Hello fellow educators and friends! I have been thinking about starting a teaching blog for a while. As a new special education teacher, I have been collecting any tidbits of wisdom I discover and finding great free supplemental lessons all over the internet. This blog is a good way to share these with others.
The name of the blog? It's from a quote by Albert Einstein. "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid." Every one of our students is incredibly intelligent in at least one area and it is our job as educators to help them discover that and then use that strength in the classroom! I am a definite believer in multiple intelligences and lessons that appeal to visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile learners! I love finding and creating lessons that are engaging, relative to the real world, and fun! The best moment is when my students say, "Can we do that activity/game/project again?"
As a special education teacher, I also believe in breaking down concepts as much as possible and providing scaffolding. I think open-ended, abstract projects can be so fun, but they don't always work for special education students. Our children need models and clear guidelines of what we are asking them to accomplish. This is why all the lessons I will post here (that I create) are straightforward and the concepts slowly build upon each other.
As for behavior, my background is in Applied Behavior Analysis, so I am always searching for the reason/need behind my students' inappropriate behavior and finding a way for them to get that need fulfilled in a more appropriate way. I am also a huge believer in positive reinforcement!! You must get to know your students and find out what motivates them. Tailor your behavior management system to that. Always "catch them being good" and come in with clear expectations of how they should behave. When I worked as a substitute teacher, I automatically tried to identify the students with more challenging behaviors and then provide them with as much positive attention and reinforcement as possible before they had a chance to seek it in inappropriate ways. Finally, be firm and fair! If you say you are going to do something or put some consequence into place, you must stick with that. Students need to know they can count on you to do what you say you will do.
I hope that this blog inspires and assists you. :)
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