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meeha/ece/tx - Hello! anyone here for the SPED teachers meeting?
Bud Light - Bingo
vtac - Hi I am here to discuss special ed issues
meeha/ece/tx - Hi Bud -- I work with special needs preschoolers in north central texas -- you?
Bud Light - There's plenty to talk about.
meeha/ece/tx - what 'issues', vtac? what group do you work with?
vtac - Actually I am a music teacher., but this year I have a special ed class in my schedule. Instead of being mainstreamed into other classes, I get them all at once.
meeha/ece/tx - how long have either of you been working with special needs kiddos? This is my 5th year ... and I'm in my last 9 hours of a masters' degree, preparing me to function as a behavior interventionist.
Bud Light - I have taught special education for 12 years. 10 of those was with behavioral disordered kids.
meeha/ece/tx - vtac -- how is that working for you? ... and how is it accomplishing the inclusion of those children in the mainstream population? Are people happy with it?
meeha/ece/tx - Bud ... how many stars are there in your crown? that is a tough schedule ... burn-out rate is phenomenal!
Bud Light - You can say that again.
Bud Light - I liked the kids but the administrative support was horrible.
vtac - Most of my students have major behavior problems. Overall they are higher functioning students. I get the idea that when they are together, they feed of each other.
meeha/ece/tx - vtac -- what level (age and abilities) of students come to you in the sped class?
Bud Light - Not to mention the combative parents.
meeha/ece/tx - sometimes the paretns are bigger hinderances to our teaching children than the children and their disabilities!
Bud Light - Amen to that.
Bud Light - Anybody got any crazy parent stories?
vtac - I am working with grade 3 through 5. Again they are higher functioning except for 3 student.
Bud Light - I taught Emotionally Conflicted for K-12. I had brothers who was in Kindergarten and the other one was in 10th grade.
meeha/ece/tx - actually I've had pretty good parents overall ... but I work hard to establish and maintain good home-school relationships! My kiddos are 3 - 5 years of age, I'm the family's introduction to the school system ... and to special education. I try to start out with a good working relationship!
Bud Light - I taught Amy Fisher's first cousin.
meeha/ece/tx - Bud -- that sounds like a nearly impossible age spread! there are days i have a tough time working with kiddos at 3 and 4 in the same setting!
Bud Light - That is good. Now not all my parents were crazy. Some did the best they could.
Bud Light - I think it is a testament that Alabama has a horrible special education system.
vtac - what I am really looking for in some instructional materials for special ed. Some of these kids get very upset with sound, others with movement. Do you know of amy material that is aimed towards music theropy.
Bud Light - I haven't had much experience with music therapy. Do you use CD's or records?
Bud Light - Most of my students are into Marilyn Manson and Kurt Cobain (RIP)
meeha/ece/tx - vtac -- if you plug in "music therapy" on a search engine you will run into the music therapy association's website ... lots of great ideas there! and references to ideas and professionals. you might check with your district's sped department and see if they might be able to contract a music therapist to come in and observe and conference with you ... maybe do a 'consult' every six w eeks or something like that!
vtac - Actually I have alot of resources. Stereo, orff instruments, piano lab, basically lots of toys.
Bud Light - Do any of you have class size caps?
vtac - Great idea on the music terapy website. I had not thought of that.
vtac - Yes we stop at 25 students k-5 and 30 students 6-8 grades.
Bud Light - What happens when you have an overload?
vtac - last year we ran 6 sections of each grade level at 19 students per class.
Bud Light - We have 78 students between two teachers.
vtac - we add another class. They are still looking at adding another teacher for 4th grade. Its happened in the past.
Bud Light - Our school system wouldn't care if we had 100 students.
meeha/ece/tx - Bud -- any teaching assistants?
Bud Light - We had one aide but they let her go.
meeha/ece/tx - our state limits typical classes to 22 under grade 4 ... i have 10 kiddos per session in my preschool class!
