How I met education

8/8/2019 How I met education

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Hi Education.

My name is Janelle.

Nice to finally meet you.

C h i l d De v e l o p m e n t

I n t r o t o Ed u c a

Ci t r u s Co lF a l l


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August 16, 2010

Dear Journal,

My therapist suggested I buy you. So here we are. She

seems to think writing about everything I feel andthink and see will help me sort through myrapidly processing brain.

I guess she could be right.

Then she said I have bipolar disorder.

I guess she could be right.

Last week I was fired from the biggest internationalpublic relations firm in the world: Hill & Knowlton.The Chief Operating Officer called me into his officeand told me it wasnt a good fit. I feel pretty pissed.I graduated with a degree in PR. I have worked in this

field for three years. I have devoted so much time tobeing an adult, and working overtime, and sitting ata computer and pretending to enjoy my cubicle. I havesacrificed my life, my relationship with my daughter,my relationship with my boyfriend, my car... All towork in PR. And now. Im. Fired.

I think I need something more...

-The Pathetic PR Pro


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September 2, 2010

Dear Journal,

I spent the past two weeks in self loathing. I came to

the conclusion excessive self loathing is unproductive.I also realized that working in the office made meseverely depressed. Being unemployed has allowed me toget to know my child and I think shes pretty cool. Iwant to actually be part of her life instead of justputting her to bed at night and enjoying her smile onSaturdays when Im decently rested and actually home.

My mom mentioned I would make a really great teach-er. It made me feel good. I have secretly wanted to bea teacher since I was in the second grade. So maybe Ishould go to grad school. Maybe I should become aPrincipal. Maybe I should do PR for educational reform.

Uh!

I was wait listed for a level 100 class at thelocal community college: Intro to Education. When Iwent to add the class, there were three spots and I wasthe fourth name called. C. Perry added me any ways.

Our class requires 40 hours of off site observation. Ithink this will be helpful in understanding if I reallywant to spend my life in a classroom.

Im going to go talk to all my old teachers. I hopethey remember me.

-The... ?


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Mrs. Lemon-Rush: A friendly, young, athletic mom. Secondgrade teacher at Cedargrove Elementary. She taught my littlesister. All of my male friends still have crushes on her.

Mrs. Stradley: Kind hearted, soft gentle grandma to three.She teaches special education at Cedargrove. She taught me tosing Christmas songs in the third grade.

Mrs. Fillinger: Energized first grade teacher at Cedargrove.Her daughter and I worked at Starbucks together. My momvolunteered in her classroom when she taught my sister.

Mr. Henderson: My sixth grade GATE history teacher. I raninto him playing drums at the Covina street fair this summer.He said I should take the CBEST to become a sub.

Mr. Gutierrez: I was a student in one of his few seventhgrade history classes. He was genuine and honest and still

trying to find his groove. Great sense of humor.

Mrs. Betz: Special Ed teacher at Charter Oak High School.Board of directors for special ed. Helped to reform thedistricts special education program.

Mrs. Relf: Autism teacher at Charter Oak. Wears reallyfun clothes and makes her own jewelry. Quirky and young atheart. Working on her PhD at Claremont Graduate University.

Applied Behavior Consultants: One of the most intensiveschools for children with autism. Uses Applied BehaviorAnalysis. Highly rsspected school.

Canyon View School: School for children who are emotionallydisturbed, in foster care, or with learning disabilities orautism. Two blocks from my house.

Mr. Grund: One of the most exciting high school math teacherswho ever walked the planet. Loves the Stones and students. Hetaught me trig and the importance of an IRA.

Mrs. Archer: High school honors history teacher; kicked mybutt, taught me to write a flawless five paragraph essay in anhour. Now my mommy-mentor and fellow breast-feeding advocate.

Teacher observation hit list


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September 7, 2010

Its all aboutenvironment

Dear Journal,

Today I observed Mr. Hender-son: a rock star, who playsthe drums on the weekend andwears aloha shirts, speaksthe same way his students doand is just really cool.

He teaches in a verysimilar fashion. He hascasual discussions with hissixth graders about Switzerland and Africa and how toread a compass rose. When his students jokingly ask ifthere are still Vikings around, he answers, Yes. InMinnesota. They performed terribly last year and havenever made it back to the Super Bowl. He allows them tojoke and ask questions. He humors them and plays theirgames and makes them laugh. Like I said, a cool guy.

