Future Plans

Despite the well-publicized budgetary issues that are currently handicapping schools in New Jersey at this time, I am fortunate enough to have received a contract to teach next year at my school.  In addition to social studies, decoding and vocabulary classes that I have taught this year, I also have been asked to teach computer/technology classes next year.  I am excited by this change and am looking forward to this new challenge.  At the same time, I will be writing my thesis at Caldwell College and by June, 2012 I will have completed the requirements to receive my Masters in Special Education.  However, this does not signify the end of my own education.  I will continue to take classes at Caldwell College to work towards acquiring my Learning Disabilities Teacher Consultant license.  My overall plan, even after I obtain my LDTC license, is to stay in the classroom for a few more years.  I truly enjoy being a teacher and feel that I have quite a bit more to accomplish inside the classroom.  Once I feel that I am ready to move on to new positions, I certainly will welcome the change and challenges that I will face.

Greatest Struggle

Teaching is often filled with daily struggles, whether it be getting your students to perform at their best or follow through on the scope and sequence you set out for yourself at the beginning of the year amidst the constant interruptions and distractions of schedules.  I think my personal greatest struggle thus far has been being a first year teacher while still taking graduate courses.  I have had to work long days and sacrifice quite a bit of my free time to keep up with the demands of both my job and my classes.  Ask any teacher and they will tell you that the first year of teaching is the hardest and I could not agree more.  There is a lot of planning, preparing, and adjusting that goes into being a first year teaching.  There are a lot of new responsibilities and demands, trials and errors, and other adjustments.  However, I feel that having been in those graduate courses has been therapeutic and has helped me to get through this first year since there were classmates in the same situation.  It has been helpful to share my experiences and learn about theirs.  All in all, I feel that I have grown a great deal this year despite this struggle of teaching and taking classes at night.

Fondest Memory

Not surprisingly, my first full year of teaching has provided me with many memorable moments.  My demonstration lesson, receiving my first teacher's contract, conducting my first lesson (admittedly not the greatest memory as I would need to make a number of adjustments), getting the first complement from a parent, and a number of other firsts were all very unforgettable.  However, my fondest memory thus far in my career as a teacher came before I was even called in for an interview.  My fondest memory was when I handed in my portfolio to my student teaching seminar professor.  It was a very special moment for me because it was a representation of the journey required to become a certified teacher.  I had worked long and hard and sacrificed a good deal to get to this point but it was well worth the journey.  I had achieved a major life goal that I had set out for myself and it was a really proud moment.  I was well aware that my journey had actually only just begun but for a brief moment I felt like I was on top of the world.  I will never forget that feeling or that moment.

Milestone

My educational career has been a long, arduous journey thus far and continues as I approach the completion of the Masters in Special Education program here at Caldwell College.  I started off in the Post-Baccalaureate Teaching Certification Saturday program at Caldwell College about five years ago.  At the time, I was working as a Teacher Assistant at a school for students with autism.  I took the necessary courses, completed my student teaching (acquiring my K-5 certification), and then continued to take graduate courses at night to obtain my special education certification.  Within that time, I acquired a full time teaching job at the school I currently work at.  Any one of those accomplishments could be considered major milestones.  However, my biggest milestone while pursuing my masters actually occurred outside of Caldwell College.  After my first half-year as a certified teacher (I was hired in January), I was let go because of enrollment issues.  Since I was the last teacher hired, there was not enough room to hire me back.  However, in the summer I was approached by the principal and director and asked to take the Middle School Social Studies Praxis exam.  The current social studies teacher at that time was not able to pass this test and also did not have a history degree like I do.  Upon hearing this, I immediately signed up for the next available test which happened to be less than two weeks away.  Studying like I have never studied before, I successfully passed the examination on my first attempt and was offered the social studies position.  I went from not having a job to being a highly qualified middle school social studies teacher in a matter of weeks.  To me, that is my greatest milestone.