Bud Light - I know of one teacher that has 24 students in the classroom at the same time. They took three of her desks out of her classroom and the students have to sit at the computer table.
meeha/ece/tx - Bud -- why, in the world, would they let her go? HOW are you supposed to meet the needs of special needs students when you are so sadly outnumbered?
Bud Light - Because our school system utilizes any excuse to "rob peter to pay paul" We are going through what is known as "proration". Our money was cut. So to keep others happy in the school system. Funds for teacher aides was diverted into other expenses. Mainly to pay off lawsuits and due process hearings.
Bud Light - So I hear.
meeha/ece/tx - http://www.musictherapy.org/ is the american association of music therapists' website ..... worth a gander, vtac!
meeha/ece/tx - seems to me prevention of future due process hearings and lawsuits would go a lot farther toward paying off debts!
meeha/ece/tx - feds will eventually come in and take over the sped program ... if not the district if they're not careful!
Bud Light - Yeah!! That's common sense talking. Not our administrators thinking unfortunately.
Bud Light - What can teachers do about this travesty?
meeha/ece/tx - vtac -- I read a great book this past summer ... SENSORY INTEGRATION AND THE CHILD by Jean Ayres, Ph.D. (she coined the term "sensory integration") ... it might offer you some ideas and some supports for your classroom, also!
meeha/ece/tx - did you get the music therapy association website? should i send it again?
vtacc - sorry about that. my computer froze. this is vtac.
meeha/ece/tx - vtac -- i understand that! same thing happens to me! (*grin*)
meeha/ece/tx - http://www.musictherapy.org/factsheets/musiced.html is a 'factsheet' about music therapy and music education
meeha/ece/tx - http://www.musictherapy.org/factsheets/specialed.html is a 'factsheet' about music therapy and special education
vtacc - Every school district is different.As your district issue is overcrowding, ours is having our gradebook published daily on the web. This is no joke. We go live soon though a compony called "eduvoice".
meeha/ece/tx - Bud ... my best advice -- do the best you can do, DOCUMENT EVERYTHING, and continue working on educating the public about what is best for the children and our country!
vtacc - meeha thank you for the resources. Your just what I needed.
meeha/ece/tx - vtac -- our kiddos can't even grade each others' papers ... FERPA is everywhere!
meeha/ece/tx - vtac ... it is a starting point, anyhow!
meeha/ece/tx - wow! we picked up and got this meeting rolling ... a bit late, but we made a go of it!
Bud Light - Would the feds actually come in and take over a special education program for a school district?
Bud Light - Would this really change things?
meeha/ece/tx - Bud -- I really don't know if the feds do it ... they have been known to pull funding, though! in Texas the state will come in ... and has in several districts ... not a pretty sight for the schools/districts that get taken over!
meeha/ece/tx - hi, michelle!
meeha/ece/tx - i don't know if the changes were really good or not ... sure made people think about what/why they did/do what they did/do! questions about everything ... lessonplans were handed to teachers, no excuse for being even one page off!
Jamie - got to ask, wat's FERPA?
meeha/ece/tx - Federal ______ Right to Privacy Act ... protects the privacy of children and families
Jamie - i guess i must be stupid, never heard of FERPA before...hmmm?
Bud Light - Anybody had any experience with Asperger's Syndrome?
Jamie - no, sorry
meeha/ece/tx - Bud ... yep! falls under the 'umbrella' of autism/PDD ... several kiddos in my classes have varying degrees of involvement.
michelle - hi! I am in need of info on Asperger's too. I think there may be info on the LDonline website.
Jamie - i teach gen. ed., just checking in for info and tips...
Bud Light - I had a female student with this disorder. What types of behaviors have you observed from these students?
meeha/ece/tx - hang on for a minute ... let me look at a couple of website addresses ... I can get you some good starting points for information!
meeha/ece/tx - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) 34 C.F.R. Part 99 http://www.lrp.com/ed/freelib/free_regs/bc3499.htm
michelle - I will possibly be getting a student next week. middle school and our school is open in construction with lots of room to roam and hide. It worries me.
meeha/ece/tx - check out this website for info re: aspergers' disorder ... i'm looking for others ..... http://www.familyvillage.wisc.edu/lib_aspe.htm
Jamie - thanks for the address, meeha...i bookmarked it for later...thanks for sharing with me...
