Blog # 9 Life at my WLE
Today was my mentors first day back from being on "vacation" and I was very excited to see her but also nervous to present my project to her and Ms. Odell. The first thing I did was pick up the students from the bus stop and brought them into the classroom so they could get ready for their history class. In the morning, it is very calm and I don't have much to do so I just sat at a table next to the students and helped out when it was needed. After history I usually go to p.e with the students but this time I had to present my project to my mentor and Ms. Odell. When I finished presenting my project I taught my students spelling. Once I finished teaching my students spelling Olivia had individual time with them and while they worked, I helped them whenever they asked for it. From then on we just worked on pet peeves Olivia has and personal space (students tend to get too close to each other).
As an intern I think I have improved on communicating with my mentor and teaching my students spelling. When Olivia told me to teach the students spelling I wasn't very sure on how to teach it to them but over time I started thinking of new techniques to use so they could remember how to spell the spelling words. I improved on communicating with my mentor because at first I wasn't sure whether or not to interrupt her while she was giving a lesson. I was very hesitant in asking questions, but I then realize that if I didn't ask her questions the work she gave me wouldn't turn out to be exactly what she wanted. So I eventually had to got over my fear of asking her questions while teaching and I managed to get the work done exactly the way she wanted it to be done.
My workplace has a lot of great things that make it an awesome place to work. One specific thing I love about working at newark memorial high school with special ed students is that every day there is always something to laugh about. It's always a such a joyful place to be. When I see a student working hard but getting frustrated at the same time I always go up to them and try to calm them down. After I have a talk with them they usually always get there work done and get so excited for completing their work. It always puts a big smile on my face when I see that they accomplish something they thought they couldnt do. blaaahhh NOT DONE :[
As an intern I think I have improved on communicating with my mentor and teaching my students spelling. When Olivia told me to teach the students spelling I wasn't very sure on how to teach it to them but over time I started thinking of new techniques to use so they could remember how to spell the spelling words. I improved on communicating with my mentor because at first I wasn't sure whether or not to interrupt her while she was giving a lesson. I was very hesitant in asking questions, but I then realize that if I didn't ask her questions the work she gave me wouldn't turn out to be exactly what she wanted. So I eventually had to got over my fear of asking her questions while teaching and I managed to get the work done exactly the way she wanted it to be done.
My workplace has a lot of great things that make it an awesome place to work. One specific thing I love about working at newark memorial high school with special ed students is that every day there is always something to laugh about. It's always a such a joyful place to be. When I see a student working hard but getting frustrated at the same time I always go up to them and try to calm them down. After I have a talk with them they usually always get there work done and get so excited for completing their work. It always puts a big smile on my face when I see that they accomplish something they thought they couldnt do. blaaahhh NOT DONE :[
Blog #8 Professionalism
In order to find my WLE I had to brainstorm all the ideas I had for places to intern at that would interest me. I then had to figure out how to contact the places I was interested in interning at. Once I found out how to contact these places I made a phone call explaining to them what WLE was and why I wanted to work there. My WLE is now at newark memorial high school and I found this place to intern at through Ms. Odell.
I would say the most effective way of looking for job would be to be prepared like having a resume. Company's will know that you are serious about getting a job and you might have a better chance of getting hired. When trying to get hired, it's important to give out you're best first impression to the person interviewing you. I was one of the few "lucky" people in my class that did not really have to go through a whole big process of finding a job but I know that it is much different searching for one at a real work place They expect so much more from you and you have a lot more responsibilities.
As a result of my WLE I think being profesional in the work world means being confident in yourself and being the best you can be. People like to see nicely dressed and well mannered workers. I don't think people like to be disrespected and I feel that being respectful to your customers and boss means to be professional.
I would say the most effective way of looking for job would be to be prepared like having a resume. Company's will know that you are serious about getting a job and you might have a better chance of getting hired. When trying to get hired, it's important to give out you're best first impression to the person interviewing you. I was one of the few "lucky" people in my class that did not really have to go through a whole big process of finding a job but I know that it is much different searching for one at a real work place They expect so much more from you and you have a lot more responsibilities.
