"Seeing" is more than being able to see....

I couldn’t help but feel like all our lives were richer for hearing the incredible story of courageous self-sufficiency from Bruce Long our guest speaker.  To think of where Bruce is today and how far he has come from a young boy not really understanding how different he was from those around him to the successful business man, husband and father that he is today, just shows how he has embraced the opportunities that have come his way.  

All through the talk he kept saying “I never wanted to stand out” and while that was what made him most comfortable when he was younger – being quiet and hoping no one paid him any special attention, today he is certainly willing and very passionate about presenting his story.  Perhaps that is for a number of reasons; he wants to helps us gain further knowledge about people with vision disabilities by educating us, in hopes that we as educators will use that knowledge to educate others, and Bruce feels like he is giving back to the community that has reached out and helped him.    

His talk reminded me that our students need us to be in their corner – to see them as more than just students and test scores, but children.  To get to know them well enough that we can literally sense when something is "off."  To be so in-tune to our students that we "see" when something is wrong.  To notice the student that doesn’t hear our directions one day even though they are paying attention.  Or the student that doesn’t want to do the art project not because they don’t want to, but because they have too many problems using scissors and don’t want the other students to make fun of them.  If we can empower our students, just like Bruce empowered himself to succeed, the students with special needs in our classes will be able to feel victorious and not helpless.

Dr. Rife Devotion

Wandering through the wilderness....a sense of direction helps us navigate through life.  But which road to take - are we any wiser today than our ancestors of the book of Exodus?  Sometimes we seem just as stubborn as they were - thinking we know better what will work for us - where we need to be - and who we need to be with.  Perhaps a re-read is in order.
Interesting quote from Dr. Rife; "If you like it you are blessed. If you don't - master it because if you are a Christian know that God has a plan and has placed you there for a reason." 

Assessment Tree

I have a great vantage point from my seat in class - I can see both our classroom trees.  On the right our rainforest tree has been with us from the very beginning; growing insidiously and breathing life into our environment.  That tree is home to many animals and provides oxygen for our planet.  Then there is the new addition to our family - the assessment tree on the left.  If you take a second and contrast and compare the two you come up with the fact that they are both trees, both have a trunk approximately the same gerth, both have branches and are both about the same size.  The difference between the two is that the rainforest tree is a formative assessment - always changing and adapting depending on what animal is living in it and how the climate it lives in provides for it.  Whereas the assessment tree is a summative assessment.  It is a culmination of a students four years of formal high school education.  And while it is impressive with its scaffolding of lesson upon lesson and test upon test, quiz upon quiz it is a dead tree - not living and breathing - not adapting but rather a statement - which could be interpreted as........

Read, Write and Talk

Through out this video - above and beyond the education components - you couldn't help but be impressed with the relationship between the teacher and her students.  And while the teacher is modeling effective ways of getting information to her students - she is most importantly modeling building relationships student to student starting with her relationship with the students.  Image the stories that the students will have to share with their parents when they get home about their day because they are learning how to model commnications skills at school that they can teach to their families.  For example:  I was teaching a pretty heavy unit last year on artists that have political statements to make with their art.  Some of the artists that we discussed had been imprisoned, tortured, and victimized for what they believe in and thus created.  We spent about two weeks on this unit and sometime during the second week one of the students started to connect the children of these third world countries in an unusual way - they wondered where the next generation of artists where going to come from - the ones that would continue to spread the word about social abuses if we don't encourage these young people now.  But this student took this even farther and went home and modeled our discussion with their parents and got them involved.  Long story short - we now are involved with a school in Mexico that encourages young artists and we pen pal with them! 

Phonics and Spelling

Word Study

A couple of observations on the video we watched:

1st - magnetic letters aren't just for learning your letters to read and write better - in the art classroom we use them to trace, stamp, and paint.  So add a book, some paint, and what a great way to connect on a global scale!

2nd - loved the way one of the teachers used art words to describe the letters - or at least what I think of as art vocab - curves, tunnels, sticks etc.... going to have to incorporate ......

Deep in Autism Country!

While I haven’t read any of the other blogs yet – I can’t help but think that we are all going to have interesting comments about some of the controversial triggers of Autism in young children that we were told about. Panda Kouse, our guest speaker, made some arguments for delaying vaccines  or spreading them out in our infants.  The stacking of vaccines between generations was something that did catch my attention.  It would explain why we continue to see more and more cases of Autism.  As a mother I have to tell you it’s pretty scary when you go to the pediatrician’s office with your 6 month old and the needles come out and keep coming out.  You do wonder just how much this little body – and all my children were less than 5 pounds and 4 weeks early; can absorb all those different kinds of toxins.  As far as the food connection; I must admit that I have chosen to take my family entirely off gluten and we seem to be happier - less trouble with processing our food, less feeling tired and not being able to focus after eating.   While we might have our own opinions on this subject – at least we are discussing Autism!   

Who do I need to Serve?

Who do I need to serve?  A good question and I could just throw out ‘everyone ‘cause I think that is the right answer!  Jesus certainly didn’t differentiate between people and their unique needs but sometimes I can’t help but do that.  I guess I would have to ponder on the thought that having a servant’s heart is learned and not a skill set that we are born with.  Sometimes it takes a purpose of thought to think "serve" in our everyday lives.  I will gravitate toward that person in my life that is the most needing of being served – and unintentionally ignore the quiet peer that is slowly going out of their mind because on the surface they don’t seem to need anything.  I must admit that while I ignore the homeless guy that is holding up a sign asking for help while I am waiting for the light to change - every Thanksgiving my family goes with our church to help in the downtown soup kitchens.   For most people I think it is hard to ask for help and if no one does then we feel like there isn’t anyone or anything that needs to be served.  After all asking for help means that we can’t handle everything ourselves – right???  It’s that perception of weakness.  But as a Christian I know that I can’t do anything on my own – it is only through Christ that I can do all things.  So the next time someone asks for volunteers in the nursery at church I will ignore the fact that I have no time and take a deep breath and go do God’s work and not my own!