A Look at the New Space

A few weeks ago, my administrators surprised me by giving me my "own" room for 1 class period and 1 planning period during the day.  The rest of the day I was occupying someone else's classroom to teach my own class or co-teaching in the LA/SS room.

There have been 3 rounds of student changes since I last posted!  More students with Special Ed needs have entered our co-teach class (more on that later), there's a huge shift with English Language Learners about to happen and my Special Ed math class had risen to a roster of 23. That's too many students!!  So, we split up the math class. I now have 13 students and we're in MY room!  So, now I'm in one spot all day except for the 2 periods of co-teach which feels just right!  

Here's a look at the room (photos taken before the math switch happened, so it's mostly Language Arts.

I had the idea to feature different authors over the summer, during my "pinning and dreaming" phase.
Glad I got to put it into effect!

My books were stored in boxes, just waiting for a room of their (my) own!

Student-written expectations, a graduation cap & my Arches poster.

Bob watches over us.  (This is what happens when you move into the former science lab / storage room.)

Change Up

I haven't posted all week.  It's not that I haven't been teaching, co-teaching, reflecting and adjusting.  I have been doing all of that.  And then some.

Teaching / Co-teaching:  We are finally getting into the real deal curriculum for the year and I am excited!  There's only so much getting-to-know-you and baseline-gathering one can do before the call of a fresh text book is too much to deny!

Adjusting:  I have been making good on my plan to steal (learn?) strategies from my co-teachers. I started doing "the hand thing" or "Give me 5" with one of my classes as they are such engaged chatters that audible attention getters are just not working.  This is not a new approach but after I saw it work well with 7th graders, I decided to use it with my 8th grade class.  So far so good.  

Reflecting:  There's been much reflection this week.  Not all of it super positive for my teaching mentality.  Here's why:  Several changes to our co-teaching and inclusion model have been made.  (Notice the passive tense?  This was one of those "from above" type decisions that a teacher and principal can do little more than say ok about.)

About 2 dozen kids who have Special Ed needs and were previously included in the Gen Ed classroom with Special Ed support were pulled out of 1 or 2 Gen Ed classes and put into Special Ed-only classes.  Or, as I like to say, "excluded from Gen Ed."  

After getting totally pumped up about inclusion (remember my "Hopes" post?) this was a difficult blow.  I continue to feel pretty deflated about the whole thing, especially since it was a blanket decision that did not involve much / any individualized decision making.  It was a bummer.  

BUT, I'm a Special Education teacher and I love teaching students who have special needs and I was actually a bit excited to have 2 of my OWN classes (1 math and 1 LA).  I am enthusiastically planning for both classes.  So, that's the bright side.  

It's been hard to write about my feelings on this because it is conflicting.  I believe some kids need a special environment and special instruction sometimes, but I just keep thinking about the messages of exclusion that are being sent to Special Ed and Gen Ed students.  I will leave you with a student response from a survey I gave to my new classes.

What has been your proudest moment in middle school?  "When I got out of [the special ed class] but now I'm back in.  :( "

Co-Teaching, Huh?

Last year, I lived and taught in New Jersey for one year only.  Prior to that, I'd gotten my teaching certificate and taught for 3 years in Washington State, just outside of Seattle.  While in New Jersey, finishing up the year in an Inclusion / Resource long term sub position I was searching for jobs back on the West (best) Coast.  I had a great Skype interview with a staff team and new-to-the-school principal at a middle school that really only needed a half time Resource Teacher and offered me a full time position, encouraging me that we would work out something great!  They suggested I might be part of some new building-wide initiatives, mentioned a brand new EBD teacher who might benefit from some support (my first 3 years were in a self-contained, middle school EBD program), or, maybe, whatever I wanted! 

I didn't quite believe that "whatever I wanted" part but the group seemed enthusiastic, and it sounded like a lot of "NEW" energy and "NEW" programming and I felt that I might have a lot of opportunities there.  So I accepted!

A few weeks before school started, I was still in New Jersey and got my new principal on the phone to find out what I'd be doing.  I had spent the summer pinning and dreaming, but felt relatively directionless.  The district had just held a training on this NEW thing:  Co-Teaching!  The Special Educators, General Educators and administrators who participated in the training were super enthusiastic and ready to test out this new model right away.  I found out that I would be partnered with one each of 7th grade and 8th grade Language Arts / Social Studies teachers.  We would co-plan and co-teach however we wanted, once we got together.

OK!

This sounded quite exciting!  I am trained and certified as a Special Education teacher.  I did not come from a General Education background, I've worked with kids and adults with disabilities for years but haven't spent a lot of time in Gen Ed classes since my high school days.  As a Special Ed teacher, I've been in and out of other teachers' classrooms, of course, especially during my Inclusion days.  But I recall being a brand new teacher and wondering, "how are the Gen Ed teachers handling this topic?"  And I really didn't know much about that.  So, co-teaching sounded like a great way to learn first hand how subjects are typically taught which would benefit me and my future students greatly.

I was also excited because I think more students should be included in main stream classes more often and for more time.  Just MORE!  I would have the opportunity to support struggling learners alongside other kids.  Our Special Ed students would have the opportunity to participate with their peers in the least restrictive environment.  I could instruct students in learning and studying strategies that would reach many more students than in a Resource Room setting.  This sounded GREAT!

Of course, it also sounded really vague.  And I didn't know who my co-teachers were.  I did know that one of them didn't know yet that we would be co-teaching. (And didn't find out until days before school started, one of the problems with lots of NEW stuff happening at a school at the same time, I guess.)  I didn't know how I would co-plan with 2 teachers (one of whom does not have a common planning time with me.)  I set out to read up on the topic, so at least I finally had a bit of direction to my Pinterest routine.

What's NEW at your school this year??