On Friendship...

So I haven't had a lot of extra time lately to blog. But today I was looking through some poems and found one that I really liked, so of course I felt compelled to share!

For me, it is more than just a poem about love. It not only sums up how I feel about Anthony but also how my students make me feel. I know that I am loved everyday! As you know I have recently begun working with children that are Autistic. As you may also know, working with these children has and is, making me a better person. And I am more rewarded than challenged. One looking in from the outside may be judgmental about the class I work with, they may have preconceived notions, they may wonder how WE do our jobs everyday and still maintain a positive outlook on life.

I stay positive because I know in my heart, that these small blessings called children, love me. And I love them.

“I love you,
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am
When I am with you.

I love you,
Not only for what
You have made of yourself,
But for what
You are making of me.
I love you
For the part of me
That you bring out;
I love you
For putting your hand
Into my heaped-up heart
And passing over -
All the foolish, weak things
That you can’t help
Dimly seeing there.
For drawing out
Into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find.

I love you because you
Are helping me to make
the lumber of my life
Not a tavern
But a temple;
Out of the works
Of my every day
Not a reproach
But a song.

I love you
Because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good
And more than any fate
Could have done
To make me happy.
You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.
You have done it
By being yourself.
Perhaps that is what
Being a friend means,
After all.”

~Roy Croft

*So here's to being a FANTASTIC teacher, one day, because this is what it's all about!

Small Steps...

So most of you already know that I work in a preschool program with children that have Autism. I just wanted to let you all know, that I love my job. Really, no sarcasm involved.

When I was in college I had several professors tell me about things a teacher can and will encounter, and I never, EVER believed some of the things they were telling me. Well, now I've seen my fair share!

I guess I just never knew that some children needed to be taught how to play, how to associate with others, how to sit for more than 3 seconds without having a meltdown or even how to show emotion. But some do. And I get to be part of it all. And I love it!

Yes there are times that are rough, everyday. Everyday I ask myself if this is where I actually belong in this life. The answer at the end of the every day is the same, yes I do. I do belong here, I am making a difference in the life of someone, somehow, every single day.

I'm not out changing the world, I'm no superhero, they probably will never even know that I, yep me, impacted their life.

But you see, one small step after another leads to a bigger step. Today we learned how to put a ball in a toy, tomorrow we will learn how to push the button to make it work, on Friday we will put the two together and we actually played with a toy. It doesn't seem significant to some, but you see this child is 4 years old, and has never played (this of course is not speaking of 1 particular child, I am speaking of many children with Autism).

Some boys turn 5 years old and have never pushed a car. Most children are pushing cars, or a slinky, or whatever toy they have around, all over the place, they just do it because they see that it has wheels, or movable parts, so it should be pushed. Unfortunately not all children make the connection, some children, see that toy, see that is is movable, yet never touch it, because they don't know that it is "supposed" to be pushed, or pulled, or slung down the stairs.

My dream is that ALL children diagnosed with Autism have the opportunity to be diagnosed early in life and get accepted to wonderful preschools for early intervention - just like the one I work in!

So here's to small steps, because they actually do lead to bigger steps...

To learn more about Autism - I have provided a link:
CLICK ME: AUTISTIC KIDS ROCK!!!

Making Changes - Part Three

A friend recently commented on a blog about Charter Schools. She stated: “The real solution to fixing education and closing the achievement gap in America lies within improving our public school system. We need to have equal funding, lose "tenure" for teachers, have higher teacher accountability, and better teacher incentives.”
As you can see her comment made suggestions of how to correct our public school system, this got me thinking about things I would do if I had the power to “fix” the school system. Here are just a few of my ideas and suggestions I would present to a board of people that could help in my crusade!
• Equal allocation of resources, including but not limited to funding, supplies, and access.
• Rid schools, teachers and classrooms with endless stacks of paper
• Make administrators into facilitators and rid the school of useless personnel
• Use funds on education of students, not unnecessary whatnots
• Find every dollar possible, not only rely on government funding
• Planning before building/tearing down a school (school design should emphasize and support student learning – not based on modernism)
• Activity plans that contain measurable outcomes, with dates and assignments of responsibility for implementation
• People other than the teacher (some teachers) connecting with their students
• Restructuring and reorganizing the resources of time, money and facilities
• More hands-on art, science and computer projects
• Integration of all subjects across the curriculum – instead of allotted blocks of time each day to learn reading.
- Through a national project called Nature Mapping, fourth-grade students in rural Washington learn reading, writing, mathematics, science, and technology use while searching for rare lizards.
• Put writing back into the education system, and teach children not to rely on spellcheck
• Bridge the gap between teachers and parents, no matter how you have to get there
• Requiring teachers to adopt new best-practices
-With new technology teachers can use Middle Web, Teacher Leaders Network, and the Teachers Network to be informed of such practices
• Stop teaching to the test
• Make schools encumbered by unions and bureaucracy
• Teach the truth (like the real story of John Smith and Pocahontas)
• Increase teacher salary (ie: stop giving all the money to celebrities and put into education)
This is my short list, more to come soon 