Hello everyone!
Thank-you so much for all of the encouraging comments, they have been really lovely to read!! :)
Because I was using this blog for assessment purposes, I probably won't continue to update it. However, no need to panic, I have another blog that I write in quite regularly (which is where I got the stories that I had written for this blog). Feel free to check it out.. I've just written another memory from placement that I hope will make you smile :)
http://carlys-ramblings.blogspot.com/
Peace out :)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The Fire Drill
A fond memory from my 3rd year placement in July 2009 :)
I have a new-found joy in life. It's called the fire drill.
Whilst I understand the importance of employing safety precautions such as fire drills, I am convinced that its main purpose is to give teachers a laugh.
I thoroughly enjoyed today's fire drill. It was my second highlight of the day. My first highlight was when one of my little ones turned to me and said "You're my best teacher Miss Laird". It really did make my heart melt. Anywho... today's fire drill had been scheduled for 1pm. The teachers had been forewarned, however the children remained oblivious. At exactly 1pm, a man with a hand-held siren and ear muffs hurried through the school, alerting the staff and students of the impending 'fire'. This man was enjoying his role far too much; the huge smile on his face hindered the seriousness of the event a little. However his evident amusement seemed to bypass my grade ones and the majority began to panic. Not able to help myself, I put on my serious voice, told my grade ones that what they were hearing was the fire alarm, and instructed them to drop what they were doing and line up outside immediately. Never before have I seen my kids move so quickly. The girls grabbed each others hands and the boys charged to the front of the line. I grabbed the roll and marched my class to the oval. We had barely left the classroom when Ollie yelled "I smell smoke!!" while pointing at a particularly dark and ominous looking cloud. Half of my kids walked the length of the oval pinching their noses and breathing through their mouths, to protect themselves from the 'smoke'. When we arrived at the centre of the oval, the kid's imaginations ran riot....
"There really is a fire, I really can smell smoke!!"
"This is really serious, someone might die you know."
"All of our parents might die!"
"Who will look after us if our parents die??"
"Who will drive us to school if our parents die??"
"We can drive ourselves to school and go CRAZY all over the place!"
"Nnoooo we can all walk to school...."
"I saw a man with a gun! There's a man walking around with a gun!" - (It was a cap gun to get the school's attention on the oval. Serious stuff for a 6 year old...)
By this point some of the girls were getting a little bit frantic and clinging to each other as if the end of the world was near. Thankfully the Principle quickly reassured the school that it was only a drill, and that they could return to class. Walking back to class, Ollie was still pointing at the dark looking cloud and trying to convince me that he could smell smoke. I couldn't keep the smile from my lips.
I'm sure that some teachers would argue that fire drills are highly disruptive, however I think that the disruption is worth it. Who doesn't love a bit of drama now and then? My kids settled back to work incredibly quickly after the fire drill; feeling safe and happy with the mundane routine of class work, so I wasn't worried.
I have a new-found joy in life. It's called the fire drill.
Whilst I understand the importance of employing safety precautions such as fire drills, I am convinced that its main purpose is to give teachers a laugh.
I thoroughly enjoyed today's fire drill. It was my second highlight of the day. My first highlight was when one of my little ones turned to me and said "You're my best teacher Miss Laird". It really did make my heart melt. Anywho... today's fire drill had been scheduled for 1pm. The teachers had been forewarned, however the children remained oblivious. At exactly 1pm, a man with a hand-held siren and ear muffs hurried through the school, alerting the staff and students of the impending 'fire'. This man was enjoying his role far too much; the huge smile on his face hindered the seriousness of the event a little. However his evident amusement seemed to bypass my grade ones and the majority began to panic. Not able to help myself, I put on my serious voice, told my grade ones that what they were hearing was the fire alarm, and instructed them to drop what they were doing and line up outside immediately. Never before have I seen my kids move so quickly. The girls grabbed each others hands and the boys charged to the front of the line. I grabbed the roll and marched my class to the oval. We had barely left the classroom when Ollie yelled "I smell smoke!!" while pointing at a particularly dark and ominous looking cloud. Half of my kids walked the length of the oval pinching their noses and breathing through their mouths, to protect themselves from the 'smoke'. When we arrived at the centre of the oval, the kid's imaginations ran riot....
