dents1

Sydney Dent

Gloria Flynn

510-03

26 April 2018

Introduction

General Information

I was assigned to Pittsburg High School USD #250, in Pittsburg, KS. I was in the

classroom of Amber Kloster who runs the disability classroom there. This is for students who

have physical and learning disabilities, not learning alone. All of the students that are in Amber’s

classroom are those who qualify to move into New Hope here in Pittsburg after they graduate.

The population consisted of three males, and four females. I mainly worked with one of

the girls and one of the boys, but encountered all except for one female. This was part of the high

school program, so the ages could range from 14-21. The students usually graduate at 21, but are

given the option if they are wanting to graduate early enough and feel ready. In Amber’s

classroom life skills are learned, such as learning how to cook simple things, do laundry, identify

their own personal information, cleaning, counting money, identifying road signs, all of the

things we do naturally.

Building Report Card

Pittsburg School District USD #250 reports of 3,143 individuals, with 919, or 29.2%, of

the population being located at Pittsburg High School. When looking at socioeconomic status,

the economically disadvantaged consists of 55.06% of the population while 44.94% of the

population are non-economically disadvantaged. These numbers are pretty similar, which is

something I did not expect especially coming from such a large school district. Pittsburg has
 dents2

quite the community and knowing that over half of them do receive free and reduced lunches is

something that should be of concern.

Looking at the ethnicity status of the district, the largest population is Caucasian/White

coming in with 69.53%. The next highest percentage is Hispanic with 15.34%, the third highest

being 10.23% under the Other category. I find it interesting that the percentage of African

Americans is so low, coming in at 4.9% or about 154 students for the entire district. Splitting this

up between all six schools in the district, there is approximately 25 African-American students at

each building.

When analyzing the math assessment data, Pittsburg High’s percentages are not as good

as the state’s overall reported data. Pitt High reports 56% of their population to be at Level 1,

while only 42.79% of the state population is categorized under Level 1. The other categories

goes about the same for Pitt High, where their percentages aren't meeting the average state

standards. Pitt High reports 44% being under Levels 2-4, while the state reports 57.19%. For

Level 4 only, Pitt High reports 4%, while the overall state data brings in 7.35%.

Looking at ELA assessment data there were only two categories where Pitt High reported

0% under the Level 4 category. The first would be under the subgroup of Students With

Disabilities. Pitt High recorded 68.75% to be qualified under Level 1, and 31.25% qualified

under Levels 2-4, with 0% being under the Level 4 category. The other subgroup where Pitt High

recorded 0% under the Level 4 category was the Other ethnicity category. 28.57% were reported

under Level 1, and 71.42% were qualified under Levels 2-4.

Target Student Profiles

 dents3

Student A: Student A was the first student that I encountered at my experience. She was

of African American ethnicity and appeared to have down-syndrome. I was not given a report on

which students had what, so these are my best assumptions. Student A was easily distracted by

her surroundings, and was constantly being redirected to stay on task. Student A was also the

youngest student in the classroom, being about 15 years old. She was also the first person to

greet anybody who entered the classroom. Student A’s speech was not as developed as others,

and you could not understand what she was saying if she even spoke. She tended to use sign

language for letters when explaining what she wanted in situations and that seemed to suit her

needs.

Student B: Student B was bound to a wheelchair, and was physically disabled. I was

informed that he had cerebral palsy. Student B did less than all of the other students, as he was

bound to his chair, a hammock hung from the ceiling, or his physical therapy chair. Student B

worked more on using his hands correctly than anything else. He could not speak, but was able

to create noise when he needed attention and was usually able to relay his point as to what he

was needing.

Student C: This is the student that I spent the most time with in the classroom. He is 16

years old, and is tall, about 6’2” when standing up straight. Student C is a happy person, almost

always being in a good mood, walking around and smiling. I am not sure what his disability was,

but it was noted while observing that he did have difficulty using his hands and fingers when it

came to tasks that involved bending and straightening his fingers. Student C was almost always

laughing, and I did not encounter a day where he did not laugh at least once. He was also

interested in girls, saying hi to them in the hallway and any other female that entered our room.

Student C showed his personality whilst I was observing, making it easy to see the connection
 dents4

that even disabled are their own person and should not be categorized or judged. Student C

enjoyed doing the simpler things and there were not any objectives that I observed that he did not

want to do. He was outgoing and always seemed like he wanted to be at school. Student C was

easily the most enjoyable student to be around.

