Introduce Yourself

Hello! I'm Kathy. At the end of this month I will have 35 years in education under my belt. I work with students who have visual impairments and their teachers so I get to travel to about nine schools and sit in traffic a little bit. I'm considered the technology person for our department.I also make appointments to teach teachers and have mini-workshops for their students to educate them about blindness and low vision. These days most of my students are multi-disabled with visual impairments.

My interests outside of school are art (which I used to teach), photography, and children's ministry. I also volunteer for Kairos Prison Ministry and for a new mentoring program called Second Chance. It's about mentoring to people who have four to six months in parish prison, helping them make plans, etc. and keeping track of them for a year to make sure they don't either go back or graduate to state prison.

Hi, My name is Joyce. I am from San Diego but moved to North Carolina 18 years ago. I have been teaching me entire life from tutoring in Elementary school, volunteering at an Elementary school when I was in middle school. Took childhood development classes in high school. Volunteered in my kids schools until they were old enough for me to go back to college and then I was a preschool teacher, middle school assistant and a high school teacher.
I absolutely love what I do. I have recently been teaching the online courses for high school OCS classes. I think it is one of the best motivators for our kids. There are so many resources out there that take away the paper and pencil stereotypical classroom and make it more interactive and 21st century orientated. I am in the process of becoming an online teacher as well as the face to face teacher. I look forward to all the new things I can do with the modern technology.

Hi. My name is Dee and I am an Education Specialist, highly qualified to teach Algebra I in the high school level in Northern California near San Francisco. This is my 7th year teaching full time, this being my second career. My students are in the Mild/Moderate range, which sometimes I think is more challenging then Moderate/Severe.
Outside of the classroom I love being outdoors gardening, hiking, boating, camping, skiing, etc.
I am interested in how to get past my anxiety of parents. I love the kids and we work well together, but parents ... well that is another story, I get myself so worked up worrying about how they will react, that communicating becomes difficult.

Hi Dee!

Welcome to Edutopia. Hope you will find our community groups to be helpful! We have a Parents Group. Feel free to post some discussions. They maybe able to provide some answers to your questions about communication with parents. It's tough for sure.

Hi all. I am a newly certified special educator (7-12) and am looking for a job. My initial certification is in Mathematics, but I have a very diverse education background. If I could pick my dream job, it would be as a special education teacher who is the inclusion /resource room/skills teacher with a specific cohort of students. Until then, I would be satisfied with almost any job! I currently per diem sub, and the assignments I love the most are the special ed placements.

I really love Edutopia and learn a great deal from the seasoned educators who share their knowledge.

Hello,

I'm entering my 8th year teaching and my 4th at the high school level. I have really enjoyed teaching at the high school level despite the higher stakes my students face since they're so close to graduation. Collaborating with general education teachers and watching how those collaborations help our students succeed in high school has been the most satisfying experience in my career--aside, of course, from seeing my students graduate. I hope I can get some good ideas to bring to my school from this resource online.

Hello all-
My Los Angeles Unified special education students are kiddies ages 3-5 years with varying disabilities - they are a joy to interact with on a daily basis, but the families are becoming more difficult each semester. Why is that? And the scholastic rigamarole of IEPs, time lines, testing, etc. doesn't even warrant a mention. Still, early childhood special education is where it's at!
Off campus, when not with my rescued cocker spaniel Sophie, I am an advanced weight lifter (4-5days/week), a so-so yoga participant, and a very beginner knitter. Movies, live theater,musical concerts, and reading are some of my other pleasures.

Denise! Welcome! Feel free to peruse and join our questions. Let us know how our community can be of help.

Hubert

Hi! I have been teaching students that are multi-handicapped, non-verbal and medically fragile for a total of 35 years.There have been SOOO many changes in this field over the years--it is amazing! I am a technology "junkie" with my students and try to expand their participation in all areas of their lives--inside and outside of school. It will be interesting to hear what other teachers are doing around the country. I am looking forward to being part of this discussion group.

Hello, I'm returning full-time to the classroom as a resource room teacher due to relocation. I'll be teaching in what I consider "rural" Aiken, SC. I'm originally from New York City where I served as SpEd teacher and School Administrator in several different capacities. I haven't "taught" full-time in over 6 years so this will be quite an adjustment. Also my background is middle school, I will be a 3rd-5th grade resource room teacher.
Always seeking like-minded colleagues with helpful hints or just a place to vent when I'm worn down.