"There really is a fire, I really can smell smoke!!"
"This is really serious, someone might die you know."
"All of our parents might die!"
"Who will look after us if our parents die??"
"Who will drive us to school if our parents die??"
"We can drive ourselves to school and go CRAZY all over the place!"
"Nnoooo we can all walk to school...."
"I saw a man with a gun! There's a man walking around with a gun!" - (It was a cap gun to get the school's attention on the oval. Serious stuff for a 6 year old...)
By this point some of the girls were getting a little bit frantic and clinging to each other as if the end of the world was near. Thankfully the Principle quickly reassured the school that it was only a drill, and that they could return to class. Walking back to class, Ollie was still pointing at the dark looking cloud and trying to convince me that he could smell smoke. I couldn't keep the smile from my lips.
I'm sure that some teachers would argue that fire drills are highly disruptive, however I think that the disruption is worth it. Who doesn't love a bit of drama now and then? My kids settled back to work incredibly quickly after the fire drill; feeling safe and happy with the mundane routine of class work, so I wasn't worried.
Dear Gabriel
My job as a special needs teacher aide often requires me to work alongside children with autism. I have frequently worked with autistic children whilst on placement as well. Here are some of my thoughts.
Autism is horrible word. It is one of those words that is surrounded by quite a lot of fear. Ignorance is partly responsible for this fear, and you could certainly place me in this category. Even though autism would have to be one of my least favourite things, it is also something that I am hoping to know a lot more about by the time that I have finished my degree. At the moment I am reading a book called "Dear Gabriel". This book is a letter written by a father to his son; a little boy who has autism. The author is a great writer; very descriptive and it is clearly a heartfelt memoir. So far it has toyed with my emotions a little bit because I can only imagine how difficult it would be to parent a child with autism. One of the joys of children (and there are many) is the 'closeness' that you can have with them. Countless hugs and cuddles, hearing the words "I love you", a little hand holding onto yours - all of these things make me smile and fill my heart with so much joy. If I was unable to share this kind of closeness with my own child, and if my child didn't understand the extent of the love that I have for them; I would be shattered. That said, if a child has autism it doesn't necessarily mean that they will live a detached existence. I worked with a little boy in grade one who has autism at the beginning of the year, and he would constantly hold my hand and want to sit on my lap during class. I have the utmost respect for parents who have children with autism and who love them abundantly. There are many parents like this, and it is amazing to see how a parent's love can see beyond something as emotionally crippling as autism.
I have spent time with a number of autistic children, through various pracs and work. These beautiful children, along with the little boy in this book, have shown me that autism can manifest itself in so many different ways. No child is the same, even though they may display some similarities in behaviour. An inability to decipher social situations is a fairly well-known characteristic of autistic children. Although again, this can take many forms. The author of "Dear Gabriel" writes about his son's fixation with routine, lack of interpersonal skills and a tendency to interpret everything that is said literally. Every autistic child that I have spent time with has struggled with relating to others socially to some degree. I was in a classroom that has 3 boys with autism this year. Two of the boys, aged 9, were playing with leggo on the carpet. I sat down beside the boys and began to talk with them about what they were doing, making an effort to sound super interested. After about 30 seconds one of the boys turned to me, looking completely exasperated, and said "Do you really have to sit there watching us all the time?!". On a separate occasion I was on playground duty watching a few of the boys who had been fighting that week (a couple of them had autism). Before I knew it a few of the boys had surrounded one of the boys with autism and were pushing him around and hitting him. So I put on my cranky teacher's voice (it needs work) and marched over to the boys, broke up the fight and told the boys how disappointed I was (discipline also needs work - as if they would care if I was disappointed). After my feeble attempt at being firm, I went over to the little boy with autism to see if he was ok. He wasn't ok. He was completely tormented and frustrated and did not want anything to do with me. This little boy, with clenched fists and on the brink of tears, was so distraught that he could not speak a word, all he could do was let out a heartbreaking scream every now and then. My attempts to try and comfort him seemed to aggravate him further. I have never seen a little boy's eyes so full of anger, fear and utter frustration simultaneously. He ended up running off, which was hard but I knew that I couldn't chase him.