Mr. Hendersons classroom environment reflects hispersonality and teaching style. When one walks into thespacious double classroom, they cant help but immedi-ately notice the abundance of world maps sprinkled aboutthe walls. Mr. Hendersons maps are strategically placedabout the room in unconventional places. They are upsidedown. He has attached a few spunky blow-up beach ballglobes to the ceiling. They are randomly thrown about theclassroom. They make it known that this isdefinitely a world history class.

be y o ur s el f


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Mr. Henderson also sprinkled his room with student work.But student work is unconventionally hung upside down onthe ceiling and from the walls. There are cultural askshung by the doors, next to the Jimmy Buffet parrots andthe picture of the Beatles.

Mr. Hendersons desk is covered in stickers. Coolstickers. KROQ. 98.7. Surfs Up. He has drumsticks anda book about martial arts on his desk. And shrunken headson his walls. He uses an old school overhead projector:that is also covered in stickers.

One may think Mr. Hendersons room is chaotic. But forMr. Henderson, and his students, it is a relaxing place

where one can feel comfortable to ask questions and bebold and speak up and laugh. Mr. Hendersons personalityis reflected throughout the room. This genuine approachmakes Mr. Henderson accessible. The students want to workhard for him; partially because they know he works hardfor them but partially because they just want to hangout with him. Mr. Henderson empowers these students byapproaching them at their level; this is why he teach-es from their desk side, not from behind his. Though thestudents desks all face the front of the room, they alsoface the window, and students can very easily be dis-tracted by passers-by and clouds and things of that sort.But thats ok. Mr. Henderson is ok with interruptions. He

is ok with chaos. He embraces the energyand humor that comes with a con-fused and questioning student.

-The Rocker


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September 17, 2010

We all want toteach elementaryDear Journal,

All the girls in my classwant to become elementaryschool teachers. So I knewin my mind I didnt want toteach elementary schoolsimply because every oneelse wanted to teach it.

Today I stepped foot ontoan elementary school campusfor the first time in tenyears. Preparing for this day I felt nervous. I put myhair in two french braids because I thought I was goingto be battling children all day. I wore jeans and a T-shirt and old shoes because I swore up the dang kids were

going to spill paint on me.

When I arrived on the campus of Cedargrove Elementary, Iwas pleasantly surprised to find the office staffrecognized me. I graduated from Cedargrove in 1999! Thatset me off to a good start.

As I approached my class, it made me happy that therewere kids every where that reminded me of my daughter. Itmade me happy that entire families were on campus togeth-er... families didnt congregate in the office I workedin. It made me happy that random kids said hi to me. Thatthere were people playing and running and laughing at7:45 in the morning. I slowly realized that elementarycampuses are really nice places to be.

C o mpa s s io n


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I arrived at the classroom I was assigned to observe inand had to stop dead in my tracks. C-4: Mrs. Lemon-Rush.That was the class I was to start my observation in. C-4.This was my first class at Cedargrove Elementary. This iswhere I was transferred to from Glen Oak Elementary whenI was enrolled in the Gifted and Talented Educationprogram. This is where I met my best friend Whitney, whoI still know to this day. This is where I began to havea crush on Chad Kelly. This is where we formed the HyperDalmations Club, who raised money through yard sales andtook trips to Universal Studios. This is where I learnedabout salt rocks, where I met Mrs. Maryanne Meyers...

Mrs. Meyers was the teacher who taught me to love

spoteneity. She taught me the beauty of color and of songand enthusiasm. She made me a happy kid.

C-4 was full of beautiful memories. Being placed in thisroom helped me to reconnect to the child I was elevenyears ago, Suddenly I wanted to be in this environmentmore than ever before.

The bell rang. I stopped day dreaming. The kids on theplayground froze. The principal walked to the center ofthe black top.

Good morning Cedargrove!!!!!Good morning Mrs. Tarbox!!!Are you ready to have a great Friday?!Yeaaaaahhh!!!!

And they all ran and hugged her, jumping withexcitement... At 8 in the morning. Then they lined up andMrs. Lemon-Rush escorted them to class.

And I started crying. I suddenly... cant wait to teach.

-The Future Elementary School Teacher


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October 14, 2010

Rockstar routineDear Journal,

Today I observed the oneand only: Mr. Tom Grund:he gives his students ex-tra credit on math exams ifthey draw a Rolling Stonestongue on the back of thetest. Hell throw on anextra point if you justwrite I love the RollingStones on your test.

Mr. Grund handles daily tasksin a vibrant and enthusiastic way. Hispassion for his job is exploding out of his jubilantbody as he welcomes the students as they walk through thedoor in the morning. He asks them about their weekend andplans for homecoming. He tells them about his weekend andhow he thinks the seasons should decide what they prefer.This is not just conversation. Mr. Grund is establishinga relationship. He is connecting to human beings.

