This week at my PDS placement, it has been a lot more difficult then I expected. I love being in a secondary placement. I really feel like I connect more when working with older students and I enjoy being in the classroom. I have just started to feel overwhelmed and more stressed then I have been at other times during my classroom experiences. I believe that it has to do with the type of classroom that I am in, and the type of students I am working with. I think a lot of my stress comes for the fact that I am still trying to figure out what behaviors are related to my students disabilities and which are just to see how far they can push me being a new teacher.
I enjoy being in the self-contained classroom because I get the opportunity to get to know my students better then if I was in another situation. But I think that the initial shock of having to plan for all subjects and for 7 periods of the day is something new for me. I just feel overwhelmed. My mentor teacher has been amazing with helping me and giving me materials to lighten my load, however I feel like the more effort I put out the more I will get out of my experience so I am trying to plan my lessons using a variety of techniques and materials. This has made my job 10 times harder then it needs to be, but I also like the challenge of looking for materials to give my students, instead of just using worksheets and reading out of textbooks. I am just hoping that as time goes on I am able to get better organized and not feel as stressed about what I need to get done.
Something interesting that I was able to experience this week at my PDS, was being able to go to a 7th grade inclusion English class, where they pull in a special educator to assist the regular classroom teacher. Being in the self-contained classrooms means that I don't get much of an opportunity to leave so all my experiences are in that classroom with those few students. So this experiences was great because I was able to be in the regular classroom and observe a special educator and a regular classroom teacher collaborate.
This self contained special ed classroom does have to be a challenging, yet interesting, experience for you. You pose a good question...wondering how much of your students' behaviors are related to their diabilities or to testing you. That just points out how important it is to get to know your students (in many ways) and I'm sure as time goes on you're able to figure out which behaviors are related to their disabilities and which are not.
ReplyDeleteI love that you are trying a number of instructional strategies and learning activities. I'm thinking that since you're designing instruction that is engaging and meaningful, some of the behavioral issues may dispapear.
I was also glad to read that you were able to experience an inclusion classroom. It's important to have both kinds of experiences. I'm wondering what you think about the differences between the two...the advantages and disadvantages of both.
It sounds like you're working hard and I can't wait to see you again and have a chance to chat face to face.