Even though these are clear examples of children with autism who struggle in social situations, there are exceptions. Another boy with autism who I have spent time with, aged 9, has trouble relating to his peers, yet was completely comfortable in talking to me about some pretty serious things. In fact he even spoke to me about his autism. It was heartbreaking to hear this boy talk about how he was struggling and falling behind the other children. Although I think the most difficult thing to hear was how resigned this boy was to the fact that he is 'different'. It is good that he wasn't in denial, but it is never nice to hear a child express a feeling of inadequacy and show that they have no expectations of their ability to overcome this. It was helpful to talk to this boy about the gifts and talents that he does have, and he certainly has many, although such encouragement is often temporary.
"Dear Gabriel" documents something that I'm sure every parent can relate to - the desire to nurture and love the precious gift that is children. Autism has certainly proven to be an obstacle to this. Although how wonderful it is to see in the lives of countless families that love prevails.
Autism is horrible word. It is one of those words that is surrounded by quite a lot of fear. Ignorance is partly responsible for this fear, and you could certainly place me in this category. Even though autism would have to be one of my least favourite things, it is also something that I am hoping to know a lot more about by the time that I have finished my degree. At the moment I am reading a book called "Dear Gabriel". This book is a letter written by a father to his son; a little boy who has autism. The author is a great writer; very descriptive and it is clearly a heartfelt memoir. So far it has toyed with my emotions a little bit because I can only imagine how difficult it would be to parent a child with autism. One of the joys of children (and there are many) is the 'closeness' that you can have with them. Countless hugs and cuddles, hearing the words "I love you", a little hand holding onto yours - all of these things make me smile and fill my heart with so much joy. If I was unable to share this kind of closeness with my own child, and if my child didn't understand the extent of the love that I have for them; I would be shattered. That said, if a child has autism it doesn't necessarily mean that they will live a detached existence. I worked with a little boy in grade one who has autism at the beginning of the year, and he would constantly hold my hand and want to sit on my lap during class. I have the utmost respect for parents who have children with autism and who love them abundantly. There are many parents like this, and it is amazing to see how a parent's love can see beyond something as emotionally crippling as autism.
I have spent time with a number of autistic children, through various pracs and work. These beautiful children, along with the little boy in this book, have shown me that autism can manifest itself in so many different ways. No child is the same, even though they may display some similarities in behaviour. An inability to decipher social situations is a fairly well-known characteristic of autistic children. Although again, this can take many forms. The author of "Dear Gabriel" writes about his son's fixation with routine, lack of interpersonal skills and a tendency to interpret everything that is said literally. Every autistic child that I have spent time with has struggled with relating to others socially to some degree. I was in a classroom that has 3 boys with autism this year. Two of the boys, aged 9, were playing with leggo on the carpet. I sat down beside the boys and began to talk with them about what they were doing, making an effort to sound super interested. After about 30 seconds one of the boys turned to me, looking completely exasperated, and said "Do you really have to sit there watching us all the time?!". On a separate occasion I was on playground duty watching a few of the boys who had been fighting that week (a couple of them had autism). Before I knew it a few of the boys had surrounded one of the boys with autism and were pushing him around and hitting him. So I put on my cranky teacher's voice (it needs work) and marched over to the boys, broke up the fight and told the boys how disappointed I was (discipline also needs work - as if they would care if I was disappointed). After my feeble attempt at being firm, I went over to the little boy with autism to see if he was ok. He wasn't ok. He was completely tormented and frustrated and did not want anything to do with me. This little boy, with clenched fists and on the brink of tears, was so distraught that he could not speak a word, all he could do was let out a heartbreaking scream every now and then. My attempts to try and comfort him seemed to aggravate him further. I have never seen a little boy's eyes so full of anger, fear and utter frustration simultaneously. He ended up running off, which was hard but I knew that I couldn't chase him.
