RL Videos

Mr. Lavoie's perspect on special needs children has influenced the way I deal with all types of students. Everyone has "poker chips". While I may not have the opportunity to learn what everyone's specific chips are, I always try to say something positive and give compliments to everyone. I love his spin, his practical exercises, and his demonstrations. They have really opened my eyes to a new world and a new way of thinking.

I wish all the teachers at my school would take the time to watch his video's. Especially our parapros and special ed teachers. Sometimes they can come across so harsh, like they forget so easily how these children operate.

I really enjoyed these videos and will recommend them and share them during our department collaboration, advisory committee meetings, and professional learning sessions.

Visit Rick Lavoie's Website at: http://www.ricklavoie.com/gateindex.html

Lavoie Videos

Rick Lavoie videos have influenced my thinking and actions in multiple ways.
For the first time, I felt that I was able to actually experience what the students with special needs experience on a daily basis. The concepts seemed so simple once they were explained in terms that I could relate to as an adult. Sometimes we forget to view actions and problems from the perspective of our students. Difficult as it may be sometimes, it is the pathway to understanding the pain these students experience. I especially love the self esteem portions of the lesson and the illustrative example of the poker chips. Additionally the adolescent lesson was invaluable. I knew the stressors associated with being a teenager and that being embarrassed about nearly any and every thing associated with adults was first and foremost the driving force for most misconduct. Mr. Lavoie brought this back to the forefront in my memory bank.
Thanks NTI for the opportunity…I plan to purchase the series

Rick Lavoie Videos

The information from video was very knowlegable it helped me understand the views of students with disabilities involving social skills. I have a student in my class with special needs, normally when I go over a topic in class she may ask several questions and at times she may interupt the class during the lesson. From watching the video it gave me ideas on how to deal with the matter and allow for the student not to fill out place or disrespected. I fill once you allow time for trust and respect it opens a window of oppurtunity to provide a foundation for learning that helps students with speacial needs and gets everyone in class involved the lesson and task. Everything has been smooth sense the start of Semester.

Rick Lavoie Videos

Although I was only privledged to view one of the Rick Lavoie videos, I was greatly influenced by what the author shared. I viewed the video on social skills in which Mr. Lavoie discussed social skils and whether they should be tought by teachers. I believe that as as educator you have no choice but to teach social skills because of the amount of time that you spend with the students. Although most students' behavior is not that far removed from when they are around their parents, they tend to do more acting out and exemplify more socially incorrect behavior at school. That acting out most of the time will cause a teacher to intervene and attempt to correct or repremand that student's actions. Mr. Lavoie's video laid out some very simple intructions on how to deal with social misbehaviors.

The suggestions that Mr. Lavoie shared on how to correct and teach those social skills was very insightful. A few of the key point that stuck with me were that: 1) we have to look at the world through the eye of the adolescent, 2) we have to teach the culture that they are in in order to achieve the correct social skill, 3) everything has to be broken down to it's most finite point and every social rule should be used as an opportunity to learn and teach. I have put a couple of these key points to use and have also shared them with a few of my colleagues at school. But the main conclusion that I brought away from the video is that there seems to be a fine line being drawn between special needs students and general education students. They all can use a social autopsy on occaision and we as educators have to be prepared to use that oppotunity to acknowledge the error, determine the damage and teach prevention of it's reoccurence.

LLL

I must say that the videos where quite entertaining and at the same time brought a tremendous amount of insight into my views of special needs children. I do not teach “certified” special needs children that I know of. But by watching the videos, I realize that I teach a lot of special needs students or are they? In one of the examples in the videos, the instructor talked about a woman in an empty auditorium and someone sits right next to her. To the average person, this is quite weird unless there were more people in the auditorium, but a special needs person would not know this was strange in any way. To that analogy, either many of the kids I work with are special need or simply ignorant. To that same analogy from the video, I meet the parents of some of these kids and find it impossible that these parents have raised the some of the kids I teach! On the other hand, I understand where some of the kids get their strange ideas about how life should work. Yes, the videos made sense, but I am just as confused after watching the video.

