Some Things Students Want Their Teacher’s To Understand

In the last 2019 educator conference, there is a discussion about how teachers should handle their anxiety towards their students. It was a great topic because it caters to educators’ emotional and mental needs in handling classroom uncertainties. But what about the students’ mental and emotional needs at school? Will their teachers be able to provide them the compassion and understanding they deserve? Let’s try to spell out some of the things students want their teachers to understand.

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Some students lack participation in the classroom. But that doesn’t mean they do not care about learning anymore. At times, they try to explain themselves, but some teachers wouldn’t listen. These students wish their teachers would have compassion instead of assuming everything they say was only an excuse. Sometimes, when students create mistakes, some teachers try and make it look like a big deal. They call the children lazy, pathetic, and undeserving of their time. Sadly, some of these teachers want the students to try their hardest even if they already did. For some, the kids’ efforts are not enough. With that, some students are afraid to ask their teachers for help whenever they struggle in school. Most teachers fail to see that their students are struggling with all the adjustments. Some teachers fail to see that their students are capable of different things. That if one excels, it does not mean everyone will do the same.

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With all these unfortunate instances that students experience, one thing is sure. Teachers are not the only ones struggling with anxiety in the classroom. They are not the only ones dedicating their time, energy, and effort to get things done at school. Therefore, educators must find time to understand what some students are dealing with before they assume and make a bad judgment.

 

Learning Amid COVID-19: Top Educational Apps For Children With Disabilities

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Approximately 7 million children in the U.S. are students with special needs. The scary thing about this is that due to the coronavirus pandemic, their attendant schools are closed. This situation might hamper their learning abilities and, at the same time, stop their progress. 

“One of the hall marks of many of these children is difficulty controlling themselves. Many autistic and hyperactive children move around a lot and find it difficult to focus their attention on tasks. As a result, teachers find these kids to be very disruptive whether they are in a main streamed or special education class,” shares Allan Schwartz, LCSW, Ph.D.

At their specialized schools, they receive individual attention from learning professionals who are familiar with how to handle their cases. Now, they won’t be able to do that anymore. Therefore, experts recommend the need to continue their learning curve through the help of educational apps – those dedicated to children with disabilities. Let’s explore your top choices. 

Learn With Rufus

Learn with Rufus is a compilation of tablet apps that focuses on essential competencies and social cues for special needs students.

  • Boys and Girls is an app for children who still find it challenging to determine male and female faces and who also gets confused with non-typical features. 
  • Feelings and Emotions app helps ASD children who are having difficulty recognizing emotions and identifying facial expressions. 
  • Numbers teaches Math and focuses on counting. 
  • Categories focus on introducing sizes, shapes, and colors. 

What’s good about this series of apps is that the activities are engaging and entertaining. They can also be customized depending on the need of the child. Lastly, its in-app character, Rufus, provides more life to learning. 

Epic!

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Epic! is an electronic library (e-library) dedicated to serving struggling readers. This app offers more than 20,000 educational videos and high-quality children’s books that range from fiction to nonfiction. Take note that this does not only feature famous authors but prominent publishers as well. 

Epic usually has a monthly fee to give commission to its writers and illustrators; however, this has been waived amid COVID-19. 

ChoiceWorks

ChoiceWorks is an app that helps children understand how to control their feelings, complete their daily routines, and increase their patience level (e.g., not interrupting a conversation and taking turns). It is also a learning app in terms of promoting regulating emotions and developing different kinds of positive behavior. 

Montessori Numbers

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Montessori Numbers is a mathematical educational app tailored to students who find it difficult to understand the relationship between numbers and quantities. It establishes the necessary math competencies. They achieve this by introducing numeric order, counting up to 1000, decimal system, adding and subtracting, and comparing quantities. 

One great feature of this app is that it provides palpable and clear visual representations of their materials. Children also learn better because of its voice feature for better understanding and easier memorizing. 

Busy Shapes

Busy Shapes, the latest offering by Edoki Academy, is an activity-based app modeled from Piaget’s cognitive development research. It begins with cause-and-effect programs, which then later evolves to problem-solving activities and tool use. Busy Shapes also offers a series of puzzles located on its in-house evolving and exploratory playground. Here, children with disabilities can improve their motor skills. 

