“Graduating Peter” is a documentary that follows Peter Gwazdauskis, a child with Down Syndrome, and the act of inclusion. The documentary tracks Peter in sixth grade through high school; the film shows his struggle with being in general education classes with non disabled students and developing the life skills necessary to take care of himself. “Graduating Peter" also shows him coming out of his shell, enjoying the excitement of high school activities, and making new friends and well as continuing the bond of old friends. At the beginning of the documentary, I believe, Peter was at level II on the Continuum of Educational Services. Lever II on the Continuum states that the special education teacher and classroom teacher co-plan and co-teach for part of the school day.
Classroom management, engagement, and motivation NBT1 Task 1 Amanda Gray Scenario 2. Mr. Collet has a 3rd grade classroom homework procedure that promotes practices with positive social interaction. He has developed a plan that allows each student to get homework in the time frame designated. He has created a procedure and has given each student and parent a printed handout that gives details on how the system will work. The students also have a daily planner that allows them to record daily homework entries.
Physical Environment Observation: The classroom was organized in the shape of a rectangle with one of its corners cut off with enough room for 24 students. Once inside the door, on the linoleum floor, the counter is located to the left with a long window sill displaying the students’ work. The counter is home to a few piles of papers for the week, the sink, and water fountain. At the end of the counter there is a trash and recycling bin, with the bathroom door just around the corner.
I check for understanding and try to engage my ELL students to actively participate in the lesson. When they are done, I then ask each group to share their fact sheets and for the rest of the class to fill out the Navajo Culture handout on the board from what they learn from their classmates. When each group has presented their fact sheets, I instruct the students to fill out the other part of the Culture handout with their own culture. We then put those answers on the board. I instruct the students to put away their worksheets until tomorrow and project cloze sentences with the new vocabulary.
Families with low income would send all of their kids in one grade and they would learn same subject. Recitation was the main practice that teachers used when it came to learn the subject. Student had to get memorize important dates in History or other subjects and then repeat them in front of the class or quietly to the teacher. (web 5) Teachers of boarding school that taught had to live with their students but received minimum pay of four to ten dollars a month. (web 5).
An example of my experience of negative reinforcement is simple. When I was in elementary school, we were one of the few schools that the disciplinary counselor gave beatings to the students when the behavior was poor. The counselor used a large wooden paddle that had holes in it (and I believe that the holes were help the paddle gain speed). Allow me to paint a picture for my readers as to this setting. The cafeteria was large enough to house half the school, since there was only “lunch one” and “lunch two.” The counselor would wait until the student’s lunch time and walk the child onto the stage, which was located in the front of the cafeteria.
This semester, I volunteered at Bluevale Collegiate Institute in Waterloo. More specifically, I provide assistance in the LAC (Learning Assistance Classroom). The LAC is run by one teacher, and she has three full time EAs, one part-time helper, and me working in the classroom. The main teacher doesn’t really work with the students a lot. She is mostly in her office or running from classroom to classroom, talking to the teachers of the students in LAC and keeping track of what each student is working on and has to complete.
Stalling was startled by him because this was her first time encountering a child with this intellectual disability. Peter even though diagnosed with Down Syndrome was able to function in a third grade classroom, which he was integrated into for the first time. Peter was very intellectual, physically strong and affectionate. Peter just had challenges with feeling apart of the classroom and controlling his behavior as far as outburst and physical aggression. However, by the end of the school year, Peter’s behavior progressed and his classmates were no longer startled by him but were helping him and encouraging him.
Unwinding in front of my computer screen after a long day at school I notice an unread email: Detention Notice for Lunch Absence. This message has got to be some kind of cruel joke. Not only have I not missed a lunch this week, I have not missed one all year. However, once again due the grand inefficiencies of lunch room I will be spending my Saturday morning not in my bed, but in a bland room biding my time. Given the sufficient funds I would fix the numerous issues the lunch room at my school has allowing it to become a more efficient system.
Wiley, A., Siperstein, G., Forness, S., & Brigham, F. (2010). School Context and the Problem Behavior and Social Skills of Students with Emotional Disturbance. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 19(4), 451-461. doi: 10.1007/s10826-009-9316-4. This article studies the different social and behavioral characteristics of students with Emotional Disturbance in the public schools and how it may impact special education effectiveness. I was interested in this article so I could further my knowledge of the social and behavioral characteristic of students with emotional disturbance because I wish to work with emotional disturbance children once I complete my Masters of Education.