As a result of my WLE I think being profesional in the work world means being confident in yourself and being the best you can be. People like to see nicely dressed and well mannered workers. I don't think people like to be disrespected and I feel that being respectful to your customers and boss means to be professional.
Blog #7 What I learned, reflection
During my WLE experience I found that I would love to work with children or teens with dissabilities in the future. People don't see how loving and smart special ed teens can be, they all have different personalities and have different talents. I've also learned that I can communicate well with my mentor and the aids that work in Olivias' classroom. I created good relationships with the students I work with and I feel like I have the right type of personality to work with people who have special needs. Throughout my time working in Newark Memorial Highschool I havn't faced any extreme challenges but a small challenge that I did have to learn to overcome was understanding my students and also putting myself in thier position. My students struggle a lot with physical education, and math. For me, as a helper/aid in the classroom I had to help them create ways to unerstand the work and sometimes my students would get very frustrated (so would I) but I always seemed to help calm them down in the end and help them get their work done. I've learned that to work with students with autism you must have a lot of patience and unerstand that they do try their hardest to participate in every classroom lesson that is taught. One of my jobs at my WLE is to teach my students spelling. Olivia had originally given me a way to teach them spelling but as I kept teaching them the same thing, I observed that my students were not remebering how to spell the words, thats where my creativity jumped in. I created different ways to help them memorize how to spell a word and also picked on students not to embarass them but to help them realize how smart they are.
Some skills I learned during my WLE are communication with my mentor whenever I had to thing abut something twice. I learned that although it may not seem like a special ed teacher does not do a lot of work, they actually do and it feels really good to help them out. I feel like the work I do at Newark Memorial Highschool is worth my time because not many people pay too much attention to special ed students and I hope that I was able to give them that attention that they needed. What I learned by working with my mentor and the students is that my skills and heart I have to help people will be greatly appreciated in the future when I begin to work in the medical field. In order to be a nurse or even a doctor you must now how to create relationships with your patients and trust, which I feel I am able to do from this experience. Overall I think the skills I used at my wle will help my in college and in life.
Some skills I learned during my WLE are communication with my mentor whenever I had to thing abut something twice. I learned that although it may not seem like a special ed teacher does not do a lot of work, they actually do and it feels really good to help them out. I feel like the work I do at Newark Memorial Highschool is worth my time because not many people pay too much attention to special ed students and I hope that I was able to give them that attention that they needed. What I learned by working with my mentor and the students is that my skills and heart I have to help people will be greatly appreciated in the future when I begin to work in the medical field. In order to be a nurse or even a doctor you must now how to create relationships with your patients and trust, which I feel I am able to do from this experience. Overall I think the skills I used at my wle will help my in college and in life.
