SPED 310 Week 8

This week in Sped we were put into new groups. I was excited about my new group and have seen them contribute valuable insights in class before. This week we talked mostly about Abuse, Neglect, and Poverty. My group was awesome in talking respectfully about recognizing abuse and signs of abuse. This was a hard topic to talk about and the realization that we would have students in this situation became clear. We need to be educated on this as teacher and parents so we can help save a child and provide a safe environment for them in school.
In preparation for Wednesdays class we watched a video about an elementary school in Las Vegas that has most of their student body as homeless. The principle who came into the school took it into her own hands to take care of the students and find ways to provide a better school environment and a better home environment. She realized that if their home environment was bad they would end up not coming to school. She got the whole community involved in donating food, clothing, and school items to the school for children. She made it a small community at school that was safe for the children. This video helped me realize that if we can't get the services we need for our children through the school district, there are ways that are safe to help our children. As teachers we can be the change we want to see.
My favorite day this week and also the hardest day for me to sit through was Wednesday where we talked about poverty. We did a simulation where we had to spread out a small amount of money throughout the month and we had two kids and a job that didn't pay very much. This simulation was all too real for me. My dad and I did live in poverty. We experienced things in the simulation like having our phones turned off, our cars repossessed, and not gas in our home. My dad made the best of it and never told me things were bad. It's all I knew. I think that is how a lot of these children are. They don't know anything else so they accept their circumstances. Their parents are trying and my not have resources to get out of poverty at that moment. They rely on friends and family to help them get through hard times. My grandparents had to drive me places when my dad couldn't but I know that a lot of children don't have the church support and family support I had to help me.
One person in class made a comment to the extent of, "Why are they buying stuff they can't afford, like a car they can't afford." I wanted to answer her statement that she shouldn't be quick to judge. They need a way to get to work, to take their kids to school events and commute. Sometimes public transportation isn't the best option. We need to empathize with our students and their families. We can't judge them, we must simply help them.
This week my greatest resource was my own experiences that can help me see my students in a different light than other teachers. I have been there, and I can help them see the opportunities given to them through school. It is such a blessing to have free public school where teachers can make a difference. They need to choose to make a change.