Family and Culture

I like how it is encouraged that family get involved in their child's education. I also like how the siblings are considered. Because when family gets involved with the child's education it helps them to grow and learn the skills they will need later in life also it shows the child they have support. Also with the sibling topic,especially when both children are young they don't understand why "bubby" or "sissy" get to act the way they do without consequence.
Now to the passive involvement in education, there are times when parents are going to be crazy busy and can't get involved as much or at all. So they will make adjustments if they can but some can't and teachers do need to try and understand.
Also looking at the cultural aspect of things for families. So sometimes based on a family's culture they are less involved in their child's education. But also like it mentions in the book the Latino culture is very laid back and could handle having a child with disabilities.  

I think that it is important for teachers to understand the individual needs of each child. While that teacher may have dealt with many special needs children before, they have never dealt with that specific child or family. I think it is the teachers responsibility to give them the education that fits their individual needs, but it is also the parents responsibility to inform the teachers if they feel like their child's needs aren't being met, after all, they no their child better than anyone. But, the parents need to play a strong role in their children's education also. They need to help them learn also. I think if a teacher has good communication with the parent through out the school year it will make for a good relationship with them. If there is any issues on either end they need to try to resolve them and then contact the other if they can't, but do it in a respectable way.

Family and Culture

I believe that the parents of a specific student and the students teacher need to work together well. The teacher should understand where the parents are coming from, if they make a suggestion. And vise versa. Teachers and parents should try to find a way to communicate in a way that benefits the student, because they are both there for the same reason; to help the student succeed. However, the parent has probably been with the student their whole life and knows them better than anyone. Even if the teacher has a plethora of experience in this field, they have yet to have experience with this particular child. So sometimes the teacher should take the parents advice and incorporate it into the classroom. And that goes the same way for the parent. It is a new learning experience with each child that comes through the door, for the teacher. So both sides need to keep an open mind to suggestions. And the teacher should always attempt to keep the family back home as happy as possible.

Collaborating with Families Initial Thoughts

Families of those with disabilities play a big part in that child's life. We need to understand that they have just as may problems and hard times as the students do. Teachers need to take in consideration how family members feel or what they are going through. They need to find ways to not only approach the student but also their families. Families need to feel just as comfortable as the student does with the schools faculty and staff members. Sometimes its easy to forget and not acknowledge  just how emotional and hard these times are for parents and family members of those with disabilities, but we need to always keep them in mind and try to find an equal balanced way to help the student and their family..

Family and Culture

I liked how this chapter stressed the importance of a good relationship between families and educators but also pointed out that families are often pulled to be actively involved in many aspects of their children's lives.  For students with multiples disabilities, many different professionals may be trying to get involvement and time from parents.  It's important that teachers don't have the unrealistic expectation that all families of children with disabilities can be extremely active in a child's education.  Some parents must take a more passive role in the education of their child and leave most decision making to the teachers in order to delegate enough time to be involved in other areas of their child's life.  With that being said, a strong and active relationship between families and teachers is extremely beneficial, and I think the best results are seen when the parents are able to be involved the education process.

Family and Culture

Teachers and parents need to collaborate with each other in order to give a child the best possible opportunity for academic achievement. There is a lot of pressure on both the parents and the teacher. I believe it is very important that they are on the same page, and that parents at home are supporting what the child is learning in school. If you have an unhappy parent there is an issue. Teachers need to find a way to communicate with parents in order to clear up any minsconceptions. It is very important for the parents to be involved in a child's education. Having a child with a disability can be very stressful to a parent. There are all sorts of things that they have to endure that parents who have children that attend a normal classroom setting don't have to endure. For example, they typically play roles other than just a mom or a dad. They have to be an advocate and an inclusion specialist. They know what is best for their child, and it is important to take their opinion into consideration. As a teacher, you have to be very attentive to a parents wants and needs for their child. You must cross the line and see where they are coming from. Families' opinions shouldn't just be shrugged off.

Family and Culture

I feel like as a parent you should make your child feel as normal as they possibly can even though they may have a very severe disability. I think that a parent of a child with disabilities should do whatever it takes to ensure that their child will be comfortable in whatever setting they may be in and will also be as successful as they possibly can.With this being said I believe that parents should be in the loop of how the child is progressing in school. I also believe that the teacher or teachers of the child should always keep the parents of the child in mind and let them know of any progress the child is making because the parent would probably love to hear something positive on their child rather than always negative

Site Visits (Out of Classroom Experience Opportunities)

After reaching out to Anessa Snowden, the Senior Adult & Therapeutic Recreation Program Administrator at the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Center, she responded and declined the opportunity to go and observe for the day camps, as they are only offered in the summer. She gave me the contact information of someone who might be in need of some volunteers for some events. As soon as I hear back from him I will let everyone know and see if we can get a small group together and go on a site visit.

