On Monday, we played two games that allowed us to understand how children with certain learning barriers feel about things in school that come easy to us. One game was played when Polly the penguin wanted to go on a picnic and she wanted to being pizza. Polly asked everyone in the room if they wanted to go and what they wanted to bring. The object of the game was that if you wanted to go, you could only bring something that started with the first letter of your first name; so Audrey could bring apples, but Whitney couldn't bring tomatoes. This game continued for a while, and you began to hear classmates say they gave up. Hearing so many people say they were confused and couldn't understand so they were just going to quit was exactly like how many children facing barriers feel daily! The second game dealt with numbers and trying to make sense of a jumbled mess. While this compilation was intended, for children with disabilities things that look clear to us look jumbled to them. This was a great way to understand what learning barriers actually feel like and how discouraging they can be!
On Tuesday, we did a craft called "Paper Plates of Prejudice". In this craft, we had to draw a picture of ourselves on a paper plate and then write 2-3 words on the front describing how we think people see us. On the back we had to draw a heart, and write in the heart 2-3 words describing how we actually are. This was a great way for us to understand how so many kids can put on a front, and hide how they actually feel. It reminded us that we should never judge anyone because we never know what they are hiding behind their paper plate. It was a really good way for us to get to know our classmates too, and find out how many people felt the same exact way we do!
On Wednesday and Thursday, we split up into pairs and read articles about the barriers of learning: abuse/neglect, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, bullying, esl, poverty, sleep deprivation, death/grief, eating disorders, ADD/ADHD, and depression/suicide. When everyone had finished reading their assigned topic and picking out the highlights, we presented our topics and gave the most important parts. It was a really great way to just cut to the chase and understand challenges many kids face! Mrs. Vaughn also stopped in to let us know approximately when we will start coming to her kindergarten class, and to give us advice on things to do and bring. She also brought her precious new baby Cooper! They were great to have in class!
On Friday, Mrs. Charlton came in and explained to us exactly what a 504 plan and an IEP plan was, and the requirements for both. Both are great ways for helping kids overcome their barriers to learning, and Mrs. Charlton really made it clear what the difference was, and how it would be our responsibilities as teachers to accommodate follow each plan, in order to provide the child with the best experience possible! All in all we had a great week and learned a lot about problems we never really think too much about!
"Live as if you die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
-Mahatma Gandhi
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