The Freedom Writers

 A classmate recommended this film last week. I read The Freedom Writers Diary back in 2007 and was very moved by it. After watching the movie, I was once again overwhelmed with how powerful their story is. Below are  twp clips from the movie. The first clip was at the beginning of the movie when the students were still very much divided...and Erin Gruwell (played by Hilary Swank) finds a way to help them see that they are not that different from each other after all. *Gets chills all up arm*


This next clip is equally as powerful. The students all write letters to the amazing woman who hid Anne Frank during the Holocaust. They raise enough money to have her fly in from Europe and tell her story. This is how she responds when a student says that she is his hero.



This movie was kind of hard to watch, very emotional intense, but I highly recommend it. Very eye opening and inspirational. This last video is an interview with the real Erin Gruwell. Very interesting to hear her perspective. This video also includes interview with Zlata, a young lady who wrote a diary of her experiences in Sarajevo growing up in a war zone.

Ohio DL Schools

If I had absolutely no other choice but to send my future child to an e-school, I would send them to:

This is the only e-school in Ohio that was rated "excellent", as well as being the only virtual public school to be recognized by the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA). In order to receive this accreditation, they had to meet twelve standards of distance education, and they did not just meet these standards, but exceeded them. They also use  programs developed by leading educational publishers such as Calvert School and Prentice Hall. Their website is professional, informative, and very easy to use. 

I would be very cautious about sending my child to an e-school, but I would feel confident in my choice to send them to this one if I had to because I feel like they would receive quality education by qualified teachers, and even though they would not have the socialization that a traditional public school could offer, I would do my part as a parent to make sure they attended all the field trips, and any other social plans to meet with other students and their families.

Commparing Top 4 Ohio E-Schools

There is no chance that I would ever send my child to:

I found this statistics at PlunderBund which justs lays the groundwork for my reasoning to not send my child to this school.

Has had consistently flat or declining test scores for a nine year period

Has graduation rates of below 35% over that entire time (consistently 20 points lower than Cleveland Schools’ scores)

Has attendance rates that are consistently below the state average

Has student achievement scores that are significantly below state averages

Received 36% more in per pupil funding than the state average

Is run by an unlicensed superintendent and unlicensed assistant superintendent who are each being paid over $100,000 per year (above statewide averages)

Pays teachers are paid an average salary of $34,450, well below the state average of $55,812.

I would not send my child to this school knowing these things. I would not be swayed by their website and all their fancy promises - I would do my research and find out the truth, and knowing the truth about this school confirms my choice.

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ORC Lesson Plan

This lesson plan is suitable for children Kindergarten through 2nd grade, with some appropriate tweaks to the lesson plan accordingly. This lesson plan features a stuffed animal bear named Corduroy, who is nestled deeply in the hearts of many children and adults alike. This lesson focuses on English Language Arts, and promotes skills in writing, reading, and discussion as well as engages their creative and literary reflective skills. In this lesson, the children will listen to a variety of stories featuring Corduroy over the course of a few days. They will discuss the characters in the story, as well as the plot. They will begin to feel a personal connection to this bear that they have followed on journeys throughout the books.  Through a variety of writing activity handouts, they will gain a deeper understanding of the books and storylines. They will then have the opportunity to experience their own adventures with Corduroy. A classroom Corduroy will get to go home with a different child every night, and the student will write a short paragraph and illustrate a picture of Corduroy's stay with them. These stories will be compiled together to form a journal, and each student will share their experience and illustration with the class.

This lesson plans meets the criteria for the following national standards:

NCTE/IRA National Standards For The English Language Arts
4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g. conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g. for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

The lesson plan also meets the individual standards for each state. In the drop down menu, after choosing Ohio, a multitude of standards come up as being met from this lesson plan. 

#4 Standard is met because the students will be writing their own experience with Corduroy and then using a visual representation of the words to communicate their story.
#5 Standard is met because the students will need to organize their words to form full and complete sentences with correct punctuation.
#11 Standard is met because the students will understand that as they become knowledgeable in reading, they become part of a reading community and can begin to formulate their own thoughts, opinions and preferences for different types of literature. 
#12 Standard is met in much the same way #4 is met, except that the student is able to tap into their own creativity and think deeper about the literature and take it one step further with their own imagination.

A Journal For Corduroy: Responding to Literature

I would love to implement this lesson plan in my classroom one day. I remember reading about Corduroy's adventures when I was a child, and I have a feeling that the children in my classroom would enjoy the sweet gentleness of this cuddly bear as well. Parts that might pose a problem would be the need for some parent involvement, depending on how old the child is. I would be hopeful that the parents would enthusiastically participate in helping their child with this activity but it's always up in the air when it comes to parent involvement. The child would be the one primarily responsible for bringing the bear home and back to school, and writing their own short story, but it's always helpful for the parent to help along the way. I would change the lesson depending on what grade level I was teaching. I would keep it short, sweet and simple for Kindergartners and 1st graders, but expect a little more depth in the writing and reflection and evaluation from 2nd graders. 