Student D; I did not observe Student D frequently, but he was always around when it

came time for PE and for adaptive art. Student D had down syndrome, and was about 16 years

old. He enjoyed blowing raspberries, and playing on his ipad. Throughout my seven days

observing I did not hear him say a single word, and he never fought or argued with any of the

paras. Student D was laid back and just did what was asked of him.

Student E: Student E has a similar story to Student D. She has down syndrome, and is

about 16 years old and she is of white descent. She was more verbal in what she did, but never

did argue with the paras. Student E laughed a lot, and enjoyed clapping when she enjoyed

something. Once motivated to begin on her objectives Student E would fly through them, she

just struggled to begin her tasks.

Student F: I only encountered Student F when it came to adaptive art, as she was one of

the more higher functioning students. Student F was legally half blind in one eye, and also

seemed to have a speech impairment of some sort. She was 20 years old of white decent and is

graduating this May. Student F also is not social, and did not talk to me throughout my time with

her. There were a few times that she did not speak to me at all, and a few times where she was

rude and would not apologize. Overall Student F was not an enjoyable person to be around.

Daily Entries

Day 1: February 27th 9:30 am-11:00 am

 dents5

I was extremely nervous with this being my first day; I was excited and terrified all at the

same time. Like I have mentioned before, I had worked in a Special Education classroom back in

high school with some students and I was preparing for this to be pretty similar to that situation.

The moment I walked in I knew that this was going to be like nothing I had experienced before.

I walked in to a girl, who we can call Student A, sitting on the floor by a small kitchen,

refusing to stand up; Student B in a hammock hung from the ceiling, and then three other

students all sitting at desks which we can refer to as Student C, Student D, and Student E. Most

of the students and paras ignored me, and I stood there by myself for probably two minutes.

Finally someone noticed me, and Amber walked up to me and introduced herself and welcomed

me to the classroom.

I asked her if there was a specific student I was supposed to work with, she informed me

I was able to choose whoever I wanted, or just float around with multiple students. With it being

the first day I just wandered around and saw a little bit of everyone and what they were doing. At

11 we went to PE. I was expecting just a normal typical PE classroom, but instead we went to an

older gym and the students went to just walk around. I realize now that even this was a huge

accomplishment for these students.

At 11:30 we went to adaptive art. Here I met Student F, and I was able to work with her

through the class period as there was not a para assigned to her for the hour. Student F showed

me around and was able to explain to me what she was needing help with at the moment, which

just so happened to be painting a picture. There were other students that came into this class

period with us, and they had been transported over from the middle school. From watching all of

the students it was clear that each of these students were unique in their disabilities and their

personalities.
 dents6

Overall this day was eye opening for me and I am shocked at what is ahead of me. This is

going to be an interesting experience and I am scared and excited all at once. I would like to be

able to pick a certain student to follow around and observe each day, but I think I am going to

have to take it day by day. I believe after today I will be a little more prepared than I was this

morning.

Day 2: March 6th 9:30 am-11:00 am

When I arrived today, Student A walked up to me and signed and asked “S?” and I

honestly did not know what to do. I told her what my name was, and that it did start with an S

and she was correct. Student A then proceeded to give me a hug and I complied. I was then

informed that we are supposed to give Student A high fives instead, because of her tendency to

hug everyone she sees. I decided I was going to shadow Student A for the day, and the para and I

took Student A back to her desk.

In the classroom there is a wall with daily objectives on it. These consist of everyday life

tasks, such as kitchen duties, doing laundry, opening and closing containers, cleaning the

classroom, recognizing different coins, office jobs, etc. Throughout the day they have certain

time slots where they are to work on a few of these objectives, and these objectives must be met

before they are to continue on to the fun activities such as PE and art. Going back to Student A’s

desk, she was in the middle of working on recognizing her own personal information such as

what her name looked like, her address, her phone number and other important personal ways to

identify herself.

With me watching over her, Student A was refusing to work, and insisted on trying to

talk to me. The para was redirecting the student and it was failing. I then tried to encourage

Student A to work on matching her information. I was honestly frustrated and didn’t know what
 dents7

to do. Amber then came over and informed me I should step back and watch from afar or the

student would not be able to do any of her assigned work. This hit me hard, realizing that brand

new things affected these students so much and made it distracting enough to be unproductive.

