There and Back Again: A Teacher's Tale
DeAndra George
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When I began teaching, I felt confident that I was prepared for the job. I had completed my degree, and received good grades and good feedback from my instructors and mentors. I graduated with a job already lined up, and I had supportive administrators to guide my first year. And for all intents and purposes, I was prepared! My first day of school came and I excitedly greeted the children at the door. The first day went smoothly, and gradually that first day turned into the first year, and then a second. But those first couple years were not without their struggles. I worked in a tough school. I had students who came from very poor families, students who spoke no English, and students with serious behavioral challenges. Since I had so many English Language Learners (ELLs) in my class, I had considerable support from my English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teacher. But I suspected some of my students would eventually be identified as special education (SPED), and I had no support from a SPED teacher in the classroom, which left me and my students at a disadvantage. My degree, like many undergraduate degrees, had prepared me very well to educate the middle of the bell curve, and had not focused on strategies to teach kids at the far ends of the spectrum. So I decided that I wanted to learn more. I wanted to understand the best ways to work with students with special needs, and wanted to make sure that I was doing my part as a classroom teacher to support them in their learning. I had finally found what I wanted to focus my graduate work on.
After looking at all of my options, I decided to start the Master of Arts in Education program at Michigan State University. The online format of the program allowed me to fit classes in while I was still working. It also had a concentration in Special Education, which would fill in the gaps I had identified, as well as supplementing with other courses that would reinforce and improve my teaching methods with all students. I tried to select courses that focused on areas that I had the most room to grow, such as classroom management; areas that I knew would be beneficial in my Title I school, such as working with diverse literacy learners; and courses that focused both on broad classroom concepts, and working with individuals students. All of these courses were ones that I felt would truly help me become a stronger teacher.
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My first semester, I took CEP 841: Classroom and Behavior Management in the Inclusive Classroom. I selected this as one of my courses for two reasons: I knew that I wanted to strengthen my own classroom management and I wanted to make sure that I did so in a way that would support any special education students that I have. Throughout the course, we looked at different aspects of classroom management, and how they support the classroom. We discussed topics such as classroom rules and expectations, seating arrangements, and developing positive peer relationships. As we went through the course, discussing each new aspect and learning how much impact they have on a classroom, I was able to look critically at my own classroom management and start to make adjustments. I have built in more positive peer interaction by having a morning meeting every day that starts us off on a positive note, my students sit in table groups and work with their neighbors throughout the day, and I reinforce kind acts by allowing the students to give each other warm fuzzies. I also make sure to consider where I seat students in the room to support the formation of positive relationships, while preventing any negative relationships that could interfere with learning in the classroom.
The most beneficial part of this course, however, was the deeper look into Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). My research into SEL really highlighted school as a social experience for students, as well as how important it is for teachers to support their students in both academic and social learning. As an educator, I need to do my part to ensure that my students possess the necessary social skills to interact effectively inside and outside the classroom, as well as understand how their emotions can affect them throughout the day. Because my school had just started using an SEL curriculum called Kimochis (the Japanese word for feelings), I chose to bring these into my classroom on a more permanent basis than a once-a-month lesson. Kimochis is a series of lessons that support students learning about and articulating the emotions
they have, and how they can channel those emotions to create better interpersonal relationships. While I do not do the formal Kimochis lessons in my classroom, how my students are feeling is always important to me. When we share things during morning meeting, I often ask, “how did you feel?” and the kids are able to identify a feeling. When I talk to students who have misbehaved, I always ask, “how were you feeling?” and we talk about things they can do the next time they feel that way to help them make a better choice. I have also started using the zones of regulation to help facilitate discussions about how my students are feeling and help them identify when they are or are not ready to participate in class. I have seen tremendous growth in my students’ awareness and handling of their own emotions. After doing so much research into the importance in SEL programs in school, and seeing the benefits of Kimochis first hand, I am now a firm believer that our teaching has to go beyond the academics, especially in the early elementary years. We need to be teaching our students that we all feel emotions and that it is normal. How we deal with those emotions is what matters, and if we do not give our students tools and models for dealing with them, then we are letting them down academically and personally.