Grund then establishes trust in this human relationshipby checking homework but not collecting it. Hesimply asks the kids if they did the homework or not.Some lie, and he knows this. But he feels like the kids

will eventually learn that if they dont do the homework,they will really do poorly in the class and they willfigure it out on their own that THEY HAVE TO DO HOMEWORK.Grund continues to establish this level of trust andrespect throughout his classroom instruction which isless of an instruction and more of a collaborative effortto learn together.


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Grunds transitions are amazing. His energy andpassion is relentless, so one does not even see histransitions coming. Hell be going over their exam, anddoing problems on the board. Hes asking students to helphim solve for X and decipher alpha and suddenly he pullsout a chalkboard and it has a map of the stars and adate. It says,

Saturday, 4:45 p.m. South, southwest. Just above thehorizon. Spica. Venus. Mars.

Mr. Grund goes on and on about how heloves the stars and he watched them incollege and they should try to look for

Spica, south-southwest. BAM! He rollsright into the next lesson. He does thiswith such grace and ease, the kids haveno idea that he just helped shift theirminds from sin cosine and tangent tosomething else. He carries on thistransition using very comforting and

real human language. Phrases like, hold onto your hatsguys, were just getting started, watch this watchthis, go , go, go. You would think he was instruct-ing a football team, but nope. Grund is teaching math. Heteaches math as if they, as a class, are learningsomething, together. He is walking them through theformulas and guiding them through an equation. He breaksit down so they dont get lost. And when they get lost,he doesnt give up on them. He catches them up to speedand carries on.


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Grund teaches trig/ICM five periods out of the day. Hehas taught math for 30 years and has always had avaried schedule. He used to switch from Algebra to trigand so forth. But this is his last year teaching. He isgiving as many students as possible to experience TomGrund in his best element: Trig/ICM. He said even thoughhe teaches the same subject over and over again, it nevergets old. He said every class is different and studentshave different personalities and they learn differently.He said the ask different questions and have differentconcerns. He said his warm up at first period isdifferent from the one in fourth period because herealizes something, and he changes it and he improves it.Grund said he is constantly improving his lessons his

last year of teaching and he still thinks about his warmup while driving to work or while sitting in bed.

Grund is available for his students. He is there at 6a.m. ready to go and tutor. Students can come in at breakand lunch, and sometimes hell stay after school. Buthe mostly likes to go home. Grund said hes here for thestudents and he puts in his time because thats whatstudents need. They need a teachers time. Grundexplained that its easy to get caught up and want tospend a conference period or lunch with other teachersand hanging out or going to Starbucks. But he is alwaysreminded that hes here for the kids and his time is forthe kids and he loves these kids.


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There is a patternwatching Grund. Thepattern is that he neverstops. He does not allowthe students minds towander. There is no badstudent in his class.There is no disciplineproblem in his class.Just common sense. Justthe ability to engagestudents. He wants toteach passionately

because, well, he is a

passionate person. Hes passionate about math.He carries out his teaching tasks every day with morepassion than any other teacher I have observed. Whenstudents see this, over and over and over again, theycant help but want to learn from him. What is he on?some kids say. Nothing. He is high off life itself andits beauty and how he says he has the best job ever.Kids cant escape his passion. They cant avoid it. Theycant ignore it. Hes addictive.

Just because hes passionate, doesnt mean he doesnthave systems running the show. Grund keeps track ofgrades in an old-fashioned grade book. He uploads gradesto the computer, but doesnt trust the computer. Acomputer can crash, Internet can go down and he trustshis own handwriting more than Microsoft Excel. He hassaved all his grade books from his first year ofteaching. He has saved all his attendance sheets and allhis lesson plans. They are all hand written, in pencil,in the same book as the year before. Grund establishesthese systems because they work. They have worked sincethe year he started teaching, and they continue to workto this day today.


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It has nothing to do with math. It is passion. Mr.Grund is a passionate person. He is passionate about theRolling Stones. He is passionate about his subjectmatter. And more importantly, he is passionate about hisstudents. His passion for the stones and for students:they are interchangeable. They work together. He uses thestones to teach trig. He uses trig to teach the stones.Simple right?

Rock on.

-The Amazed


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October 18, 2010

Living, loving,learning

Dear Journal,

Mr. Gutierrez is aseventh grade historyteacher. I was in one ofhis very first classes,almost ten years ago. Hewas really nice and funny,but still trying to figurethings out. He was alwaysvery honest and genuinewith us and made us laughwhen he was confused about things.