Injini: Child Development Game Suite

The Injini: Child Development Game Suite is a play-based learning platform, full of games and exercises, tailored to kids with language, cognitive, and motor delays. The options here range from problem-solving to mind-boggling activities. The creators designed this to test and cater to those children with Down syndrome, autism, and cerebral palsy. 

Although this platform serves those students with needs, their activities are also apt for general preschool-aged kids. The only downside with these, however, is that you have to pay around $30 to be able to download the app. 

The Sounding Out Machine

The Sounding Out Machine is beneficial for those disabled students who are struggling with both reading and decoding. The app voices out challenging words and teaches the user how to pronounce these one syllable at a time. It also tackles rule-breaker and tricky words that will improve their vocabulary. 

What’s unique about this app is that it has a typing window where the student can type a word he or she is confused with. Then, the Sounding Out Machine will teach him or her how to read it. 

It is essential to take advantage of technology, mainly digital learning tools, in the middle of this pandemic. We have to choose the best ones that will bridge the achievement and developmental gaps of students with disabilities. Explore these apps and decide which one best fits your kid. 

How To Help Children With Disabilities

In the last 2019 educator conference, the discussion focuses on children with disabilities. There they talk about what kind of encouragement, love, support, and understanding the young ones need. It is not only for the benefits of their family relationships but for their societal involvement as well. There are positive reinforcements that have been pointed out to help ensure the children’s development. These include their confidence, self-worth, and determination to learn.

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Every single child with a disability faces different challenges. Parents do their part in keeping them socially functional regardless of their situation. But at school, things can be a bit complicated due to the kids’ disabilities. With that, the teachers and the rest of the school educators must take careful consideration.

Keep Things In Perspective

Educators’ role in children with disabilities is vital. They are the ones that should approach learning disability in children as something that can be overcome over time.  The teachers’ hard work and perseverance must contribute to the kids’ overall development. So instead of forcing or pressuring the children to learn, these professionals should implement a safe and friendly environment for everyone. It should enable a significant engagement between kids as well. It should make a considerable impact on children with disabilities emotional and mental aspects.

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Helping children with disabilities doesn’t have to be that hard. As long as there is a clarification of goals, then things can come in negotiation. Parents and teachers must understand the importance of listening before they can offer new solutions because the only way they can guarantee a good life for these kids with disabilities is by encouraging them to strengthen their weaknesses. Parents and teachers must work together and support the young ones’ build-up of competency and success.

Do not hesitate to make choices. Discuss with other parents and educators the children’s situation so everyone can come up with a better solution.

 

Essential Messages An Educator Should Convey To Students With Learning Difficulties

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Teachers are some of the most impactful individuals in a person’s life from childhood. With an excellent educator around, they can forget the problems at home. The students can also gain a second parent in them, which is significant, especially for kids who come from a broken family or are standing at crossroads.

The same goes for learning disability in children. Perhaps more than their classmates or parents, the teachers can understand and see their academic struggles the most. And considering they are past the preschool age, the students spend at least one-third of their weekdays at school. Thus, if there’s someone who can encourage a troubled learner to make progress, that may be a teacher.

Check out a few essential messages an educator should – and can – convey to students with learning difficulties below.

You Are Not A Failure

The first thing you may notice with kids who can’t keep up with the class academically is that they often look at themselves in a bad light. If you ask such a student to describe himself or herself, it’s possible to hear self-deprecating words, e.g., dumb, idiot, and letdown, come out of their mouth.

As their teacher, you need to correct this perception over and over until the children can accept that they genuinely are not failures. This path may be a bit rocky in the beginning, but its fantastic effect on the learner will make it worth all your effort.

It’s Not Necessary To Learn As Fast As Others

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Students with learning disabilities also tend to get angry or frustrated when they realize they are falling behind the rest of their peers. That’s when the rebellious side goes to the surface and causes more distractions in their life.

One way to avoid that is to instill in your student’s minds that it’s irrelevant to compare their learning speed with other people. There will be individuals who will always be better than them at something, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have the same knowledge as others. Once they persevere, nothing is impossible.

The Disability Is Only A Hurdle You Can Jump Over

Regardless of your religious beliefs, it cannot hurt to think of the difficulty as an obstacle that the student can crush as soon as he or she is ready. Aiding the learners to see the issue as such is highly essential for their improvement. Kids, in fact, may appreciate that kind of simile, mainly if they are into games.

