Planning for the New Year

   Summer break is screeching close to its end (for me, at least) but it feels like summer is just now starting. We're moved into our house and working on settling in, I just made it up to the Lake for the first time and will be back one more time before school starts. I only have two real weeks at home before school starts. So much to do!

    This year I am looking forward to a fresh start. I fell into my comfortable routine in Okinawa and last school year I was just trying to keep my head above water. This summer I've been reading several books to help me provide more meaningful activities for my students. My readings have helped me develop some goals for the next school year. And with that, I present my goals for the 14/15 SY:

#1. Find time in my schedule for planning and actually stick to it! Planning and lunch rarely happen for the sped teachers I know as minutes and schedules are are always changing.

#2.  Within that planning, schedule common planning time with grade level teachers (life was much easier and instruction more meaningful when this occurred). 

#3. Redefine my philosophy of teaching and reflect on a weekly basis how that is evident in my classroom. You can thank my current read, Teaching with Intention by Debbie Miller for this one! It's a book that definitely found me when I needed it.

#4. Now that I have muddled my way into the Indiana IEP program (ugh) work with former coworkers (who are IEP ninjas) to write the absolute best, most personalized IEPs for my new students. I HATE generic IEPs.

#5. Become more comfortable with the MacBook Pro generously provided by my school district.  I honestly haven't devoted the time necessary to learning the million things I can do with this device and I hope to learn at least three hundred of them this school year. There are many generous and helpful people in the district so I know I can learn from my peers as well as ever helpful YouTube and Google. 

What are some of your goals for the upcoming year?

Executive (dys)functioning

     One thing I missed so much while in Okinawa was the luxury of attending professional developments. From what I have gathered, there were lots of PD opportunities prior to 2008. Then there were changes and PD went by the wayside. The LI teachers used to fly up to Tokyo and meet together and enjoy the Mainland lifestyle. Oh, how I wanted to go. I even thought I was going, but at the next-to-last-minute they scrapped the conference.

     My first special ed related PD back in the States was about the subject of Executive Functioning. This is how the brain knows to do common, every day things that we typically know to be routine. According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities,  executive function problems include but are not limited to:

• Making plans
• Keeping track of time and finish work on time
• The ability to successfully multi-task
• Meaningfully including past knowledge in discussions
• Evaluating ideas and reflecting on work
• Changing minds and making mid-course corrections while thinking, reading and writing
• Asking for help or seeking more information when needed
• Actively engaging in group activities
• Waiting to speak until called on and not blurting out

     I'm not sure about you, but I walked away from the conference feeling like I myself have some executive functioning problems. I also felt like this completely described some of my students. I had two big take-aways from the day. The first is that our kids with processing disorders need more Omega-3's in their diets as that can build up the myelin in their brains which is often thin and lacking when processing disorders are apparent. The other takeaway (for me) is that the frontal lobe does not begin to really form until ages 7-12. The frontal lobe is responsible for organization so we must be mindful of this when working with the elementary school age group.