[nobe-l] observing behaviors

Sat Oct 27 12:52:29 UTC 2012

Hello again,
While I am not working in a regular public school, I did work with public 
kids during my internship. What I did for putting things up on the board, 
such as the Geometry figures, was to prepare beforehand using a reader I 
hired for during the evening to create exact diagrams, labels for them, etc. 
I made ones I cut out so I could elaminate them and use over and over again. 
I even created labels for them, which can be in Braille also. I learned how 
to write print from my friends when I was a kid and from my cousin, even 
though I cannot see it and never used it as a kid for schoolwork. So I can 
write numbers and capital letters if only a couple are required, but rather 
than doing that, I would prepare it before hand, know what was what by 
labeling, and then to use a camera projector in the classroom. I am not 
certain of its real name, but it has a way of projecting what you place 
under it onto the board. The school will probably already have one since 
sighted teachers also use them. So I could feel my cut out line, for 
instance, and know I was placing it under the camera's eye. Also, I can use 
this sort of camera to connect my laptop to it so that whatever shows up on 
my laptop's screen also shows up on a whiteboard or a plain white wall. So I 
could write information on the fly if I chose in this way for the students 
to see. Also, I was able to find a video for my Science lesson about the 
seasons to project on the wall using this same technique of projecting the 
picture onto a plain, white wall. The school may provide you with a sighted 
assistant for your planning period, but you may also want one you hire 
outside of school for nonconfidential work, such as material preparation and 
personal needs. I am about to be hired at a school for the blind, and they 
are going to provide me with an aid for sighted assistance for a 45 minute 
block of time each day. My goal isn't to teach subject-area content, but 
rather to teach more blindness skills, which is why I am not working at a 
public school. But, do not be discouraged because blind teachers can 
effectively teach in a public school setting as I did this during my 
assistantship, and I've heard about others who have been successful. Don't 
forget you can call the NFB's national office for assistance. There web 
address is www.nfb.org. Sorry I don't remember their number off the top of 
my head. Don't worry; lots of prep work will make the actual teaching in the 
classroom more simple for you. Have a great day. Anita

-----Original Message----- 
From: Jasmine Kotsay
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 10:34 PM
To: National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nobe-l] observing behaviors

hi,
Thank you very much for your
advice! Another question: Do you have an assistant to help you
grade handwritten assignments, and write things up on the board
in front of the class?

Sincerely,
Jasmine

----- Original Message -----
From: "Anita Adkins" <aadkins at atlanticbb.net
To: "National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List"
<nobe-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Fri, 26 Oct 2012 19:07:30 -0400
Subject: Re: [nobe-l] observing behaviors

Hello,

First, hello to everyone.  I am Anita, and I left the list for a
while
because of email address changes and such, but I am happy to be
back.

To answer your concerns about behavior, stay on your feet and
walk around
the room.  If you hear a student or two talking, simply walk
close to them,
and they will likely calm down.  Experience will really help
since the more
you do it, the better you will become.  But, you will get to know
your
students, and thus, you will know which students are more likely
to act up.
Develop a relationship with your students.  I don't mean to
become friends
like their classmates, but show interest in what they do outside
of school
and talk to them about it when the time is appropriate.  Also,
the other
students can be a wealth of information for you.  Using
environmental clues,
like sound, knowledge of what you are teaching and classroom
layout as well
as student seating, and so forth will help you accomplish your
goal.  It
really isn't as difficult as it sounds.  Start by coming up with
procedures
and having the children practice them over and over.  Use
positivity when you
can.  For example, praise students who are doing well.  Ignore
misbehavior
when you can.  For example, say "Sally and Judy, I love how you
are focused
on your work." when you know the third student is not focused as
he should
be.  I can understand you want a concrete answer here because I
did, but
there is not one.  Know your students and your environment, be
flexible, and
use your remaining senses and knowledge of the situation to help
you out.
And, remember that classroom management techniques used by the
sighted will
also be helpful for a blind teacher.  For example, set up a
positive reward
system, keep students busy, make sure they know what to do if
they finish an
assignment early and where to put materials for you and where to
find their
next task to begin, even when you are busy, etc.  Again, it isn't
as hard as
it sounds.  Go for it! Anita

-----Original Message-----
From: Jasmine Kotsay
Sent: Friday, October 26, 2012 6:52 PM
To: nobe-l at nfbnet.org
Subject: [nobe-l] observing behaviors

Hello,
My name is Jasmine, and I am
studying to be a teacher.  One of my main concerns is, how would
someone who was totally blind be able to recognize when students
are behaving in a way they aren't supposed to? Any ideas and
advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Jasmine

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