If anyone else is interested in another Observation Opportunity, the contact information given to me from Mrs. Snowden is listed below. I have also included brochures of the dates available for these opportunities below.

Brent Claiborne 
859-288-2908
bclaiborne@lexingtonky.gov

Family and Culture

I believe that every child needs appropriate, loving attention from both parents and educators, especially those with special needs. The teacher should be aware that a family with a child that has special needs experiences a lot of extra stress factors in their life. While i most certainly believe that it is the parents job to take care of the student at home, that's not always the case. An educator can be a huge influence on a child's life. In a situation where the parents don't care for the child  the educator should step in as a leader. Educators should strive to make the child feel that they are worth while and capable of success; if the educator believes that to be true then the child will too.

Families & Culture

   Parents play many key roles in the lives of their children. In most cases, the parents want the best for their child and they are willing to go to many lengths in order to ensure that they are successful. In doing so, parents and families of a child with disabilities must adjust their lives to ensure the child's needs are met. Stress is a major impact upon the families of children with disabilities. These families must adjust their lives to accommodate for new daily routines, household management projects, and even career goals, to establish time and a relationship with their child who has a disability. Other factors influence stress among parents and families as well. "The Turnbell's" is a model displaying five key characteristics in which families receive the support they need, as well as communication from professionals and educators.In order to ensure the needs of the students are fulfilled, parents and teachers must be willing to collaborate and maximize the opportunities and abilities a student is given.

Family and Culture

Reading everyone's posts, I see things about each one that I agree with, but I think the idea is that teachers and parents have to make a joint effort to maximize a child's learning. While parents SHOULD be responsible for the at home care and nurturing, not everyone has good parents. And some parents don't know how to adapt in a new environment (ex: family moves to US from China, parents can't speak English, therefor can't help in the child's homework). While this is true, we as teachers need to be prepared to handle situations like this and have the capabilities to assist the child as much as possibly. Though this is what SHOULD happen, not all teachers have had to face this in their career. In my own high school, cultural variety wasn't a large part of the school. In my opinion, my high school teachers wouldn't be as efficient as teachers who are employed in areas of significant cultural variety.  Parents and teachers have to balance and communicate with one another in order to allow the child maximum success and provide the best opportunities for that child.

Family and Culture

Families with children who have disabilities experience added emotional and financial stresses in their lives. For this reason many parents have a hard time keeping a positive outlook. It is the role of the teacher to constantly keep pushing and remaining positive with the parent to help relieve the stresses that they are experiencing. When teaching a child with a disability it is important to have a community approach to your teaching style. You are going to be interacting with parents, other family members, case managers, and other teachers to help develop the plan that will lead to the success for the child.
When I lived in Utah and Idaho the society treated individuals with special needs so differently than I have ever seen before. Families considered their child with disabilities as the greatest blessing they could have. Because of this though, there were many more programs and resources available to families. I thought that it was so amazing to see not only families but the entire community embrace both children and their families and give them the support that is needed.

Initial Thoughts

I believe parents do suffer going through a lot taking care of a child with a disability. I think it's great that teachers and school staff are becoming more aware of that and are trying their best to hopefully make it easier on the family. Also the section where they talk about sibling suffering with issues just like parents do, was great. I never really took the time to think about how all of this could affect not only the parents but how their siblings feel as well. Parents and teachers must create a special bond to be able to work together to make sure the child is 100% in the classroom. It's important for a child with special needs to have good relationships at home so that they can have more positive outcomes.

Initial Post

I believe that a teacher can easily connect with a student and their family whether or not the student has a disability or not. I think it maybe more common for a teacher to communicate with a student's family more if they do have a disability. Parent and teacher communication is a fundamental piece in the school system today. Teachers make a student feel warm and welcomed in the classroom. You look at that student as one of your children. It is a piece to the classroom which makes them succeed. I personally loved getting to meet each and everyone of my teachers. I felt like that they got to know me more than any other teacher would. When a student with a disability enters the classroom teachers need to understand that it is not just the student entering the class. It is their family as well. That is why communication is key between everyone involved in that student's life. A positive relationship is a must with teachers and parents. They can have conferences with the parent to make sure that the student is on track and to bring up any problems that the student may be having. Student success is necessary and a key part of that is parent and teacher interaction.

