Blog  #4

 Whom you observed and interacted with in your setting during this module?

In this module I interacted with a teacher who runs a program after school for children. This program provides services for children and it benefits parents as well.  This program provides services for children age 7 to 14 years old. This program helps children with homework how to create study habits and different techniques on how to stay focus and a float with school.

Any special learning experiences you may have had on an experience that provided you with insights about children and families including advocacy efforts?

I learned that this is a free program that is not funded by Chicago Public Schools and that it is profited by different organizations that usually helps different shelters around Chicago and the suburbs. No one is turned down regardless of ethnicity, income status and even disability. All children are welcomed and children learn different techniques on how to build study groups and bond with children who may have little or no support. This organization helps build children’s self-esteem and also social skills as well. It also helps children in different academic areas where there are different volunteers that come in to help children in academic areas that they may be struggling in as well.

At least two insights gained and from your observations, interactions and experiences with children families regarding advocacy efforts and needs related to your area of interest with the field of early childhood?

Two insights that I have gained from this organizations is that they work with families as well as helping children to stay on track with their academic studies. Parents can create a study guide chart for their children as to what they may want the child to focus on and what they may need to build strength in. This organization creates a study plan for children so that they can build their academic skills in areas that they may need a little boost in. Another insight that I gained is that these volunteers at this organization has a check chart that monitors children focus for the day. It’s recorded each an everyday whether or not they have met their task for the day or not. I also like the way there are volunteers that have specific focuses at this organization.  There is one lady here who children call her Mrs. B and she has children that helps her with children that have special needs. There are 5 children who I have observed in her setting two children have autism, another child is wheel chair bound with speech impairment, then there is a child who has Down syndrome and the last child has cerebral palsy. In this setting she creates different games that all the children may follow along with and gets them focus and energize. They are simple games that children in a preschool setting may do but it works for these children and they love it. In watching Mrs. B interact with these children she is determine to cheer these children’s days up before they leave her. They come in with sad faces and looks of exhaustion but she advocates for these children to create energy for them. The parents love her, and have told her she needs to look into becoming a special needs teacher, because she seems to have the energy and the passion to love and care for children who get mistreated so often. This relates to my field in early childhood because Special Needs is my concentration of study as a teacher. As an advocate I hope to gain and become as determined as Mrs. B in helping my children as well.

Blog 3

            In these past two weeks I have been fighting with time to get a formal interview with the principal, the teacher and a parent who has a child with special needs. My first interview was scheduled for a full hour but in that interview it seemed to be so much going on throughout the entire interview. My interview with the principal consisted of the different things that the school is required to provide for children with special needs. I wanted to know what type of funding is provided to the school to accommodate children with special needs for services and areas for academics. The response that I received was that the school has a budget that is just for children with special needs and this budget allows the school to provide special services for children such as; interpreters, specialists, learning devices and etc. The budget is provided every year to the school to help accommodate children with special needs but usually the budget is not enough and the children tend to go without unless funding is provide from other sources. Yet the budget that they have they try to make the best out of it and supply the most important things that children may require the most.

            Next, my interview with a special needs teacher was very interesting to me. I know that I am still in school and that I am gaining knowledge for the field that I am trying to obtain a degree in but this teacher just did not seem helpful at all to me. I started out observing her at first to see how she interacts with the children in the classroom. After about twenty minutes into my observation I did not gain anything on what it is that she supposes to do with these children. In interviewing her I asked her how does she incorporate lessons to fit the needs of all the children and her response was so shocking to me that I really could not believe she said that she just gives the student their assigned task and that she allow them to finish them at their own pace. She also stated that they normally take the entire day to finish assignments but the children are not forced to do the assignments. I then went on to ask how are the children assessed and how do you chart their strengths and their weaknesses? I was told that the children each have their different weaknesses and they all have specialist that come in and work with them and they keep track of their progress. I sort of cut this interview short because this teacher was really no help to me in obtaining information for my paper.

            Then, I actually was able to interview a parent who has a child with Down syndrome. From the information that I gathered she is not pleased with the teacher who her child has for the teacher. I could imagine why after interviewing with the teacher. She feels that the school does not provide enough stability for children with special needs and that the funding that the principal has for the child are not used appropriately to help the children who have special needs. Yet this parent has went beyond the school and has had services provided for her child to help her child meet the needs that she acquires.

            Finally after interviewing three different individuals on three different days I didn’t get the information that I was seeking. I have taken extra time out to try in set up interviews with others that may be able to help me with the information that I will need to help me in my research paper. I hope that these interviews will be much help to me but it seems I am back where I started with what I already know.