I wasn’t sure what to do at that point, just because I was planning on observing the

student and I had to stand across the room and attempt to pay attention. I talked to Amber for

awhile longer, and she discussed with me that this would happen with each of the students, and I

probably wouldn’t be able to observe any of them closely while they were doing their objectives.

I was able to go to PE with them again at 11am.

For PE, I walked with Student A to the gym, and she led the way the entire time. Walking

through the halls during passing period I noticed there were quite a few students who spoke and

greeted Student A. To a few of them, she waved and tried to say hi back; about half of the

students that tried to confront her, Student A would not say hi back, putting her head down and

ignoring them. I wasn’t sure if there was a specific reason for this but I wondered about this for

the rest of the walk to the gym.

Once we were to the gym, the paras were changed between students and I continued to

walk around the gym with Student A. She was easily distracted, wanting to do everything but

walk with us, whether that be sit down or just walk the other direction. It was much easier for me

to stay involved with Student A during PE, as I just walked around the gym in front of her, she

would follow me. This made me feel a little better about being there, as I didn’t want to feel like

I was bothering anybody or hindering the students’ progress.

For the rest of PE I was able to help keep Student A on task, until we transitioned to

adaptive art. Like my first day, I was asked to work with Student F because of the lack of help in

the classroom. The project we worked on had to do with landscapes. Student F asked me to help
 dents8

her draw some mountains and trees, and I was able to help her figure out just what she wanted.

Student F then proceeded to paint all of the landscapes and stay on task for the duration of

adaptive art. Everytime I would look up I would catch one of the other students staring at me, I

don’t think they quite understood why I was there or who I was. When I went to leave for the

day, Student F refused to tell me goodbye but Student A ran away from her para and up to me to

try to give me a hug. I tried to give her a high-five like they informed me to the week before, but

I was engulfed and removed myself from the situation quickly and left.

Today was a lot different than the first day, but I was able to be a little more involved

than I was the first time. I still am blown-away when I realize just how different these students

are than the average student. These students aren’t learning school subjects, but are going

through and experiencing every-day life things in order to help them after high school. I always

knew that there were students out there like this, but I didn’t realize that they had programs such

as these located in high schools. I plan to be in a middle school or a high school environment,

and I could be working with students like these depending on their capabilities. Watching how

Amber and the paras treat the students is something I could pick up and find to be useful in my

teaching career.

Day 3: March 13th 9:30 am - 11:00 am

Arriving for my third day, there was something off in the air as I walked into the

classroom. It was eerily quiet, until I heard screaming coming from Student A’s desk. As I

approached the situation another para, who was with Student B at the moment, came up and

informed me that I should not go back there and that Student A was having a meltdown and had

not even brushed her teeth for the start of the day yet. Amber informed me that it would not be a
 dents9

good idea to follow Student A around for the day, so I backed off and decided to see what the

other students were up to.

The para with Student C was just sitting waiting for her student to come out of the

restroom and told me that I could follow them around for the day, and that he usually does

decent with more attention because he likes to show off for the new people. I took this as an

invitation to experience another student. As Student C came out of the restroom and saw me

sitting next to his para, he started skipping/jumping towards us and began to laugh. He

automatically grabbed my hand with one of his and then began to grab my hair. I backed out

quickly before he was able to grasp ahold too tight.

The para introduced me, and then I told Student C hello. He automatically told me hi and

took my hand and took me back to his desk where they had been working on identifying

different coins. I knew from the week before that it was not a good idea for me to be right next to

him as he tried to sort the coins, so I stood behind a wall about 10 feet away where I could still

observe them without Student C seeing me. He did know I was watching however, because each

time he correctly put a coin away he would laugh and look my direction. Student C definitely

loved to laugh, and it was contagious; I found myself laughing every time he began to.

Once Student C was done with sorting coins, we still had about 15 minutes until it was

time for PE. We walked up to the wall and Student C moved his car with his picture on it to the

next task, which happened to be cleaning the classroom. The para automatically started laughing

and I asked why, and she just told me to watch and wait. Once the para told Student C “duster”

he took off running to the closet. Next thing I know here is this kid running around with a duster

laughing and dusting everything he could reach. The para nor Amber had to redirect the student

in order to have him to do this objective as it was obvious he thoroughly enjoyed it. I watched as
 dents10

the student tried to jump and dust the top of the television, where he laughed so hard he almost

fell down. Watching Student C find so much enjoyment in dusting lightened the mood in the

classroom, as I found myself and the paras and the other students all giggling at Student C

dusting. This continued on until it was time for PE.

