past, but not quite like these. I was really touched by the perspective these teachers had for their students and it almost seemed to change my perspective to a more positive light a bit. This left me feeling secure in what I was doing, excited about what I was about to embark upon, and encouraged all the way to dive in.
Yay! Here we goooo!
On this specific day, there was a meeting for all of the itinerant teachers of Pinellas County. This is when I first starting working with Bryan Evans, my Cooperating Teacher for the O&M internship. I was really nervous about this day and really didn't know what to expect. However, when I finally reached my destination and got plugged in with some old friends and classmates, I found myself to really enjoy being surrounded by adults (since I had been so accustomed to being at home with my kids for so many years as a stay-at-home-mom and student).
When I was at this meeting, I remember really connecting with Bryan and the other 2 O&M specialists. We seemed to form our own little niche in one little corner of the room. They made me feel welcome and taught me a lot in the short time we talked about the different sections of teaching that were divided in the room. What I enjoyed most from this experience was learning how children get designated to certain schools, teachers, and classrooms from this "mass production process" (as I like to put it). I never realized this was how it actually worked. In fact, at one point I was honestly wondering how in the world we were ever going to get through it all. After Bryan and the other 2 O&M specialists received their caseloads, they sat there with their I-pads and whatnot and almost as if they were zoning into another world with some foreign language caption that I could not make out, I wondered if we were ever going to see the other side of this. Bryan tried his best to explain to me what he was doing with his caseload as he was flipping through certain students, but it was all paperwork for me and not really concrete. I didn't really understand what he was talking about.
To end our madness, we all had lunch at a wonderful Thai restaurant. It was there that my day came to a perfect and memorable ending. Other TVIs showed up to have lunch with us as well. It was there at the table that I heard some remarkable stories of visually impaired students that have inspired the teachers themselves (and even I). I had heard of remarkable stories of these students in the past, but not quite like these. I was really touched by the perspective these teachers had for their students and it almost seemed to change my perspective to a more positive light a bit. This left me feeling secure in what I was doing, excited about what I was about to embark upon, and encouraged all the way to dive in.
Yay! Here we goooo!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)