Giving a Shout out to Special Education: December is HERE - Let's Celebrate Together

Welcome to a festive ride with "Fast 15" where we jingle all the way through December's educational maze. As your guide, Barb Beck, I promise to help you tread the thin ice between holiday anticipation and classroom objectives, ensuring productivity without feeling swamped. We're also taking a detour to celebrate some key cultural milestones like National Pie Day, Special Education Day, International Persons with Disabilities Day, and surprisingly, World Soil Day. 

This episode comes with a double treat as we get insights from three extraordinary guests. Darien, the strong voice of our Launch Buddies class, pays a heartfelt tribute to the tireless special education teachers. Bryce, a veteran of our 18 to 21 program, shares his journey of self-advocacy and independence and Sam highlights his journey with his artwork and classes in high school that were successfully supported by amazing paraeducators.  Their narratives not only highlight the transformative power of special education but also inspire us to continually support the unique needs of every student. Join us for this festive feast of inspiring dialogues, expert insights, and practical ideas that can revolutionize your classroom.

00:00 Introduction and Greetings

00:22 Appreciation for Special Education Day

00:46 Celebrating International Persons with Disabilities Day

01:07 National Pie Day Celebration and Discussion

01:39 The Importance of Baking Skills

03:00 Nutrition and Moderation

04:02 Shout Out to Special Education Teachers

04:58 Conclusion and Farewell

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:00

To all you teachers out there. I truly myself am very thankful for what you do for all the students and how you contribute and just have an impact on their lives. You teach them certain skills and teach them and help them along their way into school and provide them the support they need to get to where they're going. It's really appreciated.

Speaker 2 0:22

Hello friends, welcome to Fast 15 with Champions of Special Education. I'm your host, Barb Beck, and I'm thrilled to have you join me on this fast-paced journey of innovation and motivation in just 15 minutes. We're here to transform your classroom, one episode at a time. In each episode, we'll unlock functional ideas, share expert advice, highlight some relevant cultural events and provide the motivation you need to make a real impact on your students. So buckle up and get ready to fast-track your teaching journey. Let's dive in and make every 15 minutes count. Well, to start off our time together.

Speaker 2 1:02

Today we're wanting to say happy December everyone. If you're like me, december really brings a lot of anticipation, excitement and all of the fun that the holiday season has to offer. But as a teacher, it also comes with exhaustion, trying to keep my students focused on the targeted goals and objectives that I have for them, but also to remain productive without becoming totally overwhelmed. Here at the Fast 15, we're wanting to anchor our conversations and community-based ideas from cultural events that resonate with our classrooms and then refocus our professional learning communities to really stay focused as much as possible. So in this episode, we'll be highlighting National Pi Day, special Education Day, international Persons with Disabilities Day and why not? World Soil Day this next Tuesday. I thought we should bring some of my buddies in whom I get to work with on Saturday mornings with our media production classes geared toward developing and enhancing their self-advocacy and self-determination. First off, though, let's connect with Darian, our main leader for our Launch Buddies class. Hey, darian.

Speaker 1 2:21

Hello Bar.

Speaker 2 2:22

How are you doing?

Speaker 1 2:23

I'm doing good. How are you doing?

Speaker 2 2:24

Good. I'm so glad that we get to talk today and hope everything's going well for you at work, and I know this. Last Saturday we had a chance to record some videos and you did a really great job. Thank you for that. We talked about a few different things. This weekend is Special Education Day, highlighting special educators and really saying thanks to teachers and how hard they work and really appreciating what special education is all about really seeing the needs of individuals, students and how we can be supporting their unique needs, and so you did a really good job talking about the importance of Special Education Day. And also this weekend is Persons with Disabilities Day. It's a worldwide event and so thank you for sharing a little bit about that. Can you just do a little shout out to special education teachers out there? Wish them a happy Special Education Day, a great weekend, get some good rest.

Speaker 1 3:31

We know you need it Of course, Definitely To all you teachers out there. I'm truly myself. I'm very thankful for what you do for all the students and how you contribute and just have an impact on their lives. You teach them certain skills and you teach them and help them along their way and provide them the support they need to get to where they're going. It's really appreciated.

Speaker 2 4:00

You learned a lot in special education as well. And look at you You're in a job that you've been in for several years and you're independent and doing a lot of things on your own, and we're really proud of you as well here at SDS. And hey, darian, thank you so much for your time today.

Speaker 1 4:22

Thank you for having me. This has been a pleasure. All right, great.

