Decisions

So, in about a year, I am looking at doing my practicum for the Early Childhood Special Ed program. Essentially, this is student teaching. I'll spend time with three different age groups of kids, and then I'll get my Master's degree. I've also found the list of course requirements for adding an elementary education endorsement to my license, which I think I'll do.

I need to make a decision before then about where I'm going to do my practicum. We've had the idea of going to Vancouver, WA, for a few years, just for something different. Dre would probably be able to continue with his company there, and I could most likely find a job there after I complete my practicum. But . . . I can't decide to stay in Colorado, or go to Washington, and it's grinding on me.

Washington Pros:

- An hour's drive away from the ocean (where I would love to live)
- Good public transportation
- Close to Portland, OR
- Exploring the Pacific Northwest would be at our fingertips

Washington Cons:

- Far from family and friends
- I'd have to find my own practicum placement, and perhaps submit to more testing (the Praxis)

Colorado Pros:

- Close to family and friends
- I already understand the path to teacher licensure in CO
- Moving expenses would be less $

Colorado Cons:

- Sense of adventure is greatly reduced
- Might regret not going to WA later on

Job, continued

I'm about a month into my new job, and I love it. I felt somewhat intimidated by the kids at the beginning of the year, but now I feel like I have a moderately strong handle on situations when the kids start getting agitated and I need to give them direction. It's always a learning process, but the team I'm with is supportive and communicates expectations for the kids, which helps me out a lot. I'm finding that I'm good at staying calm, collected, and giving stern yet clear directions, which probably was a by-product of working with kids with autism.

Being a para has allowed me to view different aspects of special education through a microscope, and I like being able to connect my job with what I'm learning in my graduate classes. One thing that I've noticed is that not all general education teachers are willing to work with kids with special needs, or accommodate them once they are in the classroom. One of the principles of IDEA (legislation which ensures all children receive a free, appropriate, public education, or FAPE) is that students will be placed in a least restrictive environment (LRE). What this means is that students with disabilities will not be segregated in a room at the back of the school where no one sees them; rather, they will be with their regular peers to the greatest extent possible. However, I've heard about some general ed teachers who single out the special needs kid(s) in their classroom, or hold consistently low expectations for them.

Further, I've heard about special ed teachers who don't have expectations for their students. I was told about a special ed teacher of kids with emotional/ behavioral disabilities who just gave his students puzzles to do, day after day, because "they wouldn't learn anything anyway." Other teachers just let them draw all day. The kids I work with now are in this population, and they WILL learn if they have expectations; I've seen it. They are intelligent; a teacher just needs to unlock it.

Thirdly, one thing I've noticed in the teacher's lounge is that some of the gen ed teachers are very clique-y. Not all of them, mind you, but some of them. It's almost like sitting in the high school cafeteria all over again. Maybe this is just part of the elementary school culture, as I didn't notice this at the junior high school I used to work at. However, at the same junior high school, the teacher I used to work with was confronted by the secretary (who had a daughter with an intellectual disability) about how the money being spent on our severe autism program could be used for students like her daughter. I'm sure that there are a multitude of co-worker challenges I'll encounter in my career, but these are just a few I've noticed so far.