Mr Gutierrez does this humor-me, bit intentionally. He isan honest guy, who loves the kids and wants to help themlearn. He truly, has a desire to impact the future and

make a difference in the lives of young people. Heempowers these kids by bringing himself to their leveland allowing them to step up their game, call the shots,answer questions and take responsibility for their owneducation. He earns the respect of his students by beinggenuinely interested in what they have to share.

Mr. Gutierrez gets these kids going! He rallies them in,

right after lunch, when theyre all hopped up from sodaand socialization, and he makes em laugh. He has themmarch around the classroom, then rolls right intolecture. He sticks to his motto: Be fair. Be firm. Allowfor redemption when possible when the kids act up. Hesays a few words and rolls right back into work, withoutskipping a beat.


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I asked Mr. Gutierrez how he came to be theteacher he is today and he referred me toDr. Leo Buscaglia.

Buscaglia writes that, The essence of edu-cation is not to stuff you with facts butto help you to discover your uniqueness,to teach you how to develop it, and then toshow you how to give it away, (Living, Lov-ing, Learning, 11-12).

He also writes, Happiness comes only when we push ourbrains and hearts to the fathest reaches of which we arecapable (38).

Change and growth take place when a person has riskedhimself and dares to become involved with experimentingwith his own life (53).

This book, complimented with my recent experiences,changed my perspective on everything. I am ready to guidechildren. I am ready to experiment with my life.

Im going to apply to grad school.

Im going to take the CBEST. And the CSET.

I am beginning to really enjoy myself in the classroom.

-The Inspired


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October 26, 2010

Focus onfunctionality

Dear Journal,

Mrs. Archer has gradu-ally become a mommy friendof mine, so I forgot aboutwhat she was like in theclassroom.

Mrs. Archer frequentlychecks homework. She goesabove and beyond toprovide examples andillustrations. Shecommunicates to students what is being taught. She is anadvocate of Socratic seminars. No student can completeher course without learning to speak up, stand straight,annunciate and be proud of his/her knowledge. Confidence

in the learning environment is key to her functional-ity. Mrs. Archer will pick and choose who needs praise.She is very strategic in who she praises and for whatand how much they receive. Nothing gets by her. All stu-dents are held accountable to complete his/her work tothe very best of their ability- for every single assign-ment. She understands errors happen, but she really justprefers a perfect paper. Mrs. Archer ensures her students

are learning and are adequately prepared by administeringfrequent tests that include elaborate essays and a shorttime limit. She takes a great deal of time to providefeedback on essays and expects that the students do notmake the same errors next time around.

S t ick w it h it J a nel l e. Y o u v e go t t his .


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One thing Mrs. Archer does really well isher innovative use of her classroom spaceto encourage learning. Her lesson plans andmethods of instruction change every day.Some days the students are presenting. Somedays they draw. Some days they act, sing,dance Other days she will straight lec-ture. Other days the students teach eachother. Some days they are designing boardgames. Other days they are filming a sit-com. Mrs. Archer provides the most creativeillustrations and examples of historicalevents that I have ever witnessed. Thisinnovative presentation of material allows excessive

amount of time to digest and understand.

The other thing Mrs. Archer does well is she holds herstudents accountable- for everything. Nothing gets byMrs. Archer. Not a missed homework assignment. Not asoft, quiet voice during a presentation. Not a walk inlate. Errors do not go unnoticed in Mrs. Archers classand this is because errors do not go without notice inreal life. Whether she is teaching honors internation-al baccalaureate or world history, Mrs. Archer holds herstudents accountable to always produce the very best workpossible. She goes above and beyond to provide feedbackand correct errors to ensure students understand theexpectation she has for them now and the expectation theworld will have for them in the future.

Mrs. Archer rarely re-teaches missed material. It is thestudents responsibility to learn the material. Shellpresent it. But they must seal the deal. She does notremind students when homework is due; it is theirresponsibility to remember due dates and follow through.She does not allow a great deal of time in class topractice skills. The classroom is for download; home isto digest.


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Mrs. Archer provides very little guided practice untilthe student meets the objectives of the lesson. This isoverboard in her book. Students must take it uponthemselves to correct errors and learn what is needed.When an individual student is struggling, she canidentify this weakness. She will meet with the student,and suggest what the student should do. But she leaves itup to the student to improve. The student must make thedecision to study more, attend tutoring, turn in assign-ments and pass the class. She will not simply give thestudent things. They must be earned.