Student C knew exactly when PE time was, as he jumped up and ran directly to his

assigned para for that time, and took her hand and almost dragged her over to Student B, who is

in something almost like an electric wheelchair. Student C started jumping up and down pointing

at Student B. At first I did not understand what he was wanting to do, and I asked him. Student C

replied with, “Help push.” The next thing I knew he started pushing his friend out of the

classroom and out into the hallway, without anybody going with him. The paras just laughed and

started walking after them, so I joined. I didn’t know whether to laugh or just smile, but it was

heartfelt. The only thing that Student C wanted to do was push Student B around and help his

friend.

Walking down the hallway, Student C smiled and waved at about everyone who walked

by, which was a lot of students. There were a few girls who stopped to tell him hello, and he

almost pushed Student B into the wall because he felt the need to give the other students hugs.

Finally making it into the old gymnasium I watched as Student C pushed Student B around with

no hesitation whatsoever and seemed to enjoy every second of what he was doing. I started to

talk to the para about Student C and what he was like, and they informed me that he loves girls

which was probably why he was behaving so well while I was watching. PE went over smoothly,

and nobody had to intervene to redirect Student C to be back on his task. He seemed so content

just pushing his friend along in the gym like it was an everyday occurance.
 dents11

Student C pushed around Student B in the chair until we arrived at the adaptive art

classroom. They were finishing up the project from the week before, and Student F needed my

help placing leaves on the trees she had drawn. I assisted her with the glue, and she thanked me

for helping her and seemed excited I was there, the opposite vibe I was received from the week

before. Across the table I watched as Student C was completely uninterested in what he was

supposed to be doing, and he smiled and tried to wave at me but knocked a bottle of glue on the

ground in the process. He made a loud “Whoops” and tried to bend over to pick it up, only to

knock more things over in the process. The para started laughing, causing the student to laugh as

well until the period was over and I said my goodbyes.

I may have not been able to be as involved with Student A as I had wished, but Student C

seemed to thoroughly enjoy my company and still be able to stay on task. In my classroom I will

have to be able to recognize the students that can handle the extra attention and the ones that are

only able to focus on their tasks with no distractions. Today was the best day that I have had so

far, seeing Student C care so much for his fellow classmate. This helped me keep in mind that

just because the students have disabilities, does not mean that they are not actual people as well.

This is something I strongly need to keep in mind as I encounter these types of students in my

classroom.

Day 4: March 27th 9:30 am - 11:00 am

Being the first day back from Spring Break, as they were not required to go back to

school the following Monday, the classroom was a little more unsettled than normal when I

arrived. Student C was thoroughly excited to see me and greeted me with a skip and a high

pitched, “Hi!”. I greeted the paras and we reminisced about our breaks. Student C’s para lead

him over to the objectives board to see what his first objective of the day would be, and his car
 dents12

landed on the last activity on the board, which was bike safety. I looked at her inquisitively, as

Student C clapped his hands loudly. I could tell by the look on her face I was about to experience

something interesting.

I was walking with Student C and his para towards the gym, as I listened to what we were

about to do. We were about to help the student learn how to ride a bike. I was truly intrigued

about how this was going to go down, as the student can barely sit still as it is. We go to the gym

and I waited with Student C as the para went to go borrow a set of keys from the gym teacher.

Student C was jumping up and down repeating “bike,” over and over loudly. Everyone in the

gym could tell what we were about to do, and oh boy was he excited. The para led us down into

a back room and redirected Student C to grab his tricycle, and this was a large tricycle.

The tricycle was about the same size as a normal bicycle, but had a basket on the back of

it. As Student C was about to pull the tricycle out, he was running into anything that could be

bumped into, and he was laughing almost too hard to be able to steer the bicycle out himself. The

para was laughing and I joined in as well, helping Student C with his tricycle to be able to enter

the commons area without issues. Once out there, the para assisted Student C with putting his

helmet on, where he refused. Student C started pouting when the para put the helmet and

fastened it on his head. I then had to help put one of his feet on a pedal, while the para did the

other. I watched as Student C began to laugh again, and the para gave him a push start. The

student had a hard time remembering to push the pedals down and forward to make the bike

move.