Assistive Technology for Deaf-Blindness

Deaf blindness is defined under IDEA as

       "...concomitant [simultaneous] hearing and visual impairments, the combination of which cases such severe communication and other developmental and educational needs that they cannot be accommodated in special education programs solely for children with deafness or children with blindness."

This does not necessarily mean that a person who falls into this category is completely blind and completely deaf. It means that they experience some degree of vision, as well as some degree of hearing loss, and this degree of loss can vary from person to person. According to National consortium on Deaf-Blindess, this can "severely limit an individuals natural opportunity to learn and communicate with others."

(The following list was found on the Minnesota DeafBlind Project website)

Challenges that students have in educational and other settings include:

• Difficulty with communication.
• Distorted perceptions: Difficulty in grasping the whole picture or relating one element to the whole.
• Lack of anticipation: Difficulty in knowing what is going to happen next because the context normally provided through ‘overseeing’ or ‘overhearing’ information and cues is missing or distorted.
• Lack of motivation: The motivating factors may be missing from a situation, going unseen or unheard.
• Lack of incidental learning: Firsthand individualized experiences are a much more effective way for a someone who is DeafBlind to learn than incidental observation or group experiences.

There are a variety of assistive technology available for children who are deaf-blind. One type are voice output communication devices. These devices essentially "speak" for the child using recorded messages. On the California Deaf Blind Services Fact Sheet, these electronic devices are described as a way to provide "a child or young adult with their first true success at expressive communication using a formal system" and that "the device becomes an important component of the child’s expressive communication system, along with other possible expressive modes such as speech, objects, signed communication, pictures, gestures, etc." There is a wide market for different types of voice output communication devices - many different models with many different capabilities - but they are all similar in the fact that they offer a way to communicate with the world for a person that would not otherwise have the means to do so.

There are other assistive technology devices that aide in communication for the deaf-blind student. Pictured below is the Braille Sense U2, just one of many note taking devices that can be very useful for deaf-blind students to feel a sense of independence and competency in their learning environment and social world. These devices allow the deaf-blind to effectively communicate through the use of braille-topped buttons and vibrations. Dictionary, thesaurus, calculator, bilingual abilities, vibrations, text messaging, emails, internet search capabilities - these devices are a means of connecting to the world in a way they may have never known before.

Braille Sense U2

Technological advances are happening everyday. I came across a deafblind community-based website that is a wonderful resource for parents of deafblind children to share their ideas, thoughts, concerns, triumphs, and so much more as they travel through life working hard to make sure their children have the best possible resources available to them to ensure their success and happiness in life. Assistive technology is more than electronics - it is taking the time to learn what has worked in the past and figure out how to best make it work in the future - and sometimes that means not using technology at all. Simple things like sign language that involves touch may be what works best for a child - technology and electronic devices may not always be the best approach. It's understanding first and foremost the needs of the child, and then going from there.

Resources:

Creative Expressions

Perkins School For The Blind

Deaf Blind Info

Braille Sense U2

Minnesota Deaf Blind Project

National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness

Solipsistic Introjection: It's All In Your Head

Our term to define was solipsistic introjection. Solipsistic introjection is your perception of what someone else looks like, sounds like, acts like based on the information you have received from them.

For instance, as we graphically designed in our definition, a male is sitting behind his computer, chatting on the website Omegle talking to a complete stranger. Without seeing her picture or hearing her voice, he is making calculations in his head (possibly without even realizing it) of who the person is on the other end of the conversation. He may envision that he is talking to a young, thin, attractive, high-pitched speaking blonde when in reality, she (or he!) may be none of those things.

Preschool Days

Last year, I had the amazing opportunity to team teach preschool at Smoky Row Children's Center. I worked 5 mornings a week. MWF I taught 3/4 year olds, and T/TH I taught young 3's. What a learning experience that was! I did not know anything about teaching children that young. I had not taken a single early childhood class yet at Columbus State. But with the help, guidance and support of some amazing co-workers, I grew and learned right along with the children!

Yesterday, I went back to visit my little preschool friends. The children from those two classes merged together to form an afternoon Pre-K class. So, I was a "mystery reader" and knocked on the door....and walked into a room of 20 four year olds with huge smiles on their faces sitting at group time!

My heart was pounding, I was so happy to be back in the Sunshine Room. I read this book called Duck Says Don't by Alison Ritchie and Hannah George. It was SUPER cute! The kids totally loved it, and were awesome listeners.

The best part about my visit was when each and every child came up individually and gave me a hug. My heart was soaring, I could feel the love in that room!

It just made me realize how important teachers are in the lives of young ones. Just because they are young doesn't mean they don't feel the way we feel - they feel anger, sadness, love, hope, encouragement just like adults! The way these children can lift up an adult is so amazing to me. I believe I learned more from them than they learned from me! I have no doubt in my mind that teaching is my calling. I want to spend my days in the classroom surrounded by children. It's the passion in my heart, and I feel that passion driving me everyday to finish my degree so I can begin my teaching career!

Just a little tidbit I wanted to share. Happy Thursday!