A lack of guided practice and redundant instruction isnot an area that needs to be improved upon. The way she

teaches and the materials she teaches require a sternapproach. Mrs. Archer is preparing students for theintensity of college level instruction. She is teachingstudents to be responsible for their own learning andexcessive guided practice, and anything redundant willonly handicap the kids and make them ill prepared to facecollege alone. Mrs. Archers stern approach to teachingacts as a boot camp. She is aware of the students needs,and review to an extent. She communicates to them thatthey need to practice on their own- but Mrs. Archer willnot spoon feed a student. Shell provide an adequatelevel of feedback, but she wont go over board. If thestudent does not respondto the first and even sec-ond attempt to reach outand improve the situa-tion, failure is the stu-dents own doing and Mrs.Archer cannot change thistype of attitude.


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Some students believe that the intense level of expecta-tion that Mrs. Archer holds her students to is overwhelm-ing or unnecessary. Some parents think Mrs. Archer is ona power trip or that she is a control freak or a micromanager. She very ay well be having a bad day, she may becontrolling, or she may come off as aggressive at times.But Mrs. Archer gets the job done. Her students scorehigh. They succeed in college. Large populations of herstudents continue to write eloquently and workdiligently. Her students are prepared. Thats her job.She does it well.

Without Mrs. Archers strict functional approach toteaching, I would have never learned to write the way I

write. Three years of a career in writing, a blog thereceives 50-100 hits a day and a fat stack of A+ collegeessays written a few hours before they were due are allresults of her hard work in the classroom.

Being firm in the classroom, also taught me to be firmin life. When I lost my financial aid and dropped out ofcollege, Mrs. Archer said, go back. When I gotpregnant and thought about getting a job she said,graduate. When I quit PR to become a teacher she said,go to school. When she saw my daughter she said, Teachher to read.

Mrs. Archer has been relentless in pushing me to becomethe best in what I do and I cant thank her enough forwhat she has taught me.

And the relationship between she and I is LIVING PROOF,that relationships are more important than any thing. Youare teaching the kids whether you want to or not.

So be there for them.

-The Conqueror


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November 10, 2010

CharacterCounts! helpsclassroommanagementDear Journal,

I love this teacher somuch, Im going to make amovie about her. For some

teachers, discipline is anissue. For others,discipline is just commonsense. Some teachersbelieve there are behavior problems. Otherteachers call it classroom management. Whatever one wantsto call it, its there. Its how students interact withone another in and outside the classroom. How to getthrough the day.

Mrs. Fillinger believes that the first step to managinga classroom is creating a system that allows students tofeel safe, comfortable and ready to learn. If studentsare not ready to learn, they wont. Its simple. Tocreate this environment, Mrs. Fillinger teaches the sixpillars of character at the very beginning of the schoolyear. She spends a great deal of time teaching thestudents what the words responsibility, caring,trustworthiness, respect, fairness and citizenship mean.She creates activities to demonstrate what these wordslook like. She communicates what happens when these wordsare forgotten and poorly demonstrated.

T ea ch t hem t o be go o d cit iz ens a nd ev er y t hin g el s e w il l f a l l int o pl a ce


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At the beginning of the year, most elementary schoolclasses establish class rules. Mrs. Fillingers studentscome up with these rules on their own, based upon thesix pillars of character. The students are photographedas they sign their name; visual proof that they agree toabide by these rules and demonstrate these specificcharacteristics throughout the year.

Mrs. Fillinger uses positive reinforcement to encouragestudents to share, respect one another, be responsiblein completing work, being trusted to behave She rewardsstudents with money. This not only teaches them to countand use money, but it also teaches them to budget, saveand of course: spend! Students can purchase things at the

store once a week and can also save up for aMc. Donalds lunch.

Mrs. Fillinger also uses teddy bears to help reinforcethe positive things students do throughout the class.Students can trade teddy bears for pencils, bathroomtrips, and small classroom goodies.

But when a student misbehaves, he must change his card.When his card goes from green, to yellow, to blue, tored that means hes no doing well. At the end of the

day, the students chartwhat color his/her card isleft on. When they havea great green day! thestudents earn money. Mrs.Fillinger even addressesnegative behavior withpositive reinforcement.


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When a student misbehaves, Mrs.Fillinger handles the situation in avery civilized and surprisingly adultmanner. She and the student will sitdown and have a talk. She asks thestudents questions, probing what wentwrong. Why did Johnny go outsidebefore the bell rang? What is theright thing to do? What should Johnny

have been doing? What should happen to Johnny? What willJohnny do next time? Mrs. Fillinger does little talkingwhen she addresses, discipline. She allows the studentsto explain the situation and explore the consequences ontheir own.

