Saturday, March 19, 2016

Differentiated Instruction: NOT just another buzz term!

Do your students feel frustrated? Do they easily give up or sometimes not even try?

My strategies help you build student motivation which in turn increases student participation.  Fun, engaging lessons are at the heart of building a classroom that has participation from all students.  We also introduce methods for creating an inquisitive classroom, where students are free to question the material and explore the curricula in greater depth.   By honoring student voice, giving them more opportunities to respond to instruction and presenting the material in several modes and intelligences of learning, we greatly increase the chances our students will discover more ways of learning.  If we teach to their strengths and help them overcome their weaker areas, they will have more tools for their own learning.

Do you use strategies that promote attention and interest and garner greater participation in the classroom?

You are competing for your student’s attention every day.   In today’s dynamic world it is hard to grab interest in biology or algebra!  Through randomization and story-telling, I present very specific methods to re-engage your students and increase participation in your classroom.   A student who isn’t interested is not likely to care about the lesson.  Approaching instruction by using their vernacular, experiences, and points of view will greatly increase their interest and understanding of your lesson.

Can you make your lessons more relevant and engaging?

Students get frustrated if they don’t understand the task at hand.  Because of our busy time tables and schedules, we are often forced to “press-on” just to get through the material.  Even given these circumstances you can create memorable moments for your students and greatly improve the chance they catch the meaning of your lessons and attach them to their own experiences through the use of synectics and other strategies taught in my course!  Reducing confusion and increasing understanding go hand in hand with my approaches to creating more relevant and engaging lessons.

Do you wish your students were more connected to the curriculum?

We present methods to increase “Aha!” moments by connecting concepts in the curricula with student voice and experience.  Using strategies that honor student voice and allow them to approach the lesson from their areas of strength, will reduce resistance to learning and increase opportunities for your students to respond accordingly to the curricula.

Can we promote a sense of self-efficacy in our students?

Your state and school WILL put your students to the test and expect them to perform.  My course will help you teach students to function under increased pressure!  Except for performers and athletes, most of our students are not ready, or have little experience, to perform on demand.  Through my dynamic tension strategies, you will teach your students how to work under pressure.  When student’s truly “earn” their knowledge in such conditions, they are much more likely to understand how they learn best and feel motivated to learn even more.  By allowing our students the time and opportunity to struggle a bit, we give them that moment of understanding when, through their own efforts, they discover the concept or answer for themselves.

Do you get frustrated reinventing the wheel?  Is it possible to share our great ideas efficiently and effectively?

Too often teachers are left on their own to figure out what works and what doesn’t work.  Learn a powerful strategy to increase dialogue between teachers and administrators and to showcase the best lessons that are being taught in your building, in your grade level, or department.  Learn how to record and share your very best lessons and make them available for other teachers.  By doing so you will preserve the best and most effective lessons.  New teachers will greatly benefit as well as educators who suddenly have to change grades or subjects!  Having a reliable and accurate method of sharing our very best lessons can increase teacher retention as well as student achievement.  My matrix allows you to record your most engaging lessons, share them with others, and also track where we are lacking in either depth of knowledge or mode of learning.

Supports RTI, PLC’s and other fine programs.


Monday, February 15, 2016

Today is International Angelman Day...most of the time you will see my Scotty smiling..but behind that smile is days of seizures, sleepless nights, many visits to specialists, fighting to be seen and heard. Help us find a cure...text FAST to 52000 and donate..10 15..any amount that easy to help us find a cure...and get Scotty and his friends a better quality of life...let's be his voice...his hope...his cure!


http://www.smilebox.com/playBlog/4e444d344e4451324e54453d0d0a&blogview=true

Sunday, February 7, 2016

What do we have against Inclusion?

I had the privilege of being a substitute teacher the other day in a local middle school for fifth and sixth graders in a self contained classroom.  Unlike standard classrooms with a large number of peers, self-contained classrooms are typically in a smaller setting with a fewer number of students.  Created to help foster enhanced support for students with different abilities or specific difficulties.  The class can have 6 up to 12 students.   