As the para started pushing Student C down the hall, he started laughing uncontrollably

and had a hard time steering himself. The para had to redirect his path multiple times, and help

him continue to push the pedals around correctly. I have never seen someone find so much
 dents13

enjoyment out of the little things. It hit me once again that everyday tasks are not as simple for

everyone. All of this continued for about 20 minutes, and then it was time to put the bike up,

Student C was reluctant to stop riding. Once the para assisted him off the bike, it was just as

amusing to see Student C put the bike back in the back room. He was pushing the bike fast and

out of control, running into about everything that was in the way.

Once we arrived at PE, Student C automatically took over and motioned and asked if he

could push Student B around for the class period. His para nodded and allowed him to push his

classmate around. I am guessing Student C was still excited from riding his bike, as he attempted

to run around the gym pushing Student B. The paras had to chase him down and attempt to slow

him down as well, Student C was fighting them and became frustrated and started yelling when

he was not allowed to push anymore. I did not know what to do; here was a student I did not

have much experience being around who was having a meltdown. I stood by and tried to stay out

of the way as the paras tried to calm him down. Watching them struggle with Student C while he

tried to run away, finally he began to wear down and stopped straining against them. PE time

was over at this time, and it was time to go to art.

I was quiet all the way to the classroom, I didn’t know if I should ask questions as to why

he freaked out so much, or if I should keep my mouth closed. The paras seemed frustrated and

relieved when we all finally arrived to art, thankful that the struggle was over. I sat down with

Student F who was not excited to be in art class. I said hello to her, and she ignored my greeting

and stood up to retrieve her current project. I asked what she was working on, and she refused to

talk to me still or let me help her carry paint for what appeared to be a picture made of warm and

cool colors. I sat quietly as nobody was speaking. Student F did not want/need my help for the

rest of th period so I sat and watched until it was time for me to leave.
 dents14

This day brought a lot for me to reflect over, the main thing being just how fast these

students’ attitudes can change. Yes, anyone can have an attitude change due to a schedule change

but it was difficult for the day to go smoothly after Student C’s meltdown. The paras were upset,

the student was upset, and nobody was speaking. I am aware that it can be difficult to overcome

for the average person, but usually there is not a physical strain. In my future classroom I will

have to think of icebreakers, in order to redirect things back on track after a disruptive event. I

honestly want to know if Student C is bipolar or not, but I am not aware. I did not receive a lot of

information about all of my students so I am not sure what caused his blowup.

Day 5: April 3rd 9:30 am - 11:00 am

Being my fifth day, the students were well acquainted with me showing up on Tuesdays.

I walked in and greeted the students and the paras as I normally do. Student A approached me

and signed “S,” questioning if my name started with an S. As I nodded and agreed she skipped

off giggling as I assumed she was proud of remembering. I asked the para on Student B where

Student C was, and she informed me they were back working at his desk.

As I walked over to look over the objective wall where Student C’s desk was, I

recognized a whine. Peering over the wall, I saw Student C sitting with his arms folded, and it

looked like he was refusing to organize the colored paper clips lying on the desk. His para was

talking to him and showing him exactly how to sort them by colors, and where to put the paper

clips. As she noticed me, she motioned for me to join them. I walked back there carefully as I

was worried I would distract or upset him for interrupting. As Student C saw me, his face lit up

and he stood attempting to hold my hand. I asked him what he was doing and he just pointed at

his paperclips, not saying anything to me. The para asked me if I would show him how to sort

the paperclips, I am guessing she was hoping he would follow my lead as it appeared they had
 dents15

not been accomplishing much. I felt honored that I was asked to help the student perform one of

his objectives for the day.

I picked up a yellow paperclip, showed him and placed it in the correctly marked tub.

Next I repeated the process with a pink paperclip; and Student C was watching me the entire

time. I motioned towards the paperclips lying on the desk and was hoping he would catch on and

he did. As Student C started to pick up paperclips, I noticed he could not pick up small objects

well. He wasn’t able to pick them up with his fingertips, but rather had to slide them off the table

onto his hand. His fingers wouldn’t straighten back out after bending all of the way but I had

never noticed it before until then. I wonder if it was only with small objects he had difficulty

with, or if Student C was just being a little OCD and didn’t like to pick small objects up on

purpose. The para praised him as he sat down and continued on to sort the rest of the paperclips.

I noticed he did all of one color at once, sliding them around on the table in sorted piles before

sliding them off the desk to put them in their correct containers. After putting each paper clip

into their selected containers, Student C would turn around and look at his para and I with what

appeared to be excitement. This was another one of those moments where I was humbled by the

excitement everyday activities can bring someone if they are not a natural occurrence.