Life, Love, and Lavoie

I really cannot say that the videos have influenced my thinking and actions as far as special education students are concerned. I will say that they have influenced me in my dealings with all students. Now I honestly try to treat every student like they are special ed. Maybe that is wrong... maybe it's not. If I use Lavoie's suggestions only with students labeled as "special education" then I am treating certain students differently and I'm not sure that I think that is fair. Obviously Lavoie would disagree with me as he has stated, "...'fairness' is not equal, identical treatment; rather, 'fairness' means that every student receives what he needs."

Despite the tremendous sense of despair and agony I feel at having to watch the Lavoie videos, due mostly to production value, I really have learned a lot from them. The poker chips analogy has actually proven very useful in my personal life. I could use a governmental bail out with my poker chips sometimes. But as the wise, and aged, Kenny Rogers once said, "You never count your money when youre sittin' at the table. There'll be time enough for countin when the dealin's done."


And with that... I bid you all good night.

Question of the week for 1/17th -1/25th

These videos made me realize and helped me understand why some students behave the way that they do. The video content was very enlightening. The example or illustration that was given using the poker chips really helped me grasp how much others' words and actions influence students' lives. The old saying, "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me", is a lie. I think that as a teacher, it is our job and responsibility, to encourage these students. We need to find good in every student and tell them about the good we find. Why is it that the negative always seems to weigh more than the positive? I see how these negative things influence my students every day at school. Students embarrassed and trying to save face and others that have been made fun of so much that they are numb. It is sad. How can I bring that numb student back to having self value and a healthy self esteem (give him poker chips)? I believe that in some way everyone has a special need and not just special need students. I think that this is what it is all about.

Friendly Reminder-- Class this Saturday

Hello All,

Just wanted to post a reminder about our class session for EDBT 3710 scheduled for this Saturday, January 24th, on the Alpharetta campus. We'll meet from10am-3:30pm. Please check your GSU email for more details about what you need to bring to class on Saturday, etc. I look forward to seeing all of you there.

Jessie

Videos

The video really changed my view of special needs students. It has shed a little light on what makes special needs students function. I realize that my special needs students have individualized needs. I need to talk to them on a more individual basis. It is usually easier to expect them to understand everything that I say. I can be more patient with my students because I realize that there are reasons that some may be slower than others. I feel that it is common belief that special needs students are simply lazy. Another belief is that they do not want to try. The video and my teaching experience has proven that special needs students can not control their actions. A teacher's job is to consider each child's individual needs.   

Lavoie Videos

The Lavoie videos have opened my eyes to things I otherwise would not see. The Poker Chips video has had a great impact on my philosophy of teaching. The analogy of comparing self-esteem to poker chips was right on. Some points of the video could even apply to my personal life in regards to the amount of poker chips I sometimes feel I don't have. I have learned that my main and number one objective as a teacher is to make sure that my students leave with more poker chips than when they arrived. I see this as a liberating idea. Suddenly the "important" things move down the list. The lens through which I view my position as an educator changes, and I now see how my actions can directly give or take away self-esteem. Great video!

Lavoie Post

The 2 Lavoie videos that we have watched in NTI have made me more aware of students' needs in general, special needs or not. What really struck me was when he mentioned that the number one most important thing an adolescent wanted to avoid was embarrassment. This made me stop and think about when I was an adolescent and I can remember that feeling of 'Oh, please just don't let me stand out in a bad way or look wierd.' This has made me more sensitive to the social students' needs and I have tried to implement his advice in my classroom. What also has made a difference is my mother's advice. She was a Special Education teacher at the high school level for over 10 years and she told me to treat all the students like I wanted my own children to be treated. She reminded me that not all of these kids have such a great home life or foundation to begin with and she echoed Lavoie's statement that I have to watch everything I do in the classroom because any little slight could tear down a student's foundation.

Lavoie

I think I have a better respect for the issues that all adolescence deal with each day. Like many of you have mentioned, I can apply what I am learning in my classroom, but also with my own children. As for special needs, it's the recognition of their needs that is the hardest. Only when you become aware can you begin to make interventions for them. We all like to have a great day, but when Lavoie stated "what can I do for you to make your day go better", WOW! If I can maintain that mindset during each block that I teach, all of my students will benefit. I'm not saying make lessons easier, or modify for all students, but keep in mind each of the students unique needs as well as talents. I think this is where we, as career tech. teachers, have an advantage. At present we don't have to worry about EOCT, therefore we can have a bit more flexability in the time that we take on a particular lesson, or the way inwhich we teach it. We can also have our students up and about practicing and applying the knowledge that they learn. Lavoie made me realize that, in a small way, we are all special needs people. It's just about identifying what our special needs are, right???

