Transformation

School started two weeks ago tomorrow. In some ways, it feels like much longer. Yet in other ways, I am amazed at how far we have already come in two weeks.  The first hour of school this morning I saw something that brought me joy down to the core of who I am. I never thought students working together on a puzzle would bring me such joy.  

Let me give you some context. Two weeks ago the bell rang for our first day of class. I was running somewhat late to my classroom, where 11 sixth grade students waited for me. Thankfully, most of them were running late too as they tried to figure out how to open lockers and get to class. These 11 students and my two sixth grade students make up my Panther Success class. This is a group of students who will come to my classroom every Wednesday from now through the end of their career at Southside Middle School. The plan is for every student to have a teacher who cares about them and their success.  Our school decided to start the first two and a half weeks with panther success every day. For the rest of the school, this provides some routine and a good location to share rules and expectations. 

For me, it was a little more stressful, especially day one. I had one aide and we were trying to figure out how to welcome our 8 students to school, make sure they had breakfast, divide them up into their groups, provide the structure and routine they needed, and still make sure I was able to interact with the students in my panther success group.  Thankfully, my aide figured out how to manage all my students during breakfast and drop them off in their classes on the way to my classroom. She then helps with a few needs in my class before joining another teacher with my students in another classroom.  

The first few days were definitely stressful for everyone involved. Most of the sixth graders were stressed (both groups) as they adjusted to middle school. On day two I had a few minutes with my Panther Success group before my students joined us. I brought up my students for discussion, explained some things, and answered questions. They had some good questions those first few days.  One of my students is nonverbal, but makes a decent amount of noise. Initially, this brought a lot of stares and some frustration from my other students. The first time I fed a student Pediasure using a syringe (without a needle), I thought eyes would pop out of heads.  Every time I did something new, I would explain it to my class. 

What a difference two weeks makes. Today, I planned an activity that everyone could participate in equally. Students were supposed to read, work on puzzles, or do homework. Most ended up choosing puzzles. Before we even got started, one of my Panther Success students suggested that my other student might be hungry and want his Pediasure before we got started with anything else. She then proceeded to check his backpack and help him get what he needed out for the day. 

Later, as they were working on puzzles around the room, I saw the same student talking with my nonverbal student and engaging him about his puzzle. It didn't matter to her that he couldn't respond. He was happily working on his puzzle with a friend. Just a few minutes later I turned around to see three boys on the floor working a puzzle with another of my students. It didn't matter that he could have done the puzzle by himself. They had chosen to get down on his level and talk with him about his puzzle while they completed it together.  

I am still amazed when I think back on the looks of fear and confusion on their faces during the first few days of school compared with the natural interaction I witnessed today. What a transformation! I am so thankful that I got to witness this today and can't wait to see how these friendships will grow over the next year. 

Happy Birthday Wishes

One of my students had a birthday today. He is primarily non-verbal and uses a device in order to communicate. In the last year, he has made a lot of progress with his device. Since coming back to school, it has become clear that he has been using his device more at home because he has been using it constantly in class.

To give you a little context for the fun story following, I have three non-verbal students in my class this year. I really wanted to incorporate them better into our calendar time (and later at other times).  In order to do this, my class iPads have an app called LAMP. It is set up in the same way as their devices. This week we have started having the whole class use them during calendar to say the date, the days of the week, and the months of the year. This slows down my verbal students and puts them on the same playing field as my nonverbal students (actually, my nonverbal students are often faster because they are more familiar with the device). It also works some on their reading skills as they have to read the words in order to select the correct word when they first begin.

Today, while we were doing this I heard "happy birthday" in the background. I didn't know who said it using their device, but I encouraged the rest of them to try to wish their friend a happy birthday using the device. Some of my students started trying to use the spelling portion to type the words. I encouraged them that whoever could find the buttons that actually said "happy birthday" without having to spell it would get an extra class dollar, as in the long run this is a faster method of communicating.

One student found it and then started showing everyone else. They then asked how to spell the student's name and added that to the end.  Once they were finished they kept getting up, walking over to the student who was celebrating his birthday and making it say "Happy Birthday ... " The smile on his face was one of the biggest smiles I have seen. I have seen him have this kind of smile at two other times that I can think of. One was when I changed his device from being able to say 84 words to being able to say thousands of words. The second was when he came back from his first general education science class.

Earlier in the day, when I said happy birthday to him, he barely responded (just a small smile). However, when his friends gave the same greeting, using the voice of the device he is used to, he was filled with joy.  This just reminds me of how important it is for us to continue modeling using the device in class and encourage his peers to use the device as well.