As an educator I plan to . . .

As an educator, I plan to bring excitement and encouragement into the classroom. I have been in many classrooms, and have seen many students that seem bored and discouraged. I plan to have a different approach to the "problem child". I think that positive reinforcement goes a long way with elementary students when you are trying to redirect their frustrations. Many children are bored in the classroom. It is boring sitting in a desk for most of the day inside a building. I understand this, and that children need to run around and scream and do what they want to do for a little while everyday. I will not expect my students to be robots. I couldn't succeed in such and environment and don't expect my students to do so either. I feel that I am meant for special education because I act like some of the students. That is not a bad thing, I think that it is pretty cool.

Where I want to teach. . . What I want to teach . . .

I plan to teach at Robertsdale Elementary in Robertsdale, Alabama. I am currently a paraprofessional in Project REACH K-2 at Robertsdale Elementary. Ideally, I will take over the class that I work in when I graduate and the current teacher will move on to something else in the county to put her degree to better use and advance her career. Project REACH is a program for autistic children with moderate to severe behavior problems. The students in Project REACH are in self-contained classrooms for a portion of the day. These students participate in regular education with their peers as appropriate. Most all of the students participate in lunch, P.E., music, art, computer and snack with their peers. Others have library, counseling, and participate in regular education classroom academics. The students misbehavior is the only thing that limits their time with their regular education peers. Just because they are autistic does not mean that they cannot be in a regular education class. As you can see, I really enjoy working with these students and plan to be a teacher in Project REACH when I graduate. Currently Project REACH is available for schools in Baldwin County. There will be another unit opening up at Foley Elementary by the end of this school year. The need for a program like this for our students is ever expanding and fortunately Baldwin County is trying to accommodate these needs by adding more and more units around the county.

My favorite classroom books are . . .

All books can be adapted to be interactive for children. One can make icons on Boardmaker and put Velcro in the book for children to match icons with pictures. This makes the books interactive. CHICKA CHICKA BOOM BOOM is a great, interactive book for students to learn their alphabet. One can purchase the coconut tree and Velcro alphabet for children to put on the tree while the teacher is reading the book. The Kissing Hand is a great book to share with students that have separation anxiety, especially the first few weeks of school. I love books and think that so much can be taught to students when someone is reading to them. The best part is that they do not even realize that they are learning!

What technology I will utilize . . .

I want to have a class blog to keep parents up to date on events and happenings in our classroom. I would love to post pictures of my students doing everyday assignments on my blog. I could post weekly class assignments for parent to reference if they lose the list that was sent home with the student. I could also have links on my blog for helpful websites for parents to reference. For example, www.starfall.com is a very educational website that parents could play with their children. I could also have links for autism research, and dates of important community events. I would also enjoy having students make and maintain their own blogs. (I do not know how well that would work out if I teach K-2 though. Just a thought.)

What materials I would like to use. . .

I think that if you can see, smell, hear, taste, and touch you learn more. I will have as many hands on activities or teaching lessons that I can imagine. Art and science can be really fun for autistic children if planned correctly. As with all activities, children do not like to wait. Well planned activities can be very educational and exciting for students and the teacher alike.