Podcast#4: Special Education, A Career or A Cause?

         

     The podcast title caught my eye and made me want to go ahead and start following it.   It concerns the reasons as to why people choose to be special education teacher and why they should go into that field.   it states that special education is not a career but yet a cause.  I am not sure I agree with everything they mentioned but it certainly made me think and question multiple aspects of the topic.
       Children with special needs need one on one attention at times.  The podcast discusses how people need to be motivated for the students not just moving up in the professional ladder.  It emphasizes integrity within ones job.  They are saying that sometimes teachers just do the bare minimum to get by and do not focus on the child.   When a teacher does this the student is not being benefitted.  It also goes over free and appropriate public education.   It does not speak about private schooling which I can understand, because I feel that most people teach public schools.
        In my opinion the podcast is geared more towards parents of kids with special needs.  As teachers though, I feel that we should see both views; the view from the parents and the teachers.  It is a teacher's responsibility to care for and work with the children just as it it the parents. 

Podcast#3: Social Skills Training in Adolescence: Important Issues and Future Directions

    

       The Podcast I have been following entitled, "Social Skills Training in Adolescence: Important Issues and Future Directions"  has been very interesting.  It focuses on different ways you can help your child or student with disabilities interact with other peers on a daily basis.   I found it helpful as a future teacher the skills they were discussing that are geared towards socially enhancing the lives of children with special needs.
      In particular this podcast is one of many created by the MIND Institue Lecture Series on Neurodevelopmental Disorders.  Marjorie Soloman is the speaker doing the lecture and the voice within the podcast.  She explores models for social skills training with a focus on issues encountered when working with adolescents and implications for future research. 
      I found it very interesting that she lectured on the topic, "identity development."  She says that there are four types of the identity crisis that are experienced by all.  Also, she mentions that each individual type of identity is is determined by how committed the adolescent is to their personal identity search.  I agree with her notion that students need to identify themselves in order to act socially with other students.  Marjorie's lecture certainly could impact a teacher on how they go about interacting with their students with special needs and how they are capable of acting socially. 
      The last item that she discusses is "Piaget/ Cognitive Development."  In the podcast she calls it the child's "ages and stages hall of fame."  The stages of development include; sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, and formal operations.  I have learned of these different stages of development before but I enjoyed her metaphors and ways she described it.

Podcast # 2: Making Special Education Actually Work

   

  The podcast, Making Special Education Actually Work is very entertaining to follow and has really made me think. The podcasts that I watched focused on: the impact of teacher lay-offs, teachers who cheat the system and why they do it, and lastly, if special education is a career or a cause.  Listening to these separate podcasts really made me think about the deeper meaning of teaching children who have disabilities.
       The lecture spoke about students intervention plan which I enjoyed because it was something I could certainly understand.  The podcasts related to what we are covering in many of my special education classes but it goes further in depth regarding issues within the schools these days.   it goes through the process of developing a child an individual education plan.  As a special education major we have thoroughly gone through this process in our classes and I can appreciate the amount of work that goes into it.
     It was a little disturbing when they discussed how some teachers choose to cheat the system.  They expressed that they teachers will simply do the bare minimum therefore they are not preparing their students to their fully ability.  The students will not be ready for the real world nor will they have the skills they need i teachers continue to do this.  The say that teachers cheat as a lack of knowing how to deal with problems. The podcast also lectured about the legal requirements of the IDEA and how a special education teacher must abide to district policies.
     Overall, it made good points and it really showed me what could happen and will happen when I actually get into the schools.  It showed the parents side at times, which I think is great for us as teachers to see and understand so we can be accommodating once we have a classroom.   I honestly feel that this podcast is more beneficial at times than my first podcast I have been following.

Websites for more information!
http://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail?pid=53721
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos070.htm
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr139.shtml
http://special-education.teachers.net/

Podcast #1: Understanding and Educating Individuals with Autism

       The podcast I have been following called Understanding and Educating Individuals with Autism: Elementary School and Beyond has been quite interesting.  It has showed me that there are multiple perspectives that one can take when working with children with autism. I feel that watching it is beneficial to my teaching career that I will have in the future.
     
       Peter Mundy lectures and explores the social behavioral, emotional, and learning characteristics of higher functioning children with autism.  He talks a lot about how they are affected socially and how how they feel when certain situations happen.  During the podcast they interviewed an individual with autism who was probably about twenty-seven years old, in order to see his opinion first hand.   The parented were interview as well and they commented multiple times on the behavior and acceptance of his previous teachers.   She spoke how many teachers were "afraid" to have  a child with autism in their class and at times they even denied him because of their fear.  The teachers were hesitant because they didn't know how it would go having a student aid in the classroom full time. I was extremely interested in what the man who actually had autism had to say.   I feel that when you hear it from the person who is actually having the experience, it makes a large difference.
     The podcast itself has many subtopic groups that have podcasts as well including; fostering a community for children with disability disorders, social skills training in high functioning children with autism, and phycological and biological markers of stress in the lives of mothers of adolescents and adults with autism.  In the podcasts they sometimes say things that can be used as tips and lessons that I can use in my future class. I am not sure i fully agree with everything that Peter Mundy has to say as far as the lecture but I respect his opinion regardless.  It's good to hear others opinions regarding special education.

Websites fore more information:
http://www.uctv.tv/search-details.aspx?showID=17660
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002494/
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm
http://www.educateautism.com/ -         (teaching aid)