Blog #3 My role
My main responsibility at my work place is to teach my students spelling and help out with the twins every day that are not able to walk or talk. I also always go with them to p.e and help put the kids in check if they need it. I don't really have a title, but my mentor usually introduces me as an intern or aid to other people. My mentor sometimes has me do other small task, like organizing binders and putting IEP's where they are suppost to go. I also help students with thier classwork and keep them entertained when Olivia, my mentor, is preparing for her next class. A regular day in my class at Newark Memorial high school is usually very calm and fun. First thing I do when starting my day is arrive at my workplace and pick up students from the bus stop. Jamal (my student), usually arrives first then the rest of my students arrive around 7:45am. Brandon (my student) usually arrives with tons of energy and gives hugs to everyone, he's a wild one. When we see that all students are present, we walk to the classroom, and settle in. Everyone puts there back packs in a closet, and lunches in the fridge. Then Ms. Olivia teaches them history and they usually talk about our government, recent events, and slavery. During history the students are usually very calm and attentive to what Ms. Olivia is teaching them. When Olivia is done teaching the students history, p.e is their next period, and thats where I go with them to help out. The p.e teacher is almost always late to pick the students up from class; to entertain ourselves we just wait in the classroom and listen to Ismenia (my student) sing "Just the way you are" or watch Jamal's (my student) cool Michael Jackson dance moves. When I watch them perform, it amazes me how much talent they have. Even though Ismenia can't hit any note from "just the way you are" it still makes me happy to see that she enjoys singing and will sing no matter what people tell her. Jamal, on the other hand, has some pretty cool moves, with more practice, I think he could start his own dance studio ! When they are both done getting all the attention, the p.e teacher comes in and we walk towards the track field. Every p.e class we go for a walk around the track field, and then have a long talk about all the hw I get, or one disabled student that never comes to school. Brandon is usually way up in front of me and the p.e teacher, and Ismenia is usually all the way in the back with Jamal and Roman (another one of my students). Once we go around the track field once, we go into the gym and play basketball. Basketball is so much fun with special ed students, they are so goofy and always try to show of in front of me. When basketball is over we go on break, and move onto spelling. Brandon, has very bad hearing so when I'm teaching and he gets distracted I have to raise my voice a little bit to get his attention. I teach my students words like, always, because, have, etc. Some words are difficult for them, but they always seem to remember how to spell them at the end of my lesson. Once spelling is done with, the whole day is usually "free time". Olivia teaches them about the weather sometimes, and then goes over "pet peeves" or "classroom rules" with them. At the end of the day, I usually help the students with the last of their classwork, while Olivia has individual time with Ismenia and Brandon. When we are both done with our work we pack up aroound 2:25 and head out the door so the students can get picked up. I usually wait for a bit and start talking to Justin and Josh (twins that are disabled) about their day or what they liked and didn't like. When their bus comes, I leave and head home to tell my mom about thet crazy/ funny day I had at my work place.
Blog #2 My Mentor
The name of my mentor is Olivia Rangel. She is a special ed teacher at Newark Memorial Highschool. Her jobs is to eduacte highschool students with special needs and to make an objective for them to meet at the end of the school year. A typical day for Olivia is she arrives at the school around 7:45am and as soon as she gets out of her car she walks to the bus stop to watch over the students and walk them to the classroom. at around 8:15am when everyone is settled in the classroom she just goes by the regular bell schedule she has for each day which is having history first, p.e, science, lunch, spelling, and the last period she usually teaches them things like practicing signatures, table manners etc. At the end of the day. My mentor became interested in the field of working with special ed students when she volunteered at a special ed camp when she was younger. While she worked at the camp she got really attached to one of the students there and that was when she realized that she wanted to work with special ed students for the rest of her life.
Blog #1 My workplace
Today was my first day attending my intership at Newark Memorial Highschool. The school looks just like any regular highschool it has a field, gym, and lots of portables. I work in a small class room located in the art building, with teens my age who have autism and down syndrome. The class room looks like an elementary class room, it has lots of pictures and arts and crafts that the kids created themselves, on the walls. In the one class room I work in, there are three are other workers in there as well. One of them is the teacher, Olivia, my mentor, and the other two are yvette and patricia, who help take care of two twins in the classroom that cannot walk or talk. My workplace would employ anyone who is passionate or has a big heart for kids who have autism and down syndrome. I've only been to my internship twice and I can already tell how much the workers I work with care for the kids in there, especially the twins who need extra attention because they cannot function on their own. Most workers have a 4 year college degree, whereas the helpers I would think have atleast a certificate that allows them to work with autistic kids. My workplace serves any highschool student that has autism or down syndrome. We serve them by giving the students extra attention and help during classroom time. We also create lesson plans that are not as complicated as the ones in a regular highschool class. Some strengths that my workplace has is that it helps teens with disorders get an education and it also sets them in a very friendly and caring environment. There are few weaknesses my workplace has, and is that we are not supplied with enough materials to interact with the students because of budgets they have.