Even though these are clear examples of children with autism who struggle in social situations, there are exceptions. Another boy with autism who I have spent time with, aged 9, has trouble relating to his peers, yet was completely comfortable in talking to me about some pretty serious things. In fact he even spoke to me about his autism. It was heartbreaking to hear this boy talk about how he was struggling and falling behind the other children. Although I think the most difficult thing to hear was how resigned this boy was to the fact that he is 'different'. It is good that he wasn't in denial, but it is never nice to hear a child express a feeling of inadequacy and show that they have no expectations of their ability to overcome this. It was helpful to talk to this boy about the gifts and talents that he does have, and he certainly has many, although such encouragement is often temporary.
"Dear Gabriel" documents something that I'm sure every parent can relate to - the desire to nurture and love the precious gift that is children. Autism has certainly proven to be an obstacle to this. Although how wonderful it is to see in the lives of countless families that love prevails.
2nd Year Placement Reflections
I thought that I would share some of my experiences from placement here! These are my reflections from my 2nd year placement in 2008. I hope that you enjoy reading them :)
Through the eyes of a 5 year old....
I have recently spent the last two weeks on placement at Wulguru State School in a prep class of 23 kids. I was bracing myself for a pretty full on two weeks, but there was no way that I could have been prepared for just how much hard work teaching preps is. Patience and perseverance are vital at all times, not to mention love and discipline. I don't think I've been given so many hugs in my life, which I really love but also think is an important part of being a prep teacher. I know that some people disagree with that, and I understand why, but for a lot of these kids their teacher is the only constant in their lives, and when we are afraid to show them love, that only serves to reinforce any negative perceptions of their value that their precious hearts have formed. But anyway.. there's many more factors to consider in that topic, and I wasn't going to go into that here. Despite the fact that prac was a lot of hard work, I really enjoyed taking on the role of a teacher. Most of the time I feel like too much of a kid myself to think that I could get away with fooling anyone into thinking I'm some kind of authority figure. But it's different with preps. All you have to say is "I wonder who can show me the right way to sit.." and they cross their legs, sit up as straight as they can, puff their little chests out and look like they are about to explode from trying to please you. It's great. So apart from having love and attention doted on me for two whole weeks, one of the main things that I really enjoyed about prac was how much I learnt from 10 short days of experience. Listing everything that I learnt would be beyond the scope of this blog, and would no doubt be thoroughly boring, but I wanted to share a few of the things that I learnt while I was on prac. Because I am certain that my preps taught me more than I taught them!
One of the things I learnt is that, as a whole, we do a pretty poor job of embracing the language differences evident in children that are products of various cultures. I was sitting by a little Aboriginal girl in class when she turned and said to me "Miss, I can't talk properly". Now for a five year old, this little girl's English was really quite good. There are a few pronounciation issues that are a result of her slight accent, but nothing serious. I tried to reassure this little girl that she actually speaks quite well, but she was adamant that she couldn't talk properly. When a child thinks that their language practices are deficit simply because they differ from what is considered normal, I think we need to reconsider how we are interacting with culturally diverse kids. We send these kids to speech pathologists, OTs and counselors so that we can 'fix' their language problems. So that we can change the cultural uniqueness of these kids to match our hegemonic society. Sadly this often leads to kids feeling ashamed of their heritage. Maybe we need to adjust our mental framework of trying to find a 'solution' for these kids...
