2011 October « Bumble Bee Learns to Fly ….. a blog

My Sister, Gay’s, Fifth Installment: Stepping Out On the Water February 23, 2012

Beth

Someone Comes Along February 17, 2012

Every now and then, someone comes along who changes everything. I was in my late twenties when a woman I’d come to know through my aerobics class then a small Sunday school class came up to me and said with a gentle firmness, “God is calling me to support you in ministry.” It was the [...]

Beth

My Sister Gay’s Fourth Installment: “Like Sunlight Burning at Midnight” February 13, 2012

First Installment: Meet My Sister Second Installment: The Functioning Years Third Installment: The Maelstrom From Gay’s heart to yours… Gregg Taylor, my pastor and sweet, sweet friend, said in a sermon one night at Mercy Street that “the person who has a WHY to live can bear with almost any HOW.” He was quoting Victor [...]

Beth

Failure During Inclusion Times

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Kristine

A parent brought the problem to my attention first, and I am still trying to find a solution. After an IEP (Individual Education Plan) meeting, the parent expressed concern that her child was earning D’s and F’s in several of his classes. I told her that I would check with classroom teachers to make sure [...]

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Formative Assessments: Involving Students in Instructional Planning

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Kristine

I am teetering on the edge of a potential solution to my problem with letter grades in special education. I attended a great in-service last week, with an assessment approach that fits within the philosophical paradigm that guides my teaching. It is called “formative assessment”. Ironically, this workshop was not aimed at special education teachers. [...]

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Teaching to Mastery

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Kristine

At least theoretically, a student should not be able to fail a special education class. Student failure would be a professional embarrassment to me, because I should be teaching diagnostically. Student learning is my guide, and instruction is an ongoing problem solving process. I do not allow my students to earn a B or C [...]

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This is where the failure stops

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Kristine

I began wrestling with this philosophical issue on my very first day of teaching. Our school district uses the Pinnacle Grading System, which is a wonderful resource if you want to assign letter grades to students. I; however, did not want to assign grades for my student’s work. I had trouble articulating the dissonance I [...]

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A Circle of Friends

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Kristine

Because of the social isolation my son had experienced (see not received), I called five families with children in my son’s class. I asked those families if their children would be willing to be members of a friendship circle, a group of peers who would befriend and support my son. I chose children who were [...]

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