Building a foundation: How hard can it be?

Everything has a beginning. Even in education. However, learning doesn’t start on the first day of school. Educators everywhere expect students to come in with background knowledge but at least one question still remains: what is the extent of that knowledge going to hold?

This question has weighed long and hard upon my mind. Working in an English 4 classroom with seniors leads one to believe that the background knowledge of students should be vast- after all, this is their final year of high school. Yet as many teachers know, this isn’t always the case. Add on top of this that the classroom is comprised of students with special needs, and the original question may show further wavering. How does a special education classroom differ from that of a regular education classroom? Or does it? How much remains the same, and what should be changed?

Out of the endless list of questions and possibilities, there are some known variables. The most important variable is the list of goals. As I am only pre-student teaching, the classroom goals have already been set up by my cooperating teacher. This leaves me with the personal goals to strive for throughout the semester. The following list is what I have come up with thus far:

• Get to know my students beyond a name, gender, age, and/or disability. Find out who they are as individuals, so that assignments can be tailored to their needs.

• Discover new ways to build upon their background knowledge in whatever means that is best for them; ideally through the understanding of how they learn and process information. What will work for one may not work for all.

• Question everything. Learn the why and how from my cooperating teacher- especially that which I don’t understand.

• Obtain a tighter grasp on the concept and ability to manage a classroom.

• Experience.

My last goal is by far the top on my list. Students are in school to learn; however, as a pre-student teacher I am still learning as well. Even after licensure- a teacher’s job is never going to stop involving new learning. I want to fully experience a classroom and learn as much as I can while I have the help available to me in a co-teaching position. The foundation of a classroom is not built solely on the first day that the students enter the classroom: it starts with the teacher. Through this semester, it is my biggest goal to continue the building of my own foundation that the education program, previous practicums, and personal experience have given me.