The class I had the honor to be with was a class of ten students who had social emotional and behavioral struggles.  Some of the students also had learning differences and one or two may have had a cognitive delay as well.  What I learned from these students is that they believed they were stupid.  In fact they were convinced they were "retarded". I heard that word more times than I'd like to admit during my 6 hours with them.  

I referred to them as scholars and how impressed I was with their math skills.  One student said:  "Who the hell are you calling scholars?  We are retards!"  My heart sank.  Who told them this?  Who reinforces this?  Why didn't the aide correct this thought?  

What does this society have against inclusion opportunities for all students.  I am not naive to believe that all students should or could handle full inclusion.  However, some inclusion opportunities are beneficial to all students.  

My son is in a self-contained classroom at a school designated for students with different abilities.  Why?  Especially when I am such an advocate for inclusion.  I will tell you it is because in our area of the country, we do not have an appropriate model for inclusion.  In fact it is archaic and detrimental to the most vulnerable students.  I have him in a school where I believe he will receive the best supports for his needs.  I would love some inclusion opportunities for him, but it is just not realistic here in Western New York to have his academic, therapeutic, sensory medical, and safety needs met.

The students I worked with the other day at the ages of 10 and 11 already believe they are 'less than'.  Nobody has attempted to alter this mindset.  Our current system has reinforced this thought and belief.  The more I am in the classroom, the more I find myself advocating for inclusion opportunities and changing the foundational belief systems of administrators, teachers, parents, students, and society as whole towards our children. 

My son is not less than, those students are not less than, they have unique needs that our current educational system is failing them.  We must do something about this.  All of us.

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

The Secret Life of a Special Needs Family: The Heart of Bubba

Having a mother's heart I do not deal with transitions very well.  My two oldest sons have moved out, and this Momma's heart cries every day.  My son Christopher is a freshman in college and recently moved on and out.  As a mom, I clean.  I was cleaning his room today and I find this essay.  It must have been for an English assignment.  I do not know the exact date he wrote this, but I believe it was during his senior year in high school.

"Growing up my mom was both my mom and my dad.  She had to take on both roles which is difficult.  However, to make things more difficult for her, my little bother was born disabled and needs constant care and supervision.  I completely understand that she needed to be with him and not with me.  I don't feel any resentment towards my mother, or my little brother, but growing up the way I did I learned how to deal with my own problems and that petty childhood issues weren't that significant in the grand scheme of things.  I don't really know if I would consider myself an adult yet, but I can tell you I became very mature at a younger age than most.  It wasn't a choice for me to become mature.  It was a necessity.

Most ten  year olds are able to watch their five year old brothers, but watching my little brother was different.  I needed to know how to change his diaper, draw and administer his medicine.  I absolutely needed to know what procedure to do in an emergency situation.  One instance sticks out in my mind more than the rest.  I was ten years old and my mom was sick and was resting, and I was in charge of watching my little brother.  We were watching television and all of a sudden he started shaking and then he fell and hit his head very hard on the floor:  he was unconscious.  I immediately got his emergency seizure medicine, gave it to him, called 911 and gave them all the information they needed.  I just held him waiting for the first responders to arrive.  Yes, my mom was home which made things a little bit easier for me to handle, but watching what happened and being the one in charge of fixing it will always stay with me.  Watching Scotty, making those decisions that could end up being life or death, and the lessons my mom instilled in me have made me the man I am today.  Growing up the way I did taught me to always put others' needs before my own, made me the leader I am today, and taught me to be a great problem solver in stressful situations."

This heart of mine hurts as I read this.  Why?  Because my son feels he has to deal with everything on his own.  My heart rejoices because he is a great young man, filled with love, kindness, and generosity.  He has a spirit of giving that is unmatched.  My heart filled with pride, sorrow, and gratitude within the seconds it took me to read this essay.


Siblings of individuals with different abilities are extraordinary.  They endure so much that many, including us parents, are unaware of.  The secret life of a special needs family is filled with care, perseverance, regret, guilt, gratitude, strength, courage, kindness, chaos, exhaustion, and most of all love.