Sometimes students will even pull her aside, to addressthe behaviors of other students. Mrs. Fillinger, can Italk with you? is what a child will say. The child willpull her aside and state that Johnny was not being politewhile she was reading. Mrs. Fillinger will always listento the student and allow the student to communicate theissue. She then goes back to the questioning and guidesthe student to her own resolution.

Mrs. Fillingers proactive, educational style ofclassroom management empowers the students to succeed.She speaks to them like adults and uses adult words liketrustworthiness, responsibility and citizenship. Sheallows them to exercise their right to vote to overpower her. She treats them the way she would like to betreated. This is an effective way to manage a classroombecause, though it requires some time to establish in thebeginning, it can help out in the end. The end result isa more mature, more cooperative learning environment.

-The Filmmaker


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Many students that transition from a personalizedlearning environment to an at-level classroom can beemotionally disturbed, or ED students and they oftenhave lots of discipline issues. Mrs. relf suggested thesestudents may need lots of reinforcement and redirection.Some teachers can use planned ignoring whenstudents demonstrate attention seeking behavior. Someteachers have the ability to control the studentsmisbehavior using proximity control: simply moving him/her closer to the teacher and further away from thedistraction. Some students need time out to avoid overstimulation. Students with problems at home usually havea hard time turning in homework, so teachers can providethem with after school or during lunch make up work.

Sometimes students need more drastic accommodation suchas a schedule change, or a full time aid. One studentrequires that all instructions and lesson be provided ina hand out version that she can take home. Sometimes Mrs.Relf will provide a list of the students interests tothe teacher in hopes of the teacher using these topics tokeep the student interested throughout the period.

Finally, Mrs. Relf advised that many students need manythings to learn at the pace of others. Autism kids needit and honors kids need it. All kids need accommodation,whether that means making learning more active,simpler, using post-its, or manipulatives, using roleplaying providing take home materials, staying to aroutine or changing it up. ALL students need thesethings. We need teachers who are willing to work toaccommodate these childrens needs. It takes a lot ofwork to do these things, but in the end, it helps theteacher, it helps the parents and it helps the child.

-The Accomidator


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November 15, 2010

Applied BehaviorConsultants:ProfessionalDevelopmentIn the beginning ofOctober, I applied to be abehavior therapist for Ap-plied Behavior Consultants,(ABC), in Ontario. I hoped

to gain experience withbehavior therapy to prepareme to work with childrenwith learning disabilitiesand emotional disturbances. I felt nervous about this jobbecause I would be working one-on-one with children intheir home environment. I also felt like this was goingto be my first big step working in education. I quit myjob as a PR consultant and began training at ABC.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) programming is used toincrease the skills of children with autism. It helpsthem to become independent and improves their quality oflife. ABA teaches kids how to identify body parts, matchcolors, greet people, sing in a group, play soccer andany other task the child needs help doing. ABA goes handin hand with mainstreaming because it helps to give kidsthe skills they need to transition back in their normalclassroom setting.

C a r in g a nd e f f ect iv e ed uca t io n


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ABA is intense intervention. Some disagree with itbecause the programming is rigourous. It is based off ofdata and disregards all thoughts and emotion. Abehavior therapist is trained to stop giving an opinionand start reading data.

ABA breaks tasks down into manageable units of behav-ior that an be taught individually. For example, to washhands, a child must learn how to open a door. Then helearns to turn on a light, turn on water, rinse hands,pump soap, scrub hands, rinse hands, turn off water,dry hands... Once each of these tasks are mastered theyare combined and tested. The therapists tracks how manytimes the child error-ed and there is a systematic way

to correct errors. To motivate a child to engage in ABAtherapy, the program is heavily dependent on a powerfulreinforcer that the child is drawn to. This can be socialinteraction, time with mom, tickling, hugs, a toy,playing a favorite game, even food.

ABA not only addresses the acquisition of skills that thechild demonstrates a deficit in, but it help them tolesson behaviors they demonstrate in excess. For example,many autistic children are naturally repetitive an willself stimulate by obsessing over flicking a leaf,itching skin or even touching their tongue. ABA tracksthese behaviors and addresses them. One childs IEP askedfor positive reinforcement every five minutes that thechild left her hands to herself. The positivereinforcement was tickling: a natural reinforcer thatreally made her happy. After a week of this program, shecompletely stopped touching other peoples faces duringinappropriate times.


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I found that actually teaching lessons was much morechallenging than I imagined during training. It didntseem like it would be difficult to teach a child to touchher belly then tough her ears. But I didnt realize thatthe child would be grabbing for everything on the tablewhile I was setting up her reinforcer. I didnt realizeshe would try and run away when I asked her to give me ahigh five. I didnt realize I was going to have tophysically move her hand away from her mouth and onto thedoor knob to teach her to open a door.