Speaker 2 4:28

That was so much fun checking out with Darian. We're so thankful to him for taking a little bit of time out of his work day to spend his lunch break with us and, as always here at the Fast 15, we absolutely love hearing from our buddies, and especially a strong advocate's voice like Darian's. Now let's hear about how things are going with Bryce and get his perspective as well, all right. Well, bryce, you have been in the 18 to 21 program in the school district, right? How's it going for you?

Speaker 3 5:03

It's going great actually.

Speaker 2 5:04

Is it so? What are some of the things that you're doing? Some of your special education teachers and job coaches and people what have they been doing in the program? This is a brand new program for you.

Speaker 3 5:16

We're talking about how to be independent, how to be adult, how to manage your everything just managing life in general. Life in general.

Speaker 2 5:28

Yeah, getting on the bus too. Yeah, is that a weekly thing or is it a daily, every day?

Speaker 3 5:33

It's a daily thing.

Speaker 2 5:34

Okay. So where are you going? Right now? You have a practice job, right.

Speaker 3 5:38

Just St Vincent's.

Speaker 2 5:40

Okay, and what are some of the jobs that they have you doing at St Vincent's? That's a thrift store.

Speaker 3 5:45

Yeah, I did yesterday or Monday. I did media Today.

Speaker 2 5:50

I did.

Speaker 3 5:51

I hung up the post.

Speaker 2 5:52

You did yeah. And you have to put those in order by color, or how do you organize those?

Speaker 3 5:58

It doesn't matter it doesn't matter, I mean yeah, just get ready for them to be sold.

Speaker 2 6:04

And that's every day. You said is it four days or five days a week?

Speaker 3 6:09

Well, it's every day besides Wednesday, because I don't have a DIY Wednesday.

Speaker 2 6:14

Oh, I got you, okay yeah.

Speaker 3 6:16

So every day yeah.

Speaker 2 6:17

You have a job coach that goes with you. And is there? Is it just you, or is there like one or two other people that work there?

Speaker 3 6:24

There's two other people.

Speaker 2 6:25

Two other people, cool. So those rotations you're at the work experience for, maybe like a few weeks or a few months. Do you know how long you're going to be there?

Speaker 3 6:36

Well, about, about till January.

Speaker 2 6:38

Okay.

Speaker 3 6:39

Then I'll change into a different one, All right.

Speaker 2 6:41

So what makes a special education teacher a good teacher? Since it's special education day on Saturday, this just tomorrow.

Speaker 3 6:51

Well, understanding that the kids obviously can act different than what like, say, a normal classroom. Would they have higher expectations than the normal kids do? Because they don't. They don't, um, most of them don't know the ropes of how to act like adults, so Okay.

Speaker 2 7:12

So they're just learning kind of how to behave the right way and kind of stay on task like if they're going to jobs or just how to have relationships with people. Is that kind of what you're thinking about? Yeah, yes, I agree. I think one of the best things about what special education teachers do is really get to know the students right. When you're understood as well as possible for whatever unique needs that you have. When you're understood, you kind of everybody functions better.

Speaker 3 7:43

Yeah, is that right yeah?

Speaker 2 7:46

And sometimes I think it's hard to communicate for students all of their needs, and so when, when teachers take the time to really understand the details of who you are, how you operate, how you learn best, it makes all the difference. And so we're we're here to really say thank you to the special education teachers out there who really dig in every day, that that really give their lives to understanding their students. And so what's one thing that you're looking forward to this month it's December.

Speaker 3 8:16

It's fun and tell me yeah, you know my, my birthday's coming up, so just the ability to be treated older.

Speaker 2 8:25

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3 8:26

Becoming an adult right.

Speaker 2 8:28

How old?

Speaker 3 8:28

are you yeah?

Speaker 2 8:30

A real adult. How old are you going to be?

Speaker 3 8:31

I'm 19.

Speaker 2 8:32

Nice, okay, all right. And your birthday is what? What's the date?

Speaker 3 8:37

January 12th.

Speaker 2 8:38

Oh, so it is coming up, you have just just over a month until your birthday, so pretty cool that you get some time off in December and January, right? What are you going to do during your time off?

Speaker 3 8:49

Try as much as spend time with family, because that's important.

Speaker 2 8:53

It's very important to me as well. I'm glad we have that in common. So one of the things that I am loving as far as some of the holidays and the things that we we get to do to celebrate, all right. Well, is there anything else that you want to say to our listeners? We're excited to have our fast 15 today, the first episode going out and having our buddies part of that, darian's here and we've got you and I love highlighting you guys and your voices in our podcast. So anything else you want to tell our listeners? No, okay, you want to tell them have a happy day, or have a happy special education day.

