3.1: Using School Specialists
In my pursuit to understand the relevance of this expectation, I was introduced to several resourceful, dynamic and inspiring professionals and students. My interpretation of a teacher’s role in this partnership is much more participatory than I had thought, and I realize that I will find myself initiating the contact on behalf of many students. As the teacher, my understanding of a student’s strengths and limitations is critical, and chronic problems that are not directly instructional cannot be identified as easily outside the classroom. It is my duty as the teacher to respond to the student’s needs by seeking help. So where does one turn? Depending upon the nature of the limitation, hopefully there are individuals on staff or in the community who are qualified and identified to assist.
Likely the most highly trained School Specialist I visited is was Cindy Corbett. She is the Visual Impairment Specialist for the entire Lawrence Township. She considers herself an advocate for the student by acquiring resources, tools and materials and establishing open communication with teachers. She encourages the kids to layer additional responsibilities until they are relatively self-sufficient in articulating their needs and obtaining the necessary resources for themselves. She also encourages them to evaluate their own sense of mastery of a subject. Since most work takes them longer than other students, it may not be efficient for impaired students to work every single homework problem, but rather to work until they are comfortable with their level of understanding and ability to reconstruct the knowledge.
I think an open line of communication with such a specialist is imperative since their level of understanding of the intersection of a specific challenge, a specific content area, and a specific student comes from routine meetings and credible expertise. Being open to adaptive curriculum that still meets standards and enhances the overall class experience proves challenging for teachers. Time and other resources are already sparse for many teachers, so a successful teacher meets the challenge of prioritizing these needs into part of the daily classroom instructional and planning routine.
Another group of Specialists can be found in the LD Resource Room. It is a sign-yourself-in sort of place, and students come here for many reasons, some just for a quiet place to focus. I assisted a student taking a biology test here by reading the questions to him. He has trouble with comprehension when he reads himself, so he performs better when he can hear the questions. Many of the challenges students who utilize the Resource Room for are unfamiliar to me. I never faced many of these obstacles as a student. I was unaware of the level of understanding needed to help students succeed and the assistance that is available to accommodate them.
I spoke with the instructors in the Resource Room about difficulties they have assisting students when the material is unfamiliar to them, because I realized while reading to the student that I would be unable to pass that biology exam. As much as possible they use a guided approach and rely on foundational knowledge from students. My former expectations have cited the need for content experts in student learning, so I believe there is a gap to be addressed in the Resource Room to circumvent potential confusion and misconception.
As a teacher, I will try to be aware of which students rely upon this resource and why. I will encourage the specialists to ask for departmental materials and make an effort to develop them in a definitive and explanatory fashion. I will also encourage other students who understand the material and have good communication skills to make themselves available to the specialists as volunteers during school time. I have been in touch with the Resource Room about their continuing successes and the growing number of students who have taken advantage of this professional service throughout the year.
The Media Specialist (what I’ve always known as the Librarian) helped me understand the multitude of resources available in or through the library. Traditional library resources that include books and periodicals are widely available, and teachers are invited to request the acquisition of additional titles to expand the collection. Through the library students also have access to endless information via technology: Internet, smart boards, and web-based databases. Two of these databases include Marion County Public Library and INSPIRE where students can look up and download reliable published resources not available at school. She also shared with me a copy of the school's Technology Plan which proposes a broad variety and accessibility for all students.
A life skill that students should acquire from their school experience is resourcefulness. Not only for research, but resourcefulness is essential in their approach to general problem-solving. I think the Library is an important tool to teach this. Students should learn the spectrum of possibilities that exist to find or adapt information. They should also learn to discern between facts, opinions, propaganda and rubbish they may find along the way.
Not to be overlooked as Specialists is the role of tutor. As a tutor, I had an opportunity to teach a lesson after school for ISTEP remediation. Students here are at risk to fail the ISTEP after several tries, and are voluntarily attending after-school ISTEP remediation sessions. I had a lesson planned over some recommended statistics material relating to mean, median, mode, and some bar graphs. Most of the students were familiar with the material and can perform the mechanics. They seem to struggle to focus and engage the material in a relatable way. Part of my lesson was scrapped in lieu of spending time at the table with them and trying to broaden their understanding just barely beyond the numbers. Here is an unprepared scenario I gave them.
Pretend that I am your math teacher and I gave your class a test.
When the scores came back, the mean score was ___,
the median score was ___, and the mode score was ___.
Now, pick a score for yourself.
What does this data tell us about your performance?
What should I learn from the data as your teacher?