Something else I learnt on prac is that a child's simplistic view of relationships is something that we could learn from. When someone has a need, you find a way to meet that need. If someone is crying, you hug them. If someone is hurt, you put your arm around them. If you love someone, you tell them. If you appreciate what someone has done for you, you draw them a picture. Now obviously relationships are a little more complicated in the adult world than they are to a five year old. If I drew someone a picture in an attempt to show appreciation they would probably think I was trying to punish them. But kids get that if you love someone, or if you are thankful for the role that they have played in your life, you need to show them.
I also realised whilst on prac that we really do underestimate how powerful music is. If you walk into a prep classroom with a guitar, the kids are immediately transfixed on your every move. What is said through music often carries more meaning than if it was simply spoken. That can be scary sometimes. I couldn't believe how many preppies were running around the playground singing secular songs that they have probably heard on the radio in the car on the way to school that carry strong adult messages. The other day one of my preppies didn't have any food, so I walked her down to the Indigenous affairs officer's room. There were about half a dozen boys in there playing Xbox and just having fun. The kids were listening to the radio when 'Low' came on, and they straight away began singing and dancing. This group of boys knew all of the lyrics. If you know the song I am talking about, you'll realise this really isn't a positive thing. Half a dozen boys moving to the deep, pulsating beat and singing "She turned around and gave that big booty a slap" is something I found a little concerning. These boys were no older than 8. And I know that people will argue "They don't know what the song means! They just like the beat!" But I don't care, because that isn't the issue here. One day these kids will know the meaning of what they are singing, and will be increasingly immune to the depraved aspects of our society because it's what they've grown up with. Slowly more and more explicitly inappropriate lyrics will become acceptable and justifiable until we no longer know right from wrong. Until we no longer have boundaries. When everything becomes acceptable that opens the way for a whole realm of problems. We put posters on the walls that tell kids not to swear and to do the right thing, then we allow music that is explicitly degrading and overflowing with foul language. We say to kids that language and behaviour that we don't allow in the real world is ok so long as it is kept within the confines of music. Good luck with that.
Through the eyes of a 5 year old....
I have recently spent the last two weeks on placement at Wulguru State School in a prep class of 23 kids. I was bracing myself for a pretty full on two weeks, but there was no way that I could have been prepared for just how much hard work teaching preps is. Patience and perseverance are vital at all times, not to mention love and discipline. I don't think I've been given so many hugs in my life, which I really love but also think is an important part of being a prep teacher. I know that some people disagree with that, and I understand why, but for a lot of these kids their teacher is the only constant in their lives, and when we are afraid to show them love, that only serves to reinforce any negative perceptions of their value that their precious hearts have formed. But anyway.. there's many more factors to consider in that topic, and I wasn't going to go into that here. Despite the fact that prac was a lot of hard work, I really enjoyed taking on the role of a teacher. Most of the time I feel like too much of a kid myself to think that I could get away with fooling anyone into thinking I'm some kind of authority figure. But it's different with preps. All you have to say is "I wonder who can show me the right way to sit.." and they cross their legs, sit up as straight as they can, puff their little chests out and look like they are about to explode from trying to please you. It's great. So apart from having love and attention doted on me for two whole weeks, one of the main things that I really enjoyed about prac was how much I learnt from 10 short days of experience. Listing everything that I learnt would be beyond the scope of this blog, and would no doubt be thoroughly boring, but I wanted to share a few of the things that I learnt while I was on prac. Because I am certain that my preps taught me more than I taught them!
One of the things I learnt is that, as a whole, we do a pretty poor job of embracing the language differences evident in children that are products of various cultures. I was sitting by a little Aboriginal girl in class when she turned and said to me "Miss, I can't talk properly". Now for a five year old, this little girl's English was really quite good. There are a few pronounciation issues that are a result of her slight accent, but nothing serious. I tried to reassure this little girl that she actually speaks quite well, but she was adamant that she couldn't talk properly. When a child thinks that their language practices are deficit simply because they differ from what is considered normal, I think we need to reconsider how we are interacting with culturally diverse kids. We send these kids to speech pathologists, OTs and counselors so that we can 'fix' their language problems. So that we can change the cultural uniqueness of these kids to match our hegemonic society. Sadly this often leads to kids feeling ashamed of their heritage. Maybe we need to adjust our mental framework of trying to find a 'solution' for these kids...
