February 27, 2012

Things did not go like I thought they would. I have been feeling horribly all day and I tried concentrating on what I had planned last time, which was to finish the bullying section, but nothing would go down on paper the way I wanted. I finally gave up, and worked on my appeal letter to UT. This is just great because it puts me a day behind schedule. I don't feel comfortable going into detail about this on the internet, so I won't. As I am writing this, I am laying down, and I'm seriously considering taking the day off tomorrow. I wanted to go to this PTSA meeting, but on Wednesday, I can't have a repeat of what happened today. I can't fall behind schedule firstly because I really need to have this done in time for my judges to evaluate it, and secondly because falling behind schedule makes me get anxious, which will cause me not to be able to concentrate and to fall even more behind schedule.

February 23, 2012

Today, I reread my evaluation section because it involved a lot of steps, and I wanted to make sure that I had them right. As I was reading, I decided that I needed a unifying metaphor to pull this thing together, so I settled on a sailing ship. This might seem ridiculous, but people like that sort of thing. It would be a great way to inspire them to support this. After that, I addressed my second to last argument concerning inclusion, which is that it would be detrimental to include all students together because of the bullying that will occur. Research shows that even students with "hidden disabilities" are significantly more likely to get bullied than their "non-disabled" counterparts, but different sources provide slightly different estimates of the increased likelihood. Earlier in the year when I was doing research, I knew that this topic would be important so while everyone else was reading Twilight or whatever, I read these articles about bullying and social interaction that almost had more footnotes than text. However, I did come out of it with the information I needed, which is why such students are bullied so often. It's partly obvious why blind, deaf, or paralyzed children are bullied, but what about little Susy who has high functioning autism, or Joe who has OCD? You can't just look at someone and figure that out, but myou research found that students know that there is something unusual about one of their classmates. They may not know what it is, but I have learned that it is these students' failure to correctly interpret and respond to social cues that really isolates them. Additionally, our society has a way of constantly reminding someone that he/she is a part of a minority, and this can be emotionally stressful, which can make these students seem weaker and more reactive, and cloud their judgment concerning how to respond to social situations. Next time, I plan to write about what to do about it and how if treated correctly, inclusion can actually decrease bullying. After that, I will write a short section on how the new plan may be more cost effective followed by a conclusion. After that, I'll need about a week or so to go back, expand, and incorporate my metaphor throughout my proposal. Then, while I am allowing my proposal to be edited I will be writing my paper. I already have a two page outline, so I just have to expand on that. I think that I'll just have this project, graduate on the recommended plan, and have it changed if possible after my APs.

February 21, 2012

Today, I wrote the portion, which describes why the current evaluation process is detrimental to the education process. It means that a student can only receive academic support for having a "disability" and that even then, support may be withheld because the student must undergo a lengthy process to prove what support he will need for that "disability." Additionally, he will be much more rigorously evaluated throughout his academic career than his peers. I know that this effected me negatively, but I still have to figure out what to look for to know how this has effected other students. However, my research has found that evaluating the progress of all studentscan help better ensure their success, and that students without "disabilities" often times are not receiving academic support or an appropriate education. For instance, a student may fall behind in his studies due to a shocking event that occurred like the death of a family member. When the shock has passed, he may find that he is six weeks behind his peers. Yes he could get tutoring, but in many ways, the problem would be beyond that. Therefore, he should have supplementary or modified instruction until he can get caught up, but now for this to happen, he would have to have a disability.

Fefruary 16, 2012

Today, I wrote about how the evaluation process needs to change for this supplementary education thing to work. I had to reread the stuff I h set aside for that topic, which is sad because I thought I would remember it from the last time, and rereading will only make this thing drag out longer. However, I did get to start writing, and was able to describe the evaluation process that is currently in place, but I decided not to go into the variations for each state. Yes, this description was necessary because my reader will be a senator, not an expert in the education field, so I can't count on the fact that this person will have the information or take pains to retrieve it. When I was at a hearing in Austin during my sophomore year, I witnessed the presentation of a bill that would have had a much better chance of passage had the parties involved worked together to ensure that there information was complete, inaccurate, and un-conflicting.

February 14, 2012

Today I finished my portion that talks about what teacher training needs to occur, and I had to do this thing with my fafsa where you sign it electronically. I don't understand how that works because any old person could electronically sign it if they had the right information. Then, I tried to add some schools that weren't on there before finally realizing that it wouldn't let me because I have to wait for it to fully process.

February 10, 2012

Today I was trying to find out how special education teachers get sufficient training to work with students whose learning styles are so diverse. I also tried to find a way to explain how this wouldn't happen in an inclusive classroom. In an inclusive classroom, you could categorize it more so that teachers providing supplimentary education could help similar types of students. This does occur somewhat, but not really, and there is no legislation, which mandates that it should occur. I tried to call DISD'2 Special Education department, but the people over there just seemed annoyed and didn't really answer my questions.

February 8, 2012

I cannot access the Fafsa web sight from my braillenote, and my home computer currently doesn't have internet, so I had to complete the signature thing. I also tried to add some schools, but it won't let me until the Fafsa finishes processing. Also, I have written the framework for my education plan. I am just accessing the research I have done and adding relevant portions.

February 2, 2012

Today I finished my FAFSA and worked on the rough draft of my proposal. I now have a mentor who works with children who need education in hospitals, so I plan to send it to her. Then, I have to write the paper and finish my second project so I can graduate on the distinguished plan.