We Are Here To Help You

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Last but not least, reassure the student that you, along with their friends, family members, and batchmates, are available whenever he or she requires assistance. It is far too easy to feel inferior during this situation, as well as have that emotion play tricks in their minds. That may result in loneliness and depression, which can only make matters worse.

Open communication is highly vital to allow them to realize that you’re not merely saying it on a whim. Give the child a number where he or she can call or text you to clarify things about the previous lessons. In addition to that, offer remedial classes and create lesson plans that will be extra beneficial to them.

What You Need To Know About Marrying A Teacher

Are you currently dating someone who is a teacher? Are you looking into having a serious relationship with this person? Do you want to end up getting married to him? Most importantly, do you have what it takes to rise to the challenges of having an educator spouse? If you answered yes, then this article is perfect for you. We are going to present to you the different struggles that women face regarding their marriage to a teacher.

 

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Continue reading “What You Need To Know About Marrying A Teacher”

Balancing Your Teaching Profession And Your Relationship

 

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No one ever said that managing a teaching career was easy, but adding a relationship into the mix is a different story. You probably feel like you are torn in two different directions. You might feel the pressure of giving your significant other the time but still try to accomplish a task in your teaching career. When you want to have a healthy relationship, it doesn’t mean that your occupational goal needs to suffer.

How Do You Juggle Relationship And Teaching Profession?

  1. You need to learn how to compartmentalize. Having a loving relationship and a flourishing career is one of the best things you can ever imagine. Keeping two separate worlds can give you happiness. However, there are exclusions when it comes to prioritizing what’s inside each of the two things. That means when you are at work, you have to fully commit to your job and concentrate on the task at hand. Spin your work day and be productive. Encourage yourself to accomplish the particular daily assignment. Do not let your romantic life cause a distraction because you can always spend time with your loved one later.

 

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  1. It is a fact that we sometimes put more weight on one thing than the other. It often makes us forge a particular goal in exchange for another. For example, when you try to weaken your professional aspirations for something that requires your time as of the moment, you might be able to compromise a positive return. It somehow affects your relationship growth. You must remember that you shouldn’t have to sacrifice one aspect of your life for the other. After all, you might not feel happy with your career if you won’t have someone to share it with.

 

  1. Limit your task into an achievable goal. You might try to juggle your teaching career and romantic relationship, but you have to remember that it is somehow impossible. Your chance of having an efficient achievement in both your profession and love life can lower down due to the different needs of the two aspects. Trying to combine two different things collectively can cause imminent trouble. So make sure that you understand how your life affects work.

 

  1. Communicate more often with your partner. Trying to improve the quality of your relationship and reaching a significant goal at the same time are reasonably hard at some point. However, letting your significant other understand your profession can allow a healthy space between the two of you. You only need to be clear about your busy periods and take a look at where you’re spending most of your time. If you think your relationship is slowing down your career (or vice versa), then you need to consider adjusting the situation.

 

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In life, there are no shortcuts. You have to deal with your life-changing decisions and allow it to embark on your development. Besides, you can never have an optimal career with a perfectly optimal love life just because you want to. You need to work on it.

Toxic Relationships Affect The Teaching Profession

 

How do you precisely figure out when the right time is to focus on a career? Is it because of the relationship that doesn’t benefit you, or is it something that separates you from the other aspects of life? Well, figuring how your relationship makes a connection into your career is a critical part of living. Spending too much effort and time into one particular thing can make you disregard the other.

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How Can A Toxic Relationship Affect Your Teaching Career?

