Blog Post 1: Jaime Steading's Miller Section 1 "Not This: Is There Enough Time?"

I have to admit, this is all new to me.  I almost feel like a first year teacher all over again.  This is the first time in almost 10 years I am teaching students who are already reading.  I have been teaching either preschool special education students or nonverbal low functioning students with autism, so this is a new world for me.  When I first began teaching, I was a general education teacher.  I taught second grade and third grade.  I remember taking a class on "The Four Blocks" when teaching third grade, but even back then we still relied very heavily on the basal reader.  I often found myself wondering how the basal was reaching the child not on grade level.  I guess my heart was always leaning toward that student who was behind or who needed extra support.  I know this was the beginning of my path to teach special education.  These readings have been eye opening, yet affirming for me.

Is there enough time?  Wow.  How many times do I ask myself this question everyday and the answer always seems to be "no."  When you are teaching four different grade levels everyday for every subject, there never seems to be enough time for anything, which often leaves me feeling very ineffective as a teacher.  After reading this section by Miller, I have realized how much time I can manage to waste during the day with what I thought were effective and important activities.  Some activities that Miller mentioned that stood out to me:
  *Calendar Time:  My students love this, so this is a hard one for me.  I have tried to really trim this down to the basics and find other ways to review these skills.
  *Lining Up:  I laughed at this one.  I often find myself saying, "If you're wearing red line up." However, I have students who are working on colors and also on following indirect or group instructions, so this is a tough one for me.  I try to only do this occasionally, now, so I don't waste as much time.
  *Transitions:  These are hard in a class for children with autism.  We are getting faster, though, with practice.
  *Miller does not mention this particular activity, but there is one thing that has taken a huge chunk of my time this year: testing.  All of my students have to be tested individually, which takes up huge chunks of instructional time with my students.  Luckily, I have two fantastic assistants who fill in for me.  However, where it may take a couple of days, at the most, for a general education class to take a specific test, it takes me weeks.  Doing this three times a year adds up to approximately 6-9 weeks of lost instructional time.  This time doesn't include testing for progress reports, report cards, and IEP goals.  I am trying to find ways to make the mandated tests work to my advantage and to be able to incorporate them into the IEPs and eliminate some of the additional testing.

It is easy to get frustrated with the testing or with the lack of time we feel we have.  When frustration kicks in, I always try to remember that, for me, the most important part of teaching is that my students know I love them.  No matter what happens, if a child knows I love them and care for them, they will work their tail off for me.  So, I am trying my best to make the time to show my students just how much I care for them. Whether it's a short conversation about their weekend, hanging up their prized drawing, or listening to them read, I want them to know that I am interested in them, that I love them, and that they are important to me.  Then, we can accomplish great things this year together!