After finishing sorting his paperclips, it was time for PE. Student B was not going to PE

that day, as he had an appointment and this caused Student C to be upset that he could not push

his classmate. Student C then continued to grab my hand and almost drag me down the hallway

towards the gymnasium. He said hi to every person that looked at him that we passed in the

hallway, mainly all girls. This seemed to be a natural thing to do for Student C, as he seemed

interested in every female that he walks by.

 dents16

This particular day the wind was strong, and in the old gymnasium there was a loud

banging noise from something outside. As the paras tried to determine where we would go,

Student C started walking down the hallway pointing at a certain room. I wondered where he

was going, as I was the only one who seemed to notice that he was taking off by himself into

what looked like a classroom. I motioned at his para that he had walked down the hall, and the

next thing I know she grabs everyone else and brings them down to the same room Student C

had entered. This looked like a dance/cheer studio, with mirrors on every wall.

Student C’s para praised him for thinking of coming into the dance studio for PE, and all

he did was giggle. I laughed because you could tell that he was proud of his accomplishment and

was blushing. I turned to ask Student C’s para what they normally did in the studio, and just as I

turned around, Student D’s para had went into the backroom and grabbed some large floor

scooters and some soft balls. When I turned back to watch everyone, Student C was throwing a

ball at his reflection in the mirror, Student D was sitting on a scooter scooting himself around on

the floor, and Student E was playing catch with her para, laughing the entire time.

Watching all of these students enjoy these simple activities made me realize how thankful

I should be for the opportunities I have been given throughout life. There was not a lot for me to

do while we were in the studio but observe, as there wasn’t quite enough room for everyone to

be moving around a lot. I noticed again that Student C’s fingers didn’t bend and straighten as

easily as everyone else’s while he played catch with his reflection on the wall. I noticed that

Student D was ecstatic about sitting on his scooter. Student E, who is the quietest and the most

calm of them all, was laughing almost uncontrollably at the opportunity to play catch with a soft

ball.
 dents17

When PE time was up, we slowly made our way to art class. There was reluctance in

each of their faces as we left the dance studio. Student C whined loudly and was determined to

let us know he did not want to leave and I can assure you we were all aware. Walking into art I

noticed that Student F was not there this day, so I sat next to Student C and his para.

This day the students were working on making symmetrical pictures, taking string and

painting them and folding a piece of paper over to make each side look the same. His para went

over to help the teacher with something, and asked if I would help Student C. I agreed of course,

happy to be doing something productive again! As I mentioned before, Student C did not have

the greatest skills at picking up small objects. Student C insisted on painting his own strings, just

giggling away as his fingers became covered in paint. I helped him fold and crease the paper

over the strings, and pulled the strings out for him as he was not able to grasp ahold of them.

When I opened the paper to show him, Student C was so excited he started clapping, which

splattered paint all over his face and mine. His eyes widened in shock, I laughed and took his

hand and led him over to wash his hands.

The sink in the art room is one that has the hose you must stand on to make the water turn

on. Student C walked up to the sink, and looked at inquisitively. I don’t think he remembered

how to wash his hands, as he looked under the faucet then back at me. He did this again, three or

four more times. I walked over next to him trying not to laugh, and pointed to my feet where I

stepped on the hose where the water turned on. Student C gasped and took my foot off the hose.

He continued to poke the hose with his foot, until he had enough pressure to turn the water on.

Student C started to laugh, and as I turned around to talk to his para, he began to jump. He was

jumping up and down on the hose to watch the water come out then turn back on. It was such an

innocent sight watching Student C enjoy turning the water on at a sink. After drying our hands, it
 dents18

was time for me to leave. I waved goodbye to all the students and Student C was the only one

who waved back, this made my entire day.

This day was the most eventful out of the days so far, barely scraping past Student C’s

meltdown the week before. I witnessed so much and have a lot to think about. I realize I should

be thankful for the hand coordination that I have. I did not notice Student C’s issue with his

fingers until today, and it is possible something like this will come up in my classroom. I need to

learn how to accommodate this, and how to approach it as well but with enough grace to not

appear to be calling out a student.

Day 6: April 10th 9:30 am - 11:00 am

Out of all the days I observed, this one touched my heart more than any of the other ones.

