How Can Resource Centers Be Helped?

Summary:

The article emphasizes greatly the importance of hiring highly qualified teachers that are able to understand the knowledge behind the laws that pertain to children of special needs, the referral process, as well as an individualized education plan (IEP) development. According to the article, the purpose of this project was to create a manual that could be used as part of a comprehensive induction program, since mentoring and induction programs have been shown to decrease the rate of special education teacher attrition. "What Every Special Education Staff Should Know: A Resource Manual for Beginning Special Education Teachers and Other Personnel Serving Students with Disabilities" addresses the special education referral and eligibility process, eligibility categories, continuum of services, IEP development, typical special education terminology; and basic review of statistical measures which are key components of student success.

Reflection:

Special Education teachers are known to be those that fill in the gaps in our classroom.  I’ve noticed in recent weeks that the Special Education department at the school I teach is overwhelmed because they are overworked. I’ve noticed that after speaking to them that the issue was not that they are not performing well because they do not know the job, but because they are stressed and overworked. With only two special education teachers to aid an entire high school, with students of about 500 students, I would say that is very exhausting. Like mentioned in the article, it is true that many teachers may not be as qualified but this is not because they do not know how to do the job, like new teachers, they needs administration to be able to pay for mentors. I think that is very important because there is an obvious gap. When I do not know who to run to to refer someone to the resource center, you know there is a shortage.

Reference: http://search.proquest.com/docview/1355756890

How can teachers' stress be reduced?

Review:

The article argues that stress often leads to psychological disorders on teachers because of the amount of the work and stress that is put on teachers. The article argues that stress factors, if not corrected, may lead to certain psychological reactions and may influence the teacher to find another occupation with a lesser degree of stress. The article argues that because of the stress, teachers may find it difficult to come back to work. Teacher attrition has also been a serious problem in maintaining quality education in the United States. Although the research produced extensive documentation on teachers' stress and attrition, little attention has been paid to their spiritual stress coping strategies. This article seems to find alternative practices that may benefit teachers in coping with stress and anxiety.

Summary:

I think that teachers are very stressed because of the workload that is put on them. I noticed that many administrators oversee the stress that teachers endure. I remember when I started teaching, I was told that things will get better and they did. But, the stress was not reduced in anyway. The amount of time I spend on lesson planning is beyond 5 hours a week and the amount of hours spent on grading is perhaps double that. By the time teachers get home, they do not have time to actually feel normal again.  I think hiring aides to assist teachers will help teachers with grading and lesson planning. It will help with classroom management and one-on-one teacher sessions. I’ve seen that first hand when I first started teaching. I do not know what we can do as a community to fully say that when we rightfully compensate our teachers for the amount of the work they do, our teachers will perhaps do better. The money that teachers get causes anxiety because many of them have to work another part time job to be able to fully support themselves.

Reference:

Journal of Research on Christian Education, v22 n2 p165-188 2013

Agricultural Education Magazine, 47, 6, 141-3, Dec 74

Characteristics of Schools

Characteristic of School

 

Summary:

 

In the article written by Horn and Kojaku examines curriculums that are rigorous in high schools. They claim that students who had "rigorous" high school experience learned more than the students who didn't and even when all family background characteristics, indicators of socioeconomic status, and selectivity of first postsecondary institution attended were taken into consideration (McDonough 2005; Plank and Jordan 2001). Another important school program—high school guidance counseling—has received attention for its potential to influence college going for historically underrepresented students.  Research shown that counselors who spent enough time with students were able to perform efficiently. 

 

Review:

 

I agree with this article because I've seen how support systems often enhance student achievements. I noticed that there is indeed a correlation between teachers' expectations for students and students' academic success. What that means is that if we higher our expectations as teachers by adding a rigorous curriculum into the school, students will start pushing themselves forward. I also think that having to lift the burden off our counselors, we will be able to be more efficient. I noticed that the school I work in, counselors are so overwhelmed and with the budget cuts, we were unable to successfully push for new software, for example, to help with class programming. Having the money will help reduce that burden and perhaps help in getting an additional counselor.

 

Reference:

Choy, S.P., Horn, L. J., Nunez, A., and Chen, X. (2000).  Transition to college: what helps at-risk students whose parents did not attend college. New Directions for Institutional Research, 107, 45-63.