Something else I learnt on prac is that a child's simplistic view of relationships is something that we could learn from. When someone has a need, you find a way to meet that need. If someone is crying, you hug them. If someone is hurt, you put your arm around them. If you love someone, you tell them. If you appreciate what someone has done for you, you draw them a picture. Now obviously relationships are a little more complicated in the adult world than they are to a five year old. If I drew someone a picture in an attempt to show appreciation they would probably think I was trying to punish them. But kids get that if you love someone, or if you are thankful for the role that they have played in your life, you need to show them.
I also realised whilst on prac that we really do underestimate how powerful music is. If you walk into a prep classroom with a guitar, the kids are immediately transfixed on your every move. What is said through music often carries more meaning than if it was simply spoken. That can be scary sometimes. I couldn't believe how many preppies were running around the playground singing secular songs that they have probably heard on the radio in the car on the way to school that carry strong adult messages. The other day one of my preppies didn't have any food, so I walked her down to the Indigenous affairs officer's room. There were about half a dozen boys in there playing Xbox and just having fun. The kids were listening to the radio when 'Low' came on, and they straight away began singing and dancing. This group of boys knew all of the lyrics. If you know the song I am talking about, you'll realise this really isn't a positive thing. Half a dozen boys moving to the deep, pulsating beat and singing "She turned around and gave that big booty a slap" is something I found a little concerning. These boys were no older than 8. And I know that people will argue "They don't know what the song means! They just like the beat!" But I don't care, because that isn't the issue here. One day these kids will know the meaning of what they are singing, and will be increasingly immune to the depraved aspects of our society because it's what they've grown up with. Slowly more and more explicitly inappropriate lyrics will become acceptable and justifiable until we no longer know right from wrong. Until we no longer have boundaries. When everything becomes acceptable that opens the way for a whole realm of problems. We put posters on the walls that tell kids not to swear and to do the right thing, then we allow music that is explicitly degrading and overflowing with foul language. We say to kids that language and behaviour that we don't allow in the real world is ok so long as it is kept within the confines of music. Good luck with that.
RubiStar.4teachers
At this stage in our degree, there are many areas which may lead us to feel like a complete novice. One such area is the process of creating a marking rubric. I have only ever constructed two rubrics, and I thought that I would share an online tool that I found extremely helpful. This website is called RubiStar, and essentially it provides teachers with a rubric template and generates a rubric once the appropriate information has been included. It is a free resource, so make sure that you have a look!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Sparklebox!
Hello my virtual buddies!
I thought that I would share with you a brilliant resource that I came across whilst on placement. It's called sparklebox.co (just click on the embedded link). I have found it very helpful indeed. There are loads of free resources that are relevant to a variety of topics, and I've heard from other teachers that you can actually order resources that they will make for you (for free!!).
Check it out! Well worth a squiz! :)
I thought that I would share with you a brilliant resource that I came across whilst on placement. It's called sparklebox.co (just click on the embedded link). I have found it very helpful indeed. There are loads of free resources that are relevant to a variety of topics, and I've heard from other teachers that you can actually order resources that they will make for you (for free!!).
Check it out! Well worth a squiz! :)
Monday, August 31, 2009
Hello Readers!
Hello my wonderful readers!!
I am going to utilise this blog for assessment purposes for ED3441! I am studying early childhood education and I am currently in third year!
I hope that you find this blog interesting! Please feel free to leave a comment!
Peace out :)
I am going to utilise this blog for assessment purposes for ED3441! I am studying early childhood education and I am currently in third year!
I hope that you find this blog interesting! Please feel free to leave a comment!
Peace out :)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