Our role as teachers is to make sure that every student has the support they need to be successful. While most students succeed in a classroom with strong classroom management, some students require a little more support or a different kind of support to fully meet their needs. CEP 802: Developing Positive Attitudes Toward Learning gave me the chance to look at student motivation in detail, and the many things that can affect it. I learned tools to assess what motivates an individual student, and how to determine the root cause if that student lacks motivation. This was an important tool for me to develop since the same type of strategy does not work for every child. I also learned how to work with a student to develop a plan that will best support them. This tool has been helpful for all of my students, not just with students who
lack motivation. While I may not need a full plan to implement for each of my students, I can do small things that support student motivation throughout the day, even just a simple word of praise when they complete an assignment. Once I have identified what motivates each of my students, I can use that to encourage them.
Like CEP 802, CEP 832: Educating Students with Challenging Behavior gave me an in-depth look at all aspects of providing this individual support to students who present with challenging behaviors. During my undergraduate coursework, we looked at strategies that we could use to support these students in improving their behavior, but this course went deeper and looked at the root cause of different behaviors. After identifying these common causes of poor behavior, we then identified several strategies that would support a student in improving their behavior depending on the main cause. For example, a student who is simply trying to get attention will respond to a different strategy than a student who is trying to avoid something. Both of these courses have given me the necessary knowledge to look critically at my students’ behavior, assess what the cause most likely is, and work with them to develop a plan that will not only support them, but also be sustainable within the classroom setting. When I apply these tools in the classroom, I can see the repercussions that a strategy has on the entire class. Even though a strategy may work for a student, it may be detrimental to other students. Working while I was taking classes gave me the room to try different strategies in a real situation.
During my Master’s degree, I often felt like I was simply doing more in-depth study of concepts that I already had a fundamental knowledge of from my undergraduate work. But I chose to take CEP 840: Policies, Practices, and Perspectives in Special Education, because the course covered material that I had not learned before, even in broad strokes. I only took one course on special education during my undergraduate coursework, and since I had no special education (SPED) students at the time, I did not retain the information as well as I would have liked. This class, although it was more of an overview than some of the other courses, still gave me
While many of the courses I selected built on concepts I learned as an undergraduate, it made a tremendous difference to work in the classroom at the same time. It allowed me to focus my learning on concrete classroom application. Every new tool that I added to my repertoire made its way into my classroom. Since most of the courses offered in this program seem to work on the assumption that the students are also working full time, many of the assignments asked me to bring my learning into the classroom when possible, or at the very least, examine current classroom practices. Despite having already learned about many of the strategies during my undergraduate work, being able to immediately apply them to my own
several wonderful tools that I now use in my classroom. It gave me a basic understanding of the legalities, policies, and procedures that surround special education. Although general education teachers do not necessarily need to know all the specific details, having a broad understanding has helped me to work more cohesively with my cooperating SPED teacher to meet the needs of my students. I also gained a better understanding of how to write specific and measurable goals for a student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP). Knowing how specific these goals are meant to be, I have learned to look at students’ needs more closely, rather than with a broad lens.
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Since I was teaching, I could apply my new knowledge to the complex cases in my class, rather than just a case study. I could see the needs of my actual students and practice developing interventions and goals to help my students achieve in my classroom. The course also provided a general understanding of some common characteristics of students with special needs. In the primary grades, it frequently happens that students have not yet been identified for special education because they are not far enough behind academically. Having a better understanding of things that could be indicators of a student needing special education, I am in a better position to identify students that may need further services. I am also better able to provide some extra support and keep a closer eye on them to ensure that they do not fall through the cracks. For students that I am concerned about, I have started taking more detailed notes, trying to focus on specific skills that I see are challenging for them. Having a broad understanding of the policies that define Special Education, as well as the practices that I can implement in the classroom for students, has made collaborating with my SPED teacher more productive.
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teaching not only helped me practice using them, but also allowed me to see the benefits that they provide my students, further cementing their place in my future teaching. And even though I am currently using these strategies in a Title I school in Northern Virginia, the same strategies can be applied to learners at all levels, and anywhere I may go in the future.
​Picture credits in order from top to bottom:
https://twitter.com/csusahq/status/435802892583190528
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/explore/educational-quotes/?lp=true
https://www.dawn-productions.com/tag/teaching/
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