Jamie - do you guys care if a gen. ed. person hangs out here for a few minutes...i need to learn more about spec. ed. issues?
meeha/ece/tx - if you're willing to spend some $$ of your own ... about 18 ... Tony Atwood has a great book on Aspergers' syndrome ... our local B&N keeps it stocked!
meeha/ece/tx - Jamie -- you're always welcome!
Bud Light - The girl I had thought she was a boy. She went off on the deep end for awhile but medication brought her back to semi-reality.
michelle - at our school we have been struggling with how to determine how large a caseload should be when using inclusion model. Any ideas?
Bud Light - She would walk and talk like a teenaged boy. She signed her name a masculine version of her own name which I won't divulge here. She wouldn't bathe and she cried all the time. She was much worse during her menstrual cycle.
Jamie - what do you guys teach?
meeha/ece/tx - http://www.teacch.com/ is another great site for information regarding autism and related disorders ... lots of reading ... lots of research available ... structured teaching information at many different levels!
Bud Light - I think it depends on how many your still serving in the resource classroom.
meeha/ece/tx - Bud -- in reality, the students (sp.needs) should count as one ... a SPED teacher should be team-teaching with gen-ed teacher ... planning, offering support, etc. as needed
Jamie - thanks, meeha...i'm glad i stopped in
michelle - I teach middle school special education in MN. My students primarily are students with learning disabilities.
meeha/ece/tx - Jamie -- i work with special needs preschoolers (3 - 5 years of age) ... can't imagine doing anything else!
meeha/ece/tx - vtac -- welcome back!
Jamie - i like team teaching, but our spec ed teacher prefers pull-out
Bud Light - Probably easier for her. She probably feels like an overpaid paraprofessional
Jamie - i never thought of it like that
meeha/ece/tx - that yields a resource or mac type setting versus pure inclusion, Jamie! Many teachers have had a difficult time understanding (and districts in providing) inclusive settings as truly intended!
Jamie - what do you guys feel is best? i guess it probably depends on the child???
michelle - well, we have 16 students currently in our house with about 300 direct minutes each with the expectation that they will be in different groups (not all together) and I would team teach. My problem is I cannot clone myself.
Bud Light - They are using inclusion as a money saving device.
meeha/ece/tx - Who has a student with aspergers' coming next week and construction on campus?
meeha/ece/tx - michelle -- that can be tough ... 300 direct minutes per ? (day? week?)
michelle - michelle
michelle - 300 per week
Bud Light - Well I gotta go!! I've enjoyed chatting with all of you. I will need to remember this board at a later date.
meeha/ece/tx - you will provide the student with a schedule of his/her day ( written or picture, depending on students' skill level)
meeha/ece/tx - 'nite, Bud -- nice meeting you!
meeha/ece/tx - michelle -- you will teach that student to REQUEST permission to leave a room, to ask for help, and will always send a buddy if the student leaves the room ... may want others in the room to have 'buddies' as well so that attention isn't drawn to the student.
meeha/ece/tx - Kiddos with aspergers' typically have fairly high IQ's, reasonable language skills, need work on communication and social skills
michelle - thanks for the info!!!!
meeha/ece/tx - i'm glad i stopped by this evening ... don't normally come to sped meeting here!
meeha/ece/tx - I'm happy if I was able to offer you some support of some information that will help you as you work with the kids!
Jamie - nice meeting you all...thanks for the info...night all
michelle - I'm glad you did too. I have never come before and won't be able to for a while!
meeha/ece/tx - 'nite, Jamie -- glad you came!
meeha/ece/tx - michelle -- ordinarily I'm at university on thursday nights!
meeha/ece/tx - michelle -- if you need to review websites or info from this meeting it will be archived at http://www.teachers.net/archive/ ... will be available in a few days.
vtaccc - meeha, you seem to be the expert at this chatroom. Do you come here often
meeha/ece/tx - michelle -- hang on for a minute -- p.m. coming your way
meeha/ece/tx - vtac ... not really an expert ... but i've been here at t.net for about three years ... learning about a lot of issues related to emotional/behavioral disorders and autism as i work on my masters' degree! hate to keep it in if it can help someone!
vtaccc - Last year I found the chatboards, and I found that I used them quite often. Has anyone looked through the boards.