I also didnt realize I wouldnt remember if I wassupposed to prompt a response in an error correction. Thechild messed up in 2D/3D matching and I wanted to

backstep, which is when you take the student to thelast successful step and repeat it and prompt the stepthey messed up on. I kept forgetting to repeat the firststep. Sometimes I would run three lessons without everreinforcing the poor kid.

The lessons autistic children learn are different thanthe lessons that I looked over in the K12 setting. Ina normal setting, a child would learn to read and writeto learn to communicate. But the autistic children mustlearn to mand: they must learn to simply communicate thatthey want or need something. Instead of teaching a youngautistic child lots of different colors and shapes andwords, they must learn how to identify basic objects uponcommand like, touch cup or touch ball. They learnmatching, and vocal imitation and how to followinstruction.


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The general population can easily identify a behaviorissue because the child is doing something disruptive.But autistic children tend to do things that aredisruptive on a regular basis, so it is difficult toidentify what a behavior is. Its a good idea to onlytrack problematic behavior. This can be if a behaviorinterferes with a previously learned lesson. One shouldalso watch for behavior that endangers the child orothers. A tricky behavior too identify and track is anappropriate behavior that is performed in excess. Onestudent was obsessed with mixing a spoon in an empty cup.I initially didnt think anything was wrong with doingthat: it harmless. But when she obsessed over doing thisand wouldnt want to do anything else during her breaks,

I realized it was a behavior that needed to be tracked.Aggression, noncompliance, tantrums and disrespect areall words to know and understand when monitoring behaviorin an ABA setting.

Before my ABA training, I never realized that you couldtrack so much data on behavior alone. You can track thetriggers, the behaviors and the consequences. You cantrack how many times it happened, the intensity of it,how long it lasted and how long it took to be redirected.

And finally, one thing to keep in mind, is that allbehaviors have a motive. The child may want access tosomething. They may want to escape an uncomfortable orundesired situation. The child may be avoiding work. Itis wise to identify the motive to the behavior whenaddressing it, By doing this, one can plan ahead andavoid certain things to avoid the behavior.

Though being an in-home tutor for ABC didnt end up beinga career of choice, the ABA training was very helpful andwill make me a more well prepared teacher for my studentsin the near future.


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-The Behavior Therapist


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November 19, 2010

Learning tobehave like agood readerIts ironic that after Ilearned behavior therapy asan intense, immediate,intervention, I observed itin a normal K12 setting.

When Mrs. Betz began

teaching specialeducation at Charter OakHigh School, she wasdealing with what some maycall, a bad batch. She wont call them that becauseits not the kids fault. They were victims of a weakjunior high administration and lots of educationalintability. One girl was reading at a first grade level.

After one semester, Mrs. Betz realized that the reasonthe kids werent reading is because they were tooimmature to sit and read alone. They were never taughtto slow down, sound out words, pronounce words correctlyand respect others while reading. The kids had their ownagenda while in middle school and there was too muchgoing on for any one to realize that they were missingthe bar.

Mrs. Betz began a series of attempts to condition thechildren to read. She tried reading in groups. She triedreading out loud. She tried reading one on one with eachchild. One tough year of battling, and the kids werereading better, but they werent there yet.

A d a pt a bil it y . T hes e kid s w il l keep y o u o n y o ur t o es !


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After a year of fighting the bad batch, Mrs. Betz knewshe needed something else. After discussing the issuewith another special education teacher, she learned thatthe students may learn better from one another in thisarena. If they feel competitive enough to try and do wellin order to impress one another, it may work.

She began pairing the students with one another. She satthem side by side, asked Johnny to read to Liz. Mrs. Betzgave Liz a transparency and a timer. As Johnny read outloud to Liz, she kept track of the words he skipped, theones he mispronounced and how long it took him to read.They graphed the session, then switched.

It has been three years since the bad batch. The kidsare mostly seniors now, and Mrs. Betz reported that theirbehaviors have all decreased. The seniors taught theincoming classes how to read in this style. Errors on thegraphs have all decreased and test scores have all goneup. The new kids are being conditioned as to how toproperly behave during reading and she has seen overallimproved academic and social improvements in the class.

Mrs. Betz said she still fights some kids from the badbatch. There are some things that cannot be resolved inreading. But she used behavioral conditioning toaccommodate the excessive needs of the childrens readingdeficit and she taught them how to behave. This improvedbehavior, this new technique, this new structure, openthe door to new learning opportunities. Students began tocooperate, take initiative, demonstrateleadership. Once the antecedent wasidentified and the settings were adapted,the behavior decreased and the learningenvironment improved.

