***This is the third blog post in a continuing series detailing the launch of a new district EBD center housed inside a traditional high school. Now that the “regular” school year is over, Jenny and I are in the thick of getting things handled for the new program. I thought I’d feel pulled in fewer directions. […]
Author Archives: Sara
“Who Gives a Final in Social Skills?!?”
Pfft. That one’s easy to answer: every single teacher who works in a school that requires all credit courses to culminate in a final exam. That’s who. School districts aren’t too keen on ideas like “the real benchmark of a student’s success will come not in the classroom, but in the corridors outside of it.” […]
#2: Intake Interviews (aka. Being Pecked to Death By Chickens)
***This is the second in a series of blog posts about the process Jenny and I are using as we prepare to set up a new district high school center for EBD transition services in our school district in August 2016. Everybody in this line of work knows what it’s like to get a move-in […]
#1: Mise en place de la salle–Faire une liste, Et je le vérifie deux fois (Jusqu'à présent aujourd'hui)
***This is gonna be a long one, but it’s because I think that the classroom environment can make or break an EBD classroom. I’m not JUST rambling, I promise! I’ll be making additional posts in the coming days and weeks about how Jenny and I are setting up and preparing for our new program set […]
“OH MON DIEU, MS. GRAND EST ABSENT! LE MONDE VA FINIR!”
J'ai des problèmes familiaux qui risquent de m'entraîner pendant plusieurs jours à m'absenter de manière inattendue., donc cette année, j'ai été assez obsédé par l'idée de m'assurer d'avoir un ensemble de solides, réussi, et des sous-plans simples (c'était une allitération de qualité) prêt à partir. Juste cette semaine, I got a […]
Comme un aimant
Wherever I go, I am a magnet for quirky people. Statistically, the probability of engaging in an interaction with a person with behavior disorders is pretty good for any individual. Something like 10% of teenagers in America have a conduct disorder. Something like 90% of my outings into the community involve an interaction with a person […]
Behavior Plans Begin At Home
One of the pitfalls of being the “behavior lady” is that everyone (E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E) you know gets put on a behavior plan at some point. And they work even more poorly at home than at work. À l'heure actuelle, I’ve got my longtime partner, George, on a BIP. I have had George on a BIP since I […]
Je te juge!
Being the “behavior lady” is a weird job. My contract (and my teensy, weensy, itty, bitty paycheck) says “teacher.” My clipboard and walkie-talkie say “administrator” (Even though I’m not. Sérieusement. I have zero power to make any decisions about anything). I’ve been going around doing a LOT of interviews with current case managers and classroom […]
Conseils pour le PEI sur les relations familiales
Soyons réalistes. Nos étudiants’ les parents souffrent pratiquement du SSPT au moment où ces enfants sont au lycée. Ils ont passé le dernier 15 des années environ, à avaler des bouffées d'air entre les vagues de l'océan, et ils sont plus ou moins épuisés. Pour beaucoup de familles, the ugly reality that their soon-to-be-adult children aren’t likely […]
Le “Finales” Compte à rebours!
George et moi parlions de l'école (parce que, juste après parler de ce que font NOS enfants et de la façon dont nous allons payer pour la réparation de la pourriture sèche autour de la cheminée, l'école est notre principal sujet de conversation), et le sujet des examens finaux a été abordé. J'ai fait ça “planification alternative” thing with kids […]