Teach - I've never used the boards. Are they helpful?
michelle - gotta go!~thanks for all the info!
meeha/ece/tx - vtac -- i use the early childhood board often, sometimes look at others ... Teach -- they are a WEALTH of information! Worth the time you'll spend exploring them!
meeha/ece/tx - 'nite, michelle ... take care! nice meeting you!
meeha/ece/tx - the mailrings are good sources of info, too!
Teach - I teach fourth grade. Where do you suggest that I look for infomation about my special needs children?
vtaccc - Yes!!! I found resources for what was current and what was going on across the country. The best part is that they go back 6 months.
Teach - Did you use the archives in this website?
meeha/ece/tx - Teach -- http://www.ldonline.com/ is a agood resource
vtaccc - No, first time uses tonight (in reguards to the chatroom). where are the arcives?
meeha/ece/tx - Teach ... if you know what you're looking for, the archives are a great resource!
Teach - The archives are in Teachers.net I think. I have never used them before.
meeha/ece/tx - vtac -- http://www.teachers.net/archive/
vtaccc - what is in them?
meeha/ece/tx - from this very room, if you look at the left side of the page, in the box it says "archives" ... clicking there will take you directly to the archived minutes of meetings of teachers from myriad specialties here at t.net
meeha/ece/tx - you can also check out lesson plans from teachers around the world -- just go to the t.net home page and you can get to a LOT of resources!
vtaccc - duh how stupid can I be. thanks.
Teach - Wow! I just took a quick peek and there is a ton of info. Thanks!
meeha/ece/tx - vtac ... i knew it was there, but never looked in there for probably 2 years!
vtaccc - ok, a little bit off the subject. How does your distrct foster wellness. Does your district do anything extra for your teachers.
meeha/ece/tx - this meeting will be there in a couple of days.
Teach - No. We need someone to help teachers keep from burning out. Our Social Worker is trying, but she can hardly keep up with all of the kids.
meeha/ece/tx - district -- no ... campus -- yes! we have the BEST administrators ... need to leave a few minutes early? come in a few minutes late? baby sick? just talk with them -- if they can cover the class it isn't a problem!
meeha/ece/tx - our campus has a weekly bible study (voluntary) ... circulating prayer list (for staff, children, community)
meeha/ece/tx - Parents at our campus are great, too ... probably bring lunch or breakfast for the entire staff once every four to six weeks!
vtaccc - I just looked at the archive. Your right, it looks wonderful, especially the book chat.
Teach - May I ask what campus you are at?
meeha/ece/tx - Teach -- t.net has gone a LONG way toward offering me some of that support, too!
meeha/ece/tx - Teach -- I am at an elementary campus in arlington, texas ... best in the city (if not the state!)
Teach - I got to run. Thanks for the chat!
meeha/ece/tx - 'nite, teach ... nice meeting you!
vtaccc - My district is all on one site. I am in the intermediate building
vtaccc - Sorry I am in Oregon.
meeha/ece/tx - vtac -- take advantage of the information there ... and the expertise of teachers here ... isn't there a music teachers chatboard? you can ask for support from them and from the sped board!
meeha/ece/tx - my dad's sisters live in oregon ... but i can't say where!
meeha/ece/tx - one of the taught middle school English until about five years ago
meeha/ece/tx - san -- you ok?
meeha/ece/tx - guess I should excuse myself ... parents are still expecting a call. Take care, everyone! Nice talking with you!
vtaccc - night meeha. I'll look for you again. I really enjoyed talking to you
vtaccc - I am hanging up to. I think I am the last one here. bye
