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.
Monday, September 30, 2013
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!
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