Lavoie Videos

These two videos will probably impact my teaching more than any others I have or will watch throughout my teaching career. In the past I judged poor behavior as a direct hit upon me as the teacher and had difficulty with patience regarding these students. Parenting came so easily to me why not to other parents? My children did not act in these ways so why should it be allowed in the classroom? But, it makes sense to me now. When Richard Lavoie defined adolescense as "a 365 day/52 week-a year battle not to be embarassed" it really influenced how I have and will now look at my students. I have tremendous compassion for students but when Mr. Lavoie discussed the "hidden curriculum" I felt saddened for these students and what they must go through on a daily basis. I will from now on look to these special students through a different set of eyes, eyes that need to seek deeper at what may or may not be spoken.

Lavoie

The videos have impacted my life greatly in several aspects. It changed the way I teach, my parenting, and my social interaction with kids. I did not realize how many times I asked a retorical question. I was setting or baiting the kids. Did not realilze how unfair or how demeaning I was. The poker chips! Wow what a novel idea. I always thought I was building up the children in my. I never realized I was taking away from them. This was the biggest impact on me. On the average, there are 10 kids in and out of our home on a weekly basis. Just friends of my daughters or neighbors. I hope and pray that I can implement the technique I have learned to touch these lives in a positive way.

Videos

The videos brought a new prospective on what special needs students may have to go through day to day. The video hasn't really changed the way that I view the special needs students, I have a special need student in my class but he really doesn't seem to function in that way he has some moments but for the most part he displays that he is just one of the other students. He has asked that he be treated as the other students to the RVI teacher that would assist him. On thing that I can say is the time that we watched the last video that upcoming week I had a conference with the student's parents and I used the technique they gave in starting off with something positive about the student and not negative things

Lavoie

Lavoie helped me understand the issues that face us and our students. It is not enough to know about these problems. In understanding, we can better evaluate and resolve problems. He has a way of explaining these problems you might not understand through traditional sources. I love how he removed the classroom from the student! I would have never considered this! Twice this year I could have used this. His thoughts on adolescents would not have crossed my thoughts without his input. I realise there are some but would not have thought all. It is the teachers, teaching teachers that make such a difference.

Lavoie

THe two Lavoie videos have made quite an impact on me. Not only in how I view my special needs students, but also my typical peers and my own children. THe last video especially spoke to me. The explination of what is an adolescent was profound to me. It really made me stop and revisit situations from the past. This explination that adolescents spend 24 hours a day doing anything to keep from being embarrassed made incidents really make sense. As we have learned in NTI it is important to take the audience away from the misbehaving student. This student will do anything to take the embarassing attention away from them and put it onto the teacher. THey need to be in control. I also better understand the "no sarcasm" rule when dealing with teenagers. Sarcasm puts them in an embarrassing situation and they are likely to lash out. I truly enjoyed both videos.

Mamane on Lavoie

The Rick Lavoie videos have been an eye-opening experience. You could also say heart-opening as well. He is quite masterful in helping you see through the students' eyes. That is the key to being a successful teacher with learning disabled students... or ANY student for that matter. The repeating a request three times in a row -- WOW -- it really works! I have a student who has Asperger's and is ADHD. He definitely is not a social creature, and I'm always trying to help him integrate in class. First I try to put him in a group that is going to tolerate him (and most do), and I try to find his strengths so he can have a role in the group. I think Lavoie's techniques help you understand students' needs, which in turn helps you become more patient and compassionate. Learning to create a calming atmosphere alleviates many possible problems from arising.

Bernardo

This fall semester has been very challenging. After several months of planning and designing my lab it still is not completed. I have had to explain to my students on several occassions why my lab is not completed . It seems as if the Atlanta Public School system do not understand the urgency in completeing this lab. I am trying to keep my students interested but some of them are losing interest due to the lack of equipment. Most of my students signed up for my class thinking they would have the opportunity to have hands on experience with the latest broadcasting equipment. I hope the school system doesn't let them down.

Back after a nice break

I hope everyone is off to a good start to a new semester after the nice two week break most of us had (and needed). Can you all believe the school year is half way through or that we are almost finished with NTI? Everyone, take a deep breath, summer will be here before we know it!