  1. When a relationship is toxic, it doesn’t help you at all. The problem you may encounter with your relationship affects your psychological state. It slows down your productivity and leaves you with a disoriented goal. In some cases, you often lose track of your strength and abilities because you get too preoccupied with giving your relationship much more weight even if it doesn’t necessarily require you to do so. “We can’t change the toxic people into non-toxic people, but we can work on being less reactive.” Marie Manly, PhD said
  2. Your spouse or significant other tends to demand a lot of your time. This scenario creates a problem with your teaching profession since we know that it requires focus and attention. When your partner becomes irrational and starts to compete with your job, you might feel the burden of choosing between teaching and your love life. It is a scenario where it stops you from developing an achievable career.
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  1. When your relationship is giving you too much emotional stress, there is a tendency that you might fall under the pressure of balancing your teaching profession and your commitment. This often means that the involuntary choices in the relationship can compromise your responsibility in your job. It causes a lot of complications because you will eventually fall out of order and you won’t have time to recognize your supposed priorities. “Relationships in and of themselves do not create mental illness.” However, he adds, “When we suffer in our relationships, it can be difficult to move forward from past hurt and trauma.” Jor-El Caraballo, LMHC explains.
  2. Dealing with someone who gives you tons of emotional and psychological problems can eventually make you weak. There is a tendency that you might not function normally because of losing interest in doing the things you love to do. Even if your profession is your passion and your love life is your priority, stress can automatically take those two things away from you.
  3. When your relationship tends to change, your behavioral aspects also follow its lead. In most cases, the worry of committing pushes you to do the things you don’t usually do. It creates an impact on your ability to think logically. In most instances, it affects your physical attributes as well. Your skill in controlling your temper also fades away along with your potential growth.
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A toxic relationship is harmful to a person and his career. It doesn’t only make us vulnerable to certain mental and emotional problems; it also leads us to become a different individual. Sometimes, even if we are confident in keeping our love life and career together, a toxic relationship won’t allow us to get the benefits from each of those aspects. Eventually, it will drain us, consume us, and make us feel that our choices and decisions in life don’t matter. “It can be difficult to re-establish a healthy routine and empower yourself after a toxic relationship. Fortunately, coming to the realization that you need to let go is one of the most difficult steps.” That is according to Heather Edwards LMHC, NCC, BCC

 

 

 

Qualities Of A Dedicated Teacher

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My husband is a teacher, and so is my mother who has been teaching since she was 22. She is now 58 years old and still imparting Math to young kids. My grandmother was also a professor and one of the “terror” educators in the English department of a prestigious university here in our city. Today, she is the Principal of a preschool at 83 years old; strong and sharp. As for my grandfather, he was also a professor and well-loved by his students and colleagues before he passed on.

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Effective Program Evaluation Planning For Teachers

 

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Being a teacher is quite hard especially when you are trying to balance your profession and marriage. There are tons of things you might miss out on. Sometimes, it affects your ability when it comes to handling pressure situations. Fortunately, several steps can help you improve your public well-being. Here’s how you can plan an adequate evaluation of a policy or any project.

 

Collaboration – There are tons of benefits to working with others. Not only does it make the task seem easy, but it also opens up an opportunity for the members to build a lasting connection. There are equal opportunities for everybody to participate and share their ideas. Some advantages of collaboration are drawing support from each other, learning to communicate, receiving mutual feedbacks, and improving student-teacher success.

 

Understanding The Program – Teaching requires a clear understanding of the methods used in delivering a program to students. Though most program routines are bound to change, depending on the needs of a particular student, it must meet the quality of services that support the children’s skills. A teacher should take time to consider his student’s disabilities, capabilities, environment, and social strength.

 

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Review Other Teaching Examples – Effective teachers don’t close their horizons into doing different things. As much as possible, they continue learning along with their students. Though teachers can develop their effective curriculum, they still need to consider assessing other teaching examples that can help them in identifying those useful and not so useful methods for their students.

 

Assessment In Education – Establishing a useful question is part of a teaching strategy. It is where the teacher can evaluate himself and determine if his programs are sufficient for his students. Some examples of the questions are: does the program create an impact on a student’s psychological strength? Are his methods complicated and unclear? Does the program improve student’s skills? How else is the method affecting their lives? The assessment in education will allow the teacher to make necessary changes.

 

Using Research Methods – The importance of determining a research method can help a lot in creating an improved practice in teaching. It helps in finding solutions to a particular problem inside the classroom or school. It allows students and teachers to engage in different kinds of professional learning of skills, understanding, and knowledge. Research methods can assess potential solutions to your unique situation through interviews, surveys, case studies, comparison groups, and the list goes on.

 

Share Your Results – Being a person who is trying to make a difference, you need to share your learning and results. This way, you will not only help yourself, but you can also give others a chance to contribute something to themselves. Fulfill your purpose by making a bigger difference in providing an effective teaching practice.

 

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These steps are necessary to improve a person’s skills. There’s a need for significant importance of evaluation when it comes to setting a goal and learning how to achieve it. Following these tips can help build an effective assessment that gives professionals a reliable and meaningful result they need.