As I walked into the classroom, Student C’s para informed me that he was going on a “field

trip.” This truly only consisted of him going to the dental screening that was going on during the

week but they had to tell him this in order for him to agree to go, not that he had a choice as it

was. Student C had already completed one of his objectives for this time period, so the para and I

took Student C and led him out of the classroom. He was skipping and all excited because he had

no clue he was going to have his teeth cleaned.

The para led us to the dance/cheer studio that we had used for PE last week, where they

had a few dental chairs and a little office set up to do their paperwork. Student C was still so

excited, and walked right in with the para. I stayed behind, I didn’t know how he would react

once he found out this wasn’t an actual field trip and didn’t want to be in the way. His para led

him to the chair and held his hand, once the dentist assistants attempted to open his mouth

Student C freaked out and immediately rose out of the chair. It took all three dentist assistants

and the para to make him to sit back down, and Student C looked at me and said, “Help,” and
 dents19

that made me feel uneasy. I asked the para if I could leave the room and she allowed it. I stood

on the other side of the door, glancing in occasionally.

This particular moment in time affected me so much because the longer I had known the

student, the more I cared for him. I know that this dental screening was required for his health

but it hurt my heart seeing him be so reluctant. I peered in the window a few times and watched

as the para was able to soothe him enough for the dental assistants to be able to clean his mouth.

I am glad I was able to stand outside as I knew that I would have been a distraction. Once the

cleaning was done time for PE had already passed and it was now adaptive art period. I could tell

that Student C did not enjoy what had happened in the dance studio as he tried to run from his

para, being successful, but he ended up going to the water fountain and was trying to rinse his

mouth out from the flouride. I asked the para if this was the first year Student C had received

dental services at the school and she told me that it wasn’t, but every year it was a struggle for

him to sit still to allow them to work on his mouth. Our conversation lasted about five minutes or

so, and Student C was still drinking from the water fountain. The para grabbed his hand and led

him away from the fountain, and you could tell he had missed his mouth most of the time as his

t-shirt was half soaked. The para giggled and soon did Student C and then he was back to

normal, laughing away trying to skip down the hallway.

In art, Student F was behind on her current project. We needed to color a bird and cut it

out, create a wire sculpture and put paper mache on, and create a little monster out of clay. I

unfortunately was not blessed with an artistic bone in my body, but did my best to help Student F

create a monster out of the clay. I created a dinosaur with spikes going down its back, and I was

honestly proud of myself. I showed Student F as she was coloring her bird, and the para across

the table told her to thank me for helping her, in which Student F replied with, “No.” I was
 dents20

surprised at first, as I thought she was kidding but she definitely was not. I then continued to

create the wire sculpture while Student F cut out her bird. The para again told her to thank me,

and she replied again with, “No I don’t want to.” I sat quietly for the rest of the period, I did not

know why she wasn’t thanking me, as she usually did. It was time for me to leave then, and

Student C along with the paras told me goodbye, as Student F just ignored me and kept on with

the cutting out of her bird.

This day had its ups and downs for me. Spending so much time with Student C I had

grown to see him as a normal student, but watching him try to have dental screening taken

reminded me of all of the challenges that these students face for everyday life. I think that it is

easy to view students with disabilities as normal people if you open your mind. Then again, I

think you have to be careful when thinking this way, as there are things in life that are difficult

for them that we don’t think twice about. If I look at this in a classroom setting, I have to

remember that even though struggling students can accomplish most things, in the end they will

need the extra assistance.

March 17th: 9:30 am - 11:00 am

I had informed Amber last week that this would be my last day, and she had my

evaluation waiting for me as I arrived. Student A ran up to me and signed S, asking to see if it

was me again. I told her yes and gave her a high-five, which caused her to skip back to her seat

as per usual. I spotted Student C over by the kitchen with his para, where he appeared to be

making hot chocolate. I noticed first hand that he couldn’t hold on to his spoon tightly, and there

was hot chocolate all over the table. He grinned from ear to ear when he saw me approaching

and he continued to try to stir his drink and eat a marshmallow, which also was not going well

for him.
 dents21

Student C’s next and last objective before PE was cleaning the classroom again. Since he

had dusted before, the para told him to go grab the vacuum. My eyes widened as the thought of

Student C running around with a vacuum was a little scary. He skipped over to the closet and

grabbed a swiffer vacuum, one of those that just rolls that requires no electricity and picks up

little things. I shook my head a little as the thought of him running an electric vacuum was quite

amusing. Believe me though, when Student C began to run around the room making the sound,

“vroom vroom,” it was thoroughly entertaining. His para started laughing, then I started to laugh.

