As I have completed the learning activities for the first module of this course, I have been reflecting on the work I did this past year as an intermediate SERT as well as how the information will be useful in my new job teaching a self-contained LD class in September. Because I already have some experience with special education, this learning has helped me to structure the course content in my schema in a way that I will be able to draw on it and apply it practically going forward.
The most useful sections of the module were the ones in which we explored the different types of LDs, the challenges they pose for children, and the strategies that help. Of the sixty children on my caseload this year, a large percentage of them had LDs (some with comorbidities). I learned so much about how different LDs can look and the varied level of support that children need depending on the severity of their disabilities. I worked with kids who were so severely impacted that they couldn't produce any work without the support of an adult, and I worked with kids who didn't really need my help at all. As I read the course content about the different types of LDs, it was nice to be able to put some official language around what I was seeing with my kids this year.
In the fall, the eight kids in my class will be there because they all have significant LDs (several with ADHD and/or anxiety) that have made it difficult for them to thrive in regular classrooms with traditional interventions. I have seen the profiles that were created for me at their transition meetings in June, and they are all significantly different. These eight kids are the reason why I'm taking this course this summer (I already love them so much and I haven't even met some of them in person), and everything I take away going forward will be about doing the best job I can to plan and execute eight separate programs to meet their unique needs.
I have so many questions that I am hoping to find answers to while I navigate the content of this course. I have had tons of training around phonemic awareness and how to help kids fill in the blanks so they can learn how to read and write. (I'm currently procrastinating on reading my Kilpatrick manual because I want to give it my full attention in August.) I have very little experience in teaching math, and I'm hoping to find some useful guidance/resources to help me gain a deeper understanding of how to properly assess my kids and program for their success in math. I'm also hoping to find some help on how to have difficult discussions with my kids, such as what to say to them when they are feeling down on themselves or frustrated. I know that will come with experience, but I want to be as prepared as possible going in.
Thus far, I have enjoyed the course very much. This is the first time I have taken a course to help me do my job better -- rather than to pad my resume -- and I'm surprising myself with how much easier it is to engage in something that means this much to me. I have created a blog (teachld.blogspot.com) to keep track of my journey through this course, and I am hoping to continue it as I walk through my days come September.
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