Inital Thoughts on Collaborating with Families

1. Teachers need ti understand that when a student with disabilities enters their class room the entire family does as well. Parents want their child to succeed just as much as any other students in their class. All families are highly focused on their children, but families with children who are special needs are not only concerned about their child's success. These families worry about how their children will behave, and if all their child's needs are being met. Teachers need to understand that parents are going to have lots of questions, and that parents are going to want to be very involved in their child's learning. Teachers must understand that families just want to see their child do their very best.

2. Teachers and educators can build positive relationships with families in various ways. Teachers can give daily progress reports and check in with families often to let parents know that the teacher wants the parents to be involved. Teachers can also give parents work to do at home to get families involved in their child's learning process. It is important that teachers seem eager to build the relationship with the family. The teacher can also have weekly or monthly reports to show students progress.

Family and Culture

In my opinion, I believe that the parent plays a big role in whether or not the child feels loved and welcomed whether the child has a disability or not. Even though sometimes having a child with a disability can sometimes make the parent have to learn new things about how to handle certain things, it’s a blessing handed to them that is expected to be treated just like a normal child. In a family, you have to keep a positive attitude or it brings everyone done. Not only will it affect one person but it will affect several in the family. Relationships are they key to everything. Having good relationships in a family household will result into positive attitudes. Its always best to have a positive attitude with a child with disabilities because we don’t want them thinking that anything is there fault or making them discouraged. Teachers also play a huge role in students life’s. Teachers are a great way of motivating students, and that’s what child with disabilities need. Every student needs motivation, either by their teacher or parent and if best, both. If the parent and teacher are both on the same page and working together, the student will be at an advantage to everything they are receiving and be set up for success.

Family and Culture

In my opinion, I believe that it is the parents responsibility to make sure that their child feels the love and receives the nurture every child deserves whether or not that child has a disability or not. As a parent they should focus on helping their child succeed and motivate them to do the impossible. As we seen in the video 2 weeks ago of the boy who received his acceptance letter to college it was noted that his parents never told him that he couldn't do something. They were always there to praise him and encourage him to follow his dreams. Family and Teachers play a huge role in motivating students with a disability to accomplish their dreams. Every student deserves this motivation whether it be at home or at school. Having a strong relationship between parents and teachers creates an environment that is comfortable for the student. If the parents and teachers are on the same page with the needs of the student then the right accommodations can be made to provide the student with everything they need in order to succeed.

Family and Culture

Parents that have children with disabilities just have to open up to a new world. It's just another blessing handed to them in a different way. Having a strong family to support it coming from parents and siblings. It's always important to have a positive attitude and stay together as a family. Family is the main part of the relationship with your child with disabilities. Im not saying this in all circumstances but it is good to have everyone on the same page working together. It is also important that the teachers at school remain to keep everyone involved. Having teachers and parents develop a strong relationship I think is important to have a comfortable learning environment for everyone.

Initial Thoughts: Collaborating with Families

I believe that as educators with children with disabilities in our classrooms, we are called to be the support that the children and their families need. While covering this material and reminiscing on personal experiences, families that have members with disabilities can have a wide range of emotion all the time. This is not the case for everyone and I am not implying so, but I do know that even the simplest support system can make all of the difference in the world. As educators going forth to help teach, guide, and motivate ALL students, it is important that you do so with their families as well. This can bring a united front into the classroom, making a far more comfortable learning environment for everyone involved with the learning, (seeing that all members of a community add into the learning pot for our students).

Initial Thoughts on Collaborating with Families

1.) Teachers need to remember that the families of the students with disabilities are just normal people. Teachers need to know that most families who have children with disabilities are constantly juggling many emotions such as anger, guilt, sadness, anxiety, depression, etc. They need to understand that the parents and maybe even the siblings of a child with disabilities is very stressed. Teachers most importantly need to understand that keeping the family involved within the classroom is VERY important.

2.) I think that teachers really need to work hard to establish a strong relationship with the parents of a child who has a disability from the very beginning of the school year. I think some teachers make the mistake of waiting until something goes wrong to try and establish that relationship. As the textbook and the second part of the lecture stated the family knows the child best. It is always a good idea to communicate with the parents of the child because they truly do know the student best. The book also stated that teachers need to put a considerable amount of thought into what they are going to say to the parents of a student with a disability and how they will phrase it because you do not want to offend the student or their parents. Most likely the parents will be overprotective of their child so the last thing you want is for them to feel like you are mistreating their child within the classroom. I would just say establishing a healthy relationship with the parents from the beginning of the school year and staying in constant contact with them is the best way to build a positive relationship with those families.