Personal Goals

Since I work with students who have already been diagnosed with reading and writing difficulties, I am excited to be taking this course to gain a better understanding as to how these students arrived at the school that I work at.  In other words, what types of assessments and classroom behaviors led them to be diagnosed and how did their district find their differences to be so severe that they needed an outside placement.  An important goal of mine is to learn more about the informal and formal assessment and diagnostic tools that are used to identify students with reading and writing difficulties.  More specifically, what goes into performing these assessments, why are they chosen, and how do these measures separate the readers from non-readers.  I have learned the names of many of theses assessments (i.e. DRA, DIBELS, etc.) but am interested in learning more about them.  Another goal I hope to achieve through this course is learning how to choose a proper program for instruction for those who are identified as having reading and writing difficulties.  At my school, we use the Wilson Reading System and some other programs but I am curious as to why that one is chosen.  I have observed Wilson resulting in success but have also witnessed students that are not able to progress using that particular program.  Is the success based solely on the students' specific reading difficulties or does teacher instruction play a role?  I hope that by the end of the semester some, if not all, of these questions are answered.

Philosophy of Education Statement

            My philosophy on teaching and education revolves around one very important premise;  the “one size fits all” approach to teaching simply does not work.  This is the most important conviction that I hold and is not limited to students who are classified with disabilities.  Every student learns differently and it is the responsibility of the teacher to use many different approaches when teaching their lessons.  I will take into consideration Gardner’s “Multiple Intelligences” and include the use of the five senses, especially touch (tactile).  Audio, visual, and kinesthetic practices should be utilized and the use of technology should also be a major part of all lessons.  I will teach to the students’ strengths, differentiating instruction, and by using all of these different models of teaching, they will ensure that all the different types of learners will be reached.

            Classroom management plays an essential role in developing a warm, receptive environment conducive to learning.  The classroom needs to be organized; rules and regulations posted clearly; expectations clearly defined and reasonable; and every student should feel safe and secure enough to take chances and participate in each lesson.  It is the responsibility of the teacher to make sure that lessons are well prepared and that students are constantly engaged.

            An effective teacher needs to develop a strong relationship with their students.  Every student deserves a fair chance and can be guided to reach their potential as long as the teacher is consistent, patient, and caring and willing to take the time necessary for this to occur.  Every student deserves to be treated the same, despite gender, ethnicity, race, culture, and socioeconomic status.  This is the only way to lessen the gaps that exist in education today.

            Finally, teachers should act as colleagues, not competitors.  Education is an ongoing, ever changing entity.  Teachers are life-long learners and will continue to need to learn fresh, new strategies and techniques throughout their whole careers.  One way this can be easily done is if teachers collaborate with each other and work together for the common good, the education of all students.

School Context

I currently teach at a private special education school in Fairfield, NJ.  The school is designed to assist students with language based disabilities.  The various disabilities that are present at this school include mild to severe learning disabilities, dyslexia, Aspergers syndrome, speech and hearing impairments, physical disabilities, and multiple disabilities.  Currently, I am the 7th and 8th grade social studies teacher.  In addition to that, I also teach a few decoding and vocabulary classes.  For the decoding classes, I use the Benchmark and Wilson Reading Systems.  The vocabulary students that I instruct work from the Steck-Vaughn Vocabulary Connections Series.  Next year, in addition to social studies, decoding, and vocabulary classes I will be teaching computer/technology classes one day a week.  There are approximately 50 students enrolled in my school.  Aside from two or three exceptions, all of the students are sent by their districts.  Two students are even from New York State.  The size of the classes are small, averaging three to five students per class, allowing them to receive instruction appropriate to the modifications required by their IEPs.  All students function below their typical grade level and all students receive a high dosage of decoding or vocabulary instruction since none of them can be classified as fluent readers. 

"Banyan School empowers students to believe in themselves and to develop the skills necessary to achieve success" (Banyan School Mission Statement).