The philosophy is, and I agree, that every little bit helps with these students, after all they are there voluntarily participating in the event, and their graduation depends upon their performance on the ISTEP exam. But how do you as a teacher reconcile with yourself that despite your best efforts, they just may not make it. I know that will be a hard one for me to swallow, and I will have to be keenly aware of this next semester and during my first teaching experiences. This experience showed me, from being in a confined space with a small group of students who either just don't get it or don't care, how disappointing it can be to give your very best and most thorough explanation with basic examples and still have little or no impact.
Elaine Bush welcomed me into her Small Schools discussion group several weeks ago, and seems like a progressive, dynamic second-career Guidance Counselor. I requested that my Mentor Teacher schedule a meeting with her specifically. As expected, my time with Elaine was informative. Any prior exposure to Guidance Counselor (or school counselor which she prefers) never extended beyond scheduling classes to meet my needs in high school. Elaine admits that scheduling is a primary function, based upon multiple layers of graduation requirements. She understands that only a certain percentage of her students are likely to go on to college, and she is able to direct everyone to some type of continuing education.
Beyond the academics, she considers herself a personal resource to offer direction to students in need. Often students may come to her in the security of their school building to open up about a problem that may be better served by a professional counselor. Elaine acts as an intermediate, taking that foot-in-the-door and redirecting it to more qualified help. Her accessibility is the key to getting help for her students. She calls these problems "barriers to learning." Whatever is getting in the way of school, Elaine is there to try to sort it out.
She emphasized to me the teacher's power to influence a student. The authority, respect, expertise, and rapport that define the teacher-student relationship can be most impressionable on a delicate adolescent psyche. I find the same dynamic exists as a Manager. It is important to guard against emotionally charged statements or contextually misunderstood intentions. The responsibility to suggest or seek this specialist’s help on behalf of a student or to listen to their recommendations as they may pertain to a particular student’s personal emotional state are imperative to the connections we need to make as teachers, or at the very least prevent a permanent disconnection.
Inclusion philosophy places a great responsibility on teachers to identify these “barriers to learning” in the classroom, so it is important to be familiar with common disorders and recognize some of their symptoms. For example, I understand that secondary mathematics is often a place that dyslexia is finally identified. This disorder can go unrecognized for years until the secondary-level instructor recognizes errors in sequence and pattern from the perspective of a content expert. Then there are steps we can take to minimize the effects of the disorder that are as simple as toning down the reading surfaces by using colored paper or laying blue transparencies over the pages of a book. When these barriers are removed, more true assessments of the student’s understanding can be made, more appropriate instruction can be developed to address the learning, not the barrier.
In the restaurant industry we assist Guests and Employees with special needs every day. A couple of years ago, one of the Chefs and I assembled a series of special dietary guidelines for our Servers to use with Guests who may need to avoid certain foods. These guidelines evolved into a small book for the Servers to easily carry and reference and was included in the Black Folder training manual that I created. Finally this year, our corporate training group got together with the culinary experts to model our project nationally. The first list distributed to the stores had several errors that I inquired about. Until I received and reviewed the second list, the book I had created remained the reference of choice in our store. Now, the handy cards are utilized by Servers in all restaurants across the nation to assist our Guests in making choices appropriate to their special needs.
Our company has also taken a leadership role in the industry to address concerns with Celiac Disease. The first step in addressing this need to our Guests was the special menu created by the corporate culinary team. At the local level, however, education and awareness were the most important. The Gluten-Free Menu was of little use to Servers who were unaware of the problem it addressed. Gluten is a protein found in wheat that persons with Celiac Disease should avoid. Wheat is not only found in grain and flour form, but happens to be a main ingredient in soy sauce as well—a staple in Chinese cooking. Understanding all of the ways wheat could creep onto the table beyond the ones addressed by the Gluten-Free Menu became a great concern to me. I utilized the Wonton Scoop to educate the staff about some of the additional obstacles they may run into and made suggestions about how to educate Guests about them as well. Since our company has publicized our commitment to cooking wheat-free, many publications have picked up on it and driven gluten-conscious diners to our doors. They always appreciate the special attention and care given to the preparation of their meal in a way that will includes them in the joy of dining out without threat or worry of sickness.
In education, the emphasis on inclusion has obvious benefits for all students. I believe the entire class benefits from adaptive learning and the understanding that people have various needs and expectations. Great examples of community are displayed through the collaborative efforts of classroom instructors, school specialists and students with special needs. The pace, energy and culture of a traditional classroom help students to engage in ways that are more reflective of the real world and develop life skills that will help them adapt more easily outside of school and home as well. The role of the School Specialist to focus students and teachers and keep communications open is invaluable to the academic and long-term success of the student and enriches the teaching and learning experiences in the traditional classroom.