 

Thursday, November 12, 2015

CHANGE A BELIEF AND CHANGE A BEHAVIOR

Eliminate 90% of problem behavior and stop losing precious teaching time to matters of discipline so that students can focus on learning.


FIVE COMPONENTS TO PROMOTE SCHOOL SUCCESS!
  1. Maintain self-control and composure in all situations!
    • Predict and avert problem situations before they surface
    • Take the right course of action when challenged 
    • Set effective limits
  2. Arrange the classroom for maximum achievement!
    • Keep the students visually focused on top priorities
    • Teach from the "Teaching Power Position," knowing where you should and should not be
    • Incorporate music, lighting color, and scents to improve learning
  3. Teach to and enforce rules and procedures
    • Teach students to behave appropriately in class and school social settings
    • Teach students how to use their time effectively and listen attentively
    • Teach to rules and routines to zoom through the curriculum as never before
  4. Firmly, but fairly, carry out disciplinary actions
    • Learn to stop letting minor and major challenges interrupt important teaching time
    • Stop avoiding difficult students or situations
    • Handle negative classroom situations effectively
    • Detect and correct problems before they surface
  5. Build and maintain strong student-teacher relationships
    • Learn to build and maintain trust with challenging students
    • Energize apathetic students and have them working as never before
    • Support unmotivated students and rekindle their passion to succeed

My classroom management training will put you on the path to School Success.  You will learn strategies that you can use tomorrow that will result in significant student engagement.  Educators have reported double-digit increases on standardized test scores.  Also, you can expect a dramatic decrease in disciplinary challenges int eh classroom.  Educator share even reported that more than 90% of problem behaviors are eliminated.




Contact me today for a quote for your team and school for your next staff development day.  Mention this blog and you will receive a discounted price for your 6 hour training day.  

ritasell3@yahoo.com
716-380-5515

Sunday, June 28, 2015

I Asked For It

Just finished being interviewed by Darren Humphries and Paul Boon, two AngelDads, for AReal Life Stories From the Journey.  I was humbled that these two men I admire would even consider me for the show.  We talked of the early days of Scotty's life and misdiagnoses.  We spoke of the  day when Angelman Syndrome became a permanent fixture in our lives.  Throughout the interview there were laughs, nods of admission and confirmation, and some tears as well.

https://youtu.be/_nyclkKUXaQ

This journey that each AngelParent is on is not a tale of gooey gooey gum drops and sugar coated unicorns flying in on a rainbow.  It is a tale of exhaustion, seizures, hundreds NO thousands of doctor visits and hospital stays, poop parties, and endless fighting.  Endless fighting you say?  Yes, fighting systems.  Every system you can imagine, we fight.  We fight to get proper meds to control seizures.  We fight to get the best appropriate education.  We fight against ignorance in every area of our lives.  We fight loneliness and depression.  We fight the feelings of defeat.  Finally, for me I fight with the inner voices of self pity vs. strength.

Once the camera was turned off, Darren, Paul, and I continued to talk about this journey. I started to share with these two amazing men the reason why I no longer hate AS or my life.  As a young girl I volunteered in our high school's special education classroom.  It was a self contained classroom of students with different abilities.  My task was to assist them with their assignments. I spent a lot of time in room 112 with these fellow students of mine, and we became friends.  My new friends were not included in the general student population except for lunch.  Many students would use the "R" word in their presence.  I never backed down from telling others to SHUT IT.    At a young age I was aware that each person is to be treated with the same amount of respect, love, and acceptance that we all desire.  Ability should not be a factor in how one is treated or mistreated.

I shared with Darren and Paul how I would pray at night in my bed with tears dripping a prayer of request.  I prayed that if God had any children with different abilities waiting to be born to please send one to me.  I remember telling God that I can do it.  I can do this.  I prayed  that one day I can prove to God that I would be an amazing mom to a child like them.  So when I have a pity party of "OH my life is so hard".  Why does Scotty have Angelman Syndrome?  Why do we struggle so?  I remember that prayer.  I have no right to hate AS. I have no right to hate my husband or this life.  I prayed  Scotty into my life.  I prayed for this life.  God does answer prayers.  Scotty is proof.