-The Interventionist


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November 22, 2010

CGU Acceptance LetterDear Journal, We did it.

-The Grad Student


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December 6, 2010

Observation Time CareDear Journal, Ive gotten around!

-The Exhausted


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December 8, 2010

ResumeDear Journal, I have a new resume.

-The Proud Working Girl

Maluenda JanelleBlog: [email protected]

Twitter: @MissMaluenda626-825-3602

Claremont Graduate University,Claremont, CaliforniaM.A. Education, credential in Level I, moderate/severe special education, June 2012 | CBEST: Passed, CSET: 1 Class observations: ABC Autism School, Elementary and high school ASRD classes, second grade, seventh gr

grade G.A.T.E. history class, eleventh grade trigonometry and twelfth grade International Baccalaureate global s

Education

Chapman University, Dodge College of Film and Media ArtsOrange, California (For PR resume visit:ow.ly/2YE8J)B.A. Public Relations and Advertising, May 2010 | GPA: 3.2

Work Experience

Development Assistant-Life Steps Foundation, Culver City Assist in the planning and implementation of statewide campaign for social services for the disabled Work closely with regional centers to seek funding and maintain programming

8/2010 - 11/2010

8/2009 - 5/2010Child Activities Volunteer-Kids Enjoy Exercise Now, Los Angeles Set up two-to-one ratio play dates for 20-35 children with special needs Encourage socialization and imaginative play for children with ADHD, autism, cerebral palsy, down syndro

Secure and maintain donor and a liate relationships using social media

President-The Mothers Against Nickelodeon, Chapman University, Orange Studied the developmental impact of media on childhood attention span and consumption Advocated for childrens rights to play without the in uence of television Initiated the coalition of parents and students who worked to spread awareness of a commercial-free childhoo

7/2009 - 12/2009

Teach child development fundamentals and techniques in parenting to encourage engagement and stimulation Foster creativity and con dence in children ages 0-5 through interactive play

Play & Music Volunteer- Gymboree Play & Music, San Dimas 9/2010-Present

Behavior Therapist- Applied Behavior Consultants, Ontario Provide ABA/DIT, one-on-one, behavior therapy support to autism students in an in-home environment

Implement/communicate lesson plans, manage course materials and activities

10/2010-11/2010

1:1 teachers Assistant-Canyon View School, McKinley Childrens Center Work 1:1 with students with autism and emotional disturbances in academic areas including art and physical Provide transportation for community student to and from school Fill in as substitute teacher

11/2010-Present


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December 9, 2010

Lesson PlanDear Journal, These are overwhelming!

-The Data Head

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December 11, 2010

My philosophy of education

I am absolutely committed to ensuring that all children,regardless of physical, mental or cognitive ability, aregiven the opportunity to experience an engaged,stimulated and loving environment.

Every one deserves a chance to live a good, quality life,as independently as possible. They just need a littleextra encouragement, support and accommodation.

My life experiences have prepared me to become the mostgenuine, most knowledgeable and most compelling educatorfor my students. All children come from different homes,with different sets of rules and different expectations.Some step into the classroom, ready to learn and othersjust cant sit still. Its our job to ensure all studentsare provided appropriate access to the resources theyneed to succeed on his/her own level.

As an educator I promise to put my students first. Ipromise to work to earn their trust and develop apersonal relationship with them. I promise to be anadvocate for their needs. I promise to quiet down when itneeds to be quiet and I promise to speak up when it needsto be loud. I promise to remember that all students are

different and they will all need a variety of things fromme. I promise to seek answers and be informed and act asa well-trained, highly professional, representative ofClaremont Graduate University. I promise to never give upon a child. I promise to never give up on myself.

-The Educator


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December 12, 2010

Whats next?I am a teachers aid at Canyon View School atMcKinley Childrens Center in San Dimas. Here

I work one on one in the classroom withautistic and emotionally disturbed children.

I start grad school at Claremont GraduateUniversity in January, where I will study forone year to earn my masters in education anda California teaching credential in moderate/severe special education.

I hope to teach at Canyon View by Fall 2011.

I hope to continue at Claremont to earn my Level IIcredential as well as an elementary school credential.

I hope to work for in the classroom for a while thencontinue to work on my PhD in something fascinating.

My dream is to become a principal of an elementary schooland eventually teacher at a university level...

Maybe working at a university will help fund my two yearold daughters college education; which means I haveabout seventeen years to make it all happen. Or maybe itwill all change... :)

Ready. Set. Go!

Miss Malue

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