Speaker 3 9:31

Yeah, for a happy special education day, and yeah.

Speaker 2 9:36

Yeah, I agree, All right. Well, thank you so much. It's great to talk to you today, Bryce. Hey, Sam Hi.

Speaker 4 9:44

Barb.

Speaker 2 9:45

How are you doing?

Speaker 4 9:46

Good.

Speaker 2 9:46

Good, I'm so glad you joined our discussion today for our podcast. Yes, yeah, and how's your day been going?

Speaker 4 9:54

Good, I did some watercolor painting. I painted a wonderful picture, like the work from Bob's birth earth.

Speaker 2 10:02

That's perfect.

Speaker 4 10:03

That's so that I watch every Monday now.

Speaker 2 10:05

Yeah and hey. I have a question for you. When you were in school, did you take art classes? Yes, and what kind of art classes did you take? I took ceramics with Miss Salori, and is that a special education teacher?

Speaker 4 10:18

Yes.

Speaker 2 10:19

Or a general ed teacher.

Speaker 4 10:20

No a general ed teacher.

Speaker 2 10:22

And how did you do in that class? Because I know you love artwork.

Speaker 4 10:27

Right, we did so much art in these clay and then we painted it and then I made some wonderful pictures my Norm Gluthman guy and that was making me laugh hysterically. And then Riley why was it so funny? Because it was just my drawings of my life. And then Riley was always in my class with me.

Speaker 2 10:47

Oh, that's right. That's right. Your friend Riley was with you and did you have any support from a paraeducator? Yeah, miss H retired. Miss H retired, but you had a good connection with Miss H, right?

Speaker 4 10:59

Yes, Did you have a work with her and what was?

Speaker 2 11:02

I did and I loved it. Why did you love working with Miss H?

Speaker 4 11:05

Because she was awesome. What makes her so awesome? She made me, riley happy.

Speaker 2 11:11

She knew you really well, didn't she? Yes, and she knew what you liked and what you didn't like, and how, to keep you kind of.

Speaker 4 11:19

I was kind of myself occupied by getting stuff that was assigned and working on it and then it was great. And then I know that you had a student named Amy who went to the art class.

Speaker 2 11:32

That's right. We loved having you included in other general ed classes, like art, and you learned a lot from that and, I think, having really good paraeducators. We're celebrating special education day this weekend, yes, and why are special education teachers so important? Can you answer that?

Speaker 4 11:53

Because they're nice, friendly and they're kind.

Speaker 2 11:56

Nice, friendly and kind Three really great adjectives to describe Three words. Thanks all for making it up to us. What were you gonna say?

Speaker 4 12:02

They were people who made me describe stuff, that's right.

Speaker 2 12:06

You do work really hard and I heard you say they kept you organized and turning in assignments when you needed to and making sure that everything is manageable for you and your learning style. Yes, so important. And what do you want to say about how great para educators are?

Speaker 4 12:23

in special education. They make everybody happy, and then they always make people follow their routines.

Speaker 2 12:29

We hope so. So, Sam, one of the things that I know was important for you to share about who you are to your general ed teachers what did you do at the beginning of the year to help people understand more about you?

Speaker 4 12:43

To say I'm the best person in the world.

Speaker 2 12:45

How did you tell them that? Did you type a letter?

Speaker 4 12:48

Yeah, about the support that gave me in class.

Speaker 2 12:52

That's awesome. So you wrote a letter sharing and advocating for yourself about what you need and who you are. Yes, who did you give it to my teachers and how did they like that?

Speaker 4 13:04

Right.

Speaker 2 13:05

I think you're a really good model for what other teachers can be doing with their students out there, as they're working with students in high schools, right. Maybe that's an idea that people can listen to from your experience and our experience together and maybe try that out in their classroom and see how it works. What do you think?

Speaker 4 13:23

Yes, and I want to tell you thank you for having me on Squad Test.

Speaker 2 13:27

You're welcome. Thank you for being a part of our podcast today. Okay.

Speaker 4 13:32

Alrighty.

Speaker 2 13:32

Maybe we'll see you next week. Yes, alright, that sounds good. Okay, buddy. Bye-bye. That's a wrap for today's Fast 15 with Champions of Special Education. I hope you found inspiration and practical tips to revolutionize your classroom. Remember, you are the champions of special education and your work is changing lives. Thank you for spending your time with me. If you have questions, want to share your experiences or have topics you'd like us to cover, reach out to us. Your voice matters. Don't forget to subscribe, rate and leave a review. It helps other champions like you find our podcast. Until next time, keep championing special education and let's continue to really make a difference together.