Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET). This national membership organization is for special educators and those preparing to become special educators.

Council For Exceptional Children (CEC). CEC is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for students with special needs.

National Center to Improve Practice in Special Education. The center promotes the effective use of assistive and instructional technologies by educators and providers.

Each of these organizations/ communities of practice appeals to my specific interest in special education. They also will help to continue my learning regarding the issue as well as keeping me abreast of and learning about new things regarding special education as it relates to early childhood education.

Special Education Coordinator

Kingsman Academy Public Charter School 3.2

Washington, DC 20002

Special education coordinators have the following primary responsibilities:

• Serve as the central point of contact for the parent, student, and staff for issues related to specialized instruction and related services.
• Monitor academic progress, attendance, behavior and other factors affecting students’ academic success throughout the year.
• Teach resource, life skills, self-advocacy, and/or advisory classes to students with disabilities.
• Contact parents and teachers to share information/progress reports.
• Coordinate and collaborate with classroom teachers, counselors, social workers, specialists, intervention specialists, academic/behavior interventionists, and others regarding students’ accommodations, program modifications, instructional supports, behavior intervention plans, etc.
• Administer academic assessments to monitor progress on IEP goals and learning objectives.
• Communicate results of academic assessments to staff and families.
• Respond to parent concerns and questions regarding the implementation of students’ IEPs and instructional programs.
• Serve as an advocate and mentor for students.
• Present information related to the student at team meetings, IEP team meetings, and other instructional or academic-related meetings.
• Ensure the preparation of appropriate documents for review meetings, including collecting and organizing IEP goals and objectives from all service providers.
• Obtain “progress report” information from service providers.
• Ensure that all required IEP team meetings are scheduled with appropriate staff and constituents of the student (parent, agency case manager, educational attorney, etc.) within applicable timelines.
• Confirm that services are documented in appropriate databases (i.e., school-based student information systems and the Special Education Data System (SEDS)/EasyIEP).
• Report information to the Director of Integrated Comprehensive Services (ICS) to ensure compliance.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Requirments

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Degree in special education or education preferred.
• Special education teaching experience preferred.
• Familiarity with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and SEDS/EasyIEP.
• Experience working with incarcerated or at-risk youth.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Ability to adhere to deadlines and work independently.
• Quick learner, adaptable, committed to acting in the best interest of students.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work as part of a team.
• Strong commitment to the mission and core values—civility, contribution, empathy, fortitude, and integrity—of Kingsman Academy Public Charter School.

I genuinely feel as though I am ready to fulfill the job requirements. However, I would personally prefer to have more years of experience under my belt. I feel like before acting in a leadership role more experience is necessary. More experience allows for more respect and more knowledge although I anticipate continued learning.

Refelecting on Communication

Finally! This course has come to an end and I could not be any happier. I am not sad that it is over
if I were to say that I would be lying. I am grateful for the experience, however, it has been a very stressful one.
I have learned a lot about communication. I have learned about areas that I need to grow in regards to communication in both my professional and personal life. I am excited about practicing the new skills that I have aquired.

Thank you Donna for always having meaning full blog posts and discussion boards for me to comment on. Thank you for keeping me thinking and being open and honest about your journey.
Ms. Dowtin, thank you for adding and sometimes shifting my perspective. Thank you for helping me see things a new way and considering things from a different lens.

Conflicts in Communication

I am currently in a very difficult situation in my personal life. One that I would rather not fully disclose but this is the most conflict that I have had in my life.

Instead of communicating about it I want to just leave the situation altogether. I would rather not discuss it. I am not interested in stepping into the shes of the opposing party. I do not want to fix it.

Essentially the basis of the conflict is dishonesty.
My logic is, why to continue to communicate when the person you are communicating cannot and will not be honest with you.

All other person wants me to do is to talk to them. That is where I have decided to compromise. I will listen, and I will talk.
I am not in a space to put myself in their shoes. I do not care to be in their shows.
The level of conflict here is irreparable at this point. For me more so than it is for them.

There are no other solutions. I could come from a more compassionate place, but I do not want to instead of NVC, my perfect is to not communicate at all.

My question is, what is the best thing to do when you get to this point? When is it okay to agree to disagree and just walk away?

Communicating.

When it comes to communication, I like to think I do it very well. However, I recognize that I do not always exhibit the most effective communication skills. In one-on-one settings, I thrive. I am not a fan of big groups. I get lost in the conversation or over talked which is discouraging seeing as though I am already not a group talker. In larger groups, I just sit back and listen. I don't mind speaking to a stranger, but a small or large group of strangers I panic.
When I get frustrated in a conversation I tend to shut down and tune the speaker out. I stop listening especially if I feel attacked. I think this is important to understand about myself because it helps me to recognize that when I am frustrated I tend to be an ineffective listener. I think to be an effective communicator you must be an effective listener. When it comes to the type of listener I am, I tend to be people and time-oriented according to the profile. I think this holds true because I care deeply about people, but I also value my time and the time of others.
I asked my husband to help me with this assignment.
As I am pretty self-aware we were in agreeance about many things.
He believes that I am an emotional person and that my emotions can get the best of me occasionally. When they do it impacts my effective communication abilities.
During intense moments I shut down or my face expresses my displeasure. instead of being direct he realizes that I can be very passive. I tend to not come directly out and say what I want rather I will ask a question already expecting a specific answer. For example, instead of saying can you do the dishes I will say, do you feel like doing the dishes.
This causes conflict, as I get frustrated when I get let down by not receiving the expected answer of yes.
I am not always an effective listener either. I let my emotions lead and rather than focusing on the content of the conversation I am more focused on the feelings. This too is problematic as the words are more meaningful than the feelings during a conversation.
From this activity, I recognize some overlap and somethings that could be changed or done differently. I could stop taking things so personally.

communicating with different cultural groups

The question to be addressed is, do I have a difficult time communicating with people from different cultural groups.

What someone does in their private time and with their life does not concern me. I treat ALL people with kindness and the same level of consideration. Who someone is and the culture of a person does not determine how they deserve to be treated.
What I do have learned during my time in Belgium is that I have a difficult time communicating with people who speak a different language and little to no English. There is no way to have an effective conversation that way.
Its difficult because we can't understand each other in order to accomplish whatever it is to be accomplished.

Body Language and Facial Expressions

Show:
Love Thy Neighbor
S06E118
19 min segment.

This episode starts with two women appearing to be lurking at the front door of someones home. They are smiling and talking and laughing. They appear to be friends based on their interaction how close they get to each other etc. The ring the doorbell rush in the house and the situation seems tense. One woman has a bat the other has a brick they are talking to a man who is holding his hands up. The women are no longer smiling, they are pointing and looking angry. The man is looking confused.

The non-verbal expressions are that of a tense situation. Two women confronting a man about a serious issue. 
I was close:

The two older women are confronting the man who has gotten a woman that they know and love pregnant. They are under the impression that he knows that she is pregnant and is not willing to accept the responsibility. When it turns out that he had no idea she was pregnant.
Had I been watching the show with the sound the only thing that would have been different would have been that I would have known exactly what was going on.

Body language and facial expressions are things that I try to pick up on easily and quickly because they tell us a lot. They tell us more than the words we say. Just like women often say I am fine, with their arms folded and looking discontent.
What I learned, rather what was confirmed, was that body language is essential to understanding how someone feels, what they are thinking, and what they are feeling.

Competent Communication

There isn't a single person that I know that demonstrates competent communication. Everyone that I know is a work in progress. There are things that people in my inner circle do as part of their progress, but when reviewing the assignment no particular person came to mind.