Communication...

Communication is a big part in EVERYONE'S life. Some people are naturally good communicators. They can talk to whom ever and have no difficulties. Others it takes some practice. After a while they get the hang of good conversations and then continue the good communication trend. Some are not good in general. They don't want to communicate and have many difficulties associating with people. So what makes a good communicator?
1. the person introduces themselves
2. the person looks the other in the eye and shows interest
3. they ask a question, first start with small talk, then develop to emotions
4. they show good body getures: stand straight up, nod their head, show facials :)
5. show interest and care what the person is saying to them
6. and finally know how to end the conversation
These things take practice and can be difficult. It takes the risk of failing or having a bad conversation with someone. But in the end you learn from others what you did now know. Communication is very important to everyone and greatly influences lives.

Wii Connection

Using the student council fund we purchased a wii and remotes to give to the special education class. I know they will love the Christmas gift and i can't wait to present the gift to them.
Our mission statement is to create a fun school environment and create lasting friendships to eliminate the barrier between general education and special education. We have each been paired up with a student to mentor twice a week. Megan and I have been paired up to mentor Olivia. It will be difficult to manage things, but i am also very excited to get started. I am hoping to create a lasting friendship and am someone she can look up to and come to with problems. Starting this mission will not only benefit the special education students, but me as well. I will learn more about them and create a new friendship. I will learn things that can help me in my future with the teaching degree that i want to get after high school.

Special Education vs General Education

A couple weeks ago we presented 3 different topics that we wanted to see changed in our school to Lynell O'Connor. I was in the group that wanted to change the social gap between general education and special education. We gathered information about what every child needs to have in a learning environment. We passed out many surveys and asked teens if they thought there was a social gap and if they would like to see it changed. We got the motion passed and are now inforcing the change. We have been planning for about 2 weeks on what we are going to do. We are going to play games every other friday with special education students and also mentor/tutor them twice a week. It has been great to see a dream become reality. After visiting another school and seeing this done, I have wanted to bring it to here and do it. We will start playing games after Christmas Break. I can't wait!!!!

Problem Solving Week 2

This week we further discused to importance of problem solving and the 9 steps you must complete. Cody Thomas gave a speech about the problems that monsanto faces and ways to solve them. His speech really helped me understand the 9 steps and what needs to be done. On Friday we all voted for the top 3 things we want to see changed in our school. After all the voting was tabulated the 3 with the most votes were: water, special education involvement with general education, and unity between lower and upper classman. The next week we will wall split into groups and start the problem solving process to find ways that these problems can be solved.

Problem Solving

Everyone solves their problems in different ways. We learned this week the most successful way to solve your problems. You must Plan Do Study Act. PDSA. Think ahead of time of what you can do. Most of the process is planning. This involves communication. After you plan your process you must act on it. Sometimes you can come up with different of better alternatives along the way. After you do you study what happened. What could be improved? The last step is act. Use what you learned and experienced to help you in the future.

Coach K

Coach K

After reading the short story of Coach K i was inspired. He has faced many decisions in his life. Deciding to become a college coach, deciding to support the students just as equal as his players, and deciding to be a leader. He did everything he could to influence not only his players but other coaches, students, family, and people in the community. He strived to teach his players morals and values that will help them their whole life. He decided in order to become a good coach he had to surround himself with reliable, respectable coaches and players. Coach K ispires everyone he meets or comes in contact with . He has to decide to use what he was taught and spread it to everyone. Not everyone can be a great leader. It takes dedication and decision making. You have to decide to influence someone.

Speech

Who remembers their 1^st week of entering this high school?

Give me some emotions you felt.

Now put yourself in others shoes. Imagine what every junior high kid feels when they come into the high school. Being surrounded with a new environment, new teachers, kids who are twice your size. It’s stressful and frightening. So why not make the transition easier? Let’s make ways of welcoming them into the high school and allow them to feel comfortable. Here are a few ideas that I came up with. If you take a pass and meet a junior high kid, stop and introduce yourself. Ask them what activities they are involved in, or what classes they have. If they appear lost give them directions to the classroom. Now you may say even I don’t feel comfortable here or maybe you aren’t an outgoing person. But how many times do you wish someone had helped you or made your day just a little better. Imagine what it would do for someone else. How if you said, “I know it’s tough coming to a new school, I went through the same thing.” Would affect them. You could talk about the difficulties you went through. Just by saying hi would make a lasting impression. Another way to interact with younger kids is tutoring. Talk to the principal and start a group to tutor junior high kids. Now we all know it will take awhile and it will take hard work, but once there are active participants, it will be a great program. Every student may feel lost at times with homework and not understand what is being taught to them. Sometimes you learn things when they are taught a different way. There are many ways to make a difference and welcome a new student. I gave a few ideas, now the ideas need action. Anyone can sit and say they want to do something. But the people with character will accomplish the idea. Everyone in here has goals. Think of the goals you wrote down. If one of your goals is to become more outgoing or social, this is a way to achieve that goal. How can you become more involved with junior high kids? What can be done to make the transition from a new school easier? How can you make a difference?