How could someone find so much enjoyment in vacuuming a classroom? But here he was

laughing and running around the classroom having a great time, running into just about

everything that he could. As Student C had covered the entire classroom three times, it was time

to go to PE.

Like the first few times I had went and observed, Student C asked to push his friend

Student B down the hall. On the way, we did stop to check the mail for Amber. Student C knew

exactly what to do, walking into the teachers lounge, holding the door open for the teachers

walking in and out. His para didn’t even accompany him, as she said this was one of his favorite

activities to do. Soon, out came Student C with Amber’s mail, he promptly put it back on Student

B’s chair in the side pocket like he knew exactly what he was doing. It amazes me that there are

a few simple things that are easy for these students to accomplish, and others that are so difficult.

In the gymnasium I decided to walk next to Student C as he pushed his classmate, as it

was my last day and I was pretty upset about it. He tells me, “Ball!” and I look up to see him

pointing at dodgeballs that had stuck in the ceiling rafters. Next thing I know he abandons

Student B and was walking around counting all of the balls stuck in the ceiling. I was impressed,

not that I didn’t think that he couldn’t count, but I was not expecting him to do so without help
 dents22

and so enthusiastically. His para smiled and rolled her eyes, and told me he forgets they are there

and notices them again every once in a while. This continued on for the rest of PE. I counted

them multiple times for Student C, and even helped him find all of them by color.

On the way to art Student C held my hand the entire way there as if he knew that I was

sad it was my last day to observe. I think that he could tell, because I looked at him with sad eyes

and smiled most of the day. Student F was bright and chipper my last day there, and asked me if

I would help her with her project. This was a complete change from the week before, so I think

she was having a bad week last week. I helped Student F paint her paper mache sculpture we had

made out of wire the week before, and she allowed me to paint one whole side. Student F talked

the entire time, telling me about how her sister had painted her nails, that her favorite color was

red, and that she went to Chanute to see some family. I just smiled and listened, glad that she was

enjoying my company for once. Soon art was over, time flew by when I was listening to her

stories. I stood up to say my goodbyes, and the para for Student C while I was there gave me a

hug, and so did he. They all told me to come back and I left with Student A, Student C, Student

D, Student E, and Student F all waving goodbye.

My last day was humbling just as all the other days had been. It was important for me to

see that some students just have bad days, such as Student F had the week before. I myself will

have bad days in my own classroom, and need to keep a positive mindset as it will not always be

that way, as this day showed me. Again, I was reminded just how lucky we are to be able to

accomplish the things we do in our everyday life without assistance.

Final Reflection

This project opened so many doors for me, as well as my heart and my eyes. I had never

been around these kind of students before, and everything I experienced was brand new. I was
 dents23

expecting to be in a Special Education classroom working with students who had ADHD or

another type of disorder. At first I was terrified, and I didn’t think I would be able to handle what

was in store for me. In the end, I am so thankful I was placed in this classroom as it helped me

realize where I want to go with my career.

I know that this project was to help you understand how students with disabilities are in

need of some more assistance in order to accomplish their tasks, and how to handle these

students if they were to be in your classroom. Being placed in Amber’s classroom did this and so

much more for me. I was able to view and observe the paras to see how they handled out of

control behavior, which I may or may not encounter, and saw how they relayed information to

students who did not have as complex cognitive processing skills to have them still accomplish

what was needed. It is one thing to understand how to handle these students but another to

witness the process first hand.

This project was one where I learned a lot about classroom management and about

providing the students with what they are needing to succeed. Amber’s classroom was ran

entirely different than a normal classroom, and that was due to the fact that her students were in

need of something more. I realized that even if you have something set out for all students you

must think of what is best for the student. Each individual student needs help in their own

personal ways, and you must accommodate them in order to be effective.

The importance of being able to observe in this classroom was crucial on my decision to

be a teacher. I have always enjoyed helping students learn new things, but helping students learn

every day life skills just emphasized the importance of having a good teacher and someone that

cares about you. Without this program, these students would be lost, and without teachers in all

sorts of settings, there would be lost children everywhere. I may not be looking to teach in a
 dents24

disabled classroom, but it made me realize how thankful I am for the opportunities I have now in

my life.