As part of our school's community service program,I volunteered at a family with a down syndrome child. For two years, I went to help the Jablons every Thursday right after school.I helped out with a variety of things including homework, bathing the little ones, and physical therapy with Nesanel. Sometimes it seemed as though I was on the giving end, however I was really the receiver. I have learned so much from Nesanel. From his precious smile, his determination, and his love for others. Nesanel loves friends. He doesn't discriminate between people from different backrounds or color. Nesanel is truly special. Working with him and his siblings has given me a new outlook on…
On 5/10/2017, a Special Education Meeting was held at the West Somerville School to talk about schools concerns and services. Present at the meeting was myself, Ms. Taylor, the ICC Coordinator for…
In the article, entitled, “By playing T-ball, she sees a life with no limits”. Newsela develops Rosie experiences on the T-ball team as given her a place where she fits in. It also gave the other children have a chance of being her friends and how they work together. First, Newsela, points out that everyone should have a chance of being someone’s friends and get the respect that they want. The author also indicates that just because someone has a disability doesn’t mean that they can’t do sports like other people can.…
Often times you see athletes performing dominating blocks, making big hits, or making acrobatic catches. However, athletes have much more to offer off their respective playing surfaces that goes unseen. Here at Henderson State University athletes are supposed to epitomize what a college student in Arkadelphia should be. We’re depended upon to be campus leaders to our peers and set examples verbally as well as through our actions. Sometimes we’re seen as intimidating individuals do to our outer appearance but we’re empathetic to others just as others. Our athletic program is set on allowing our athletes to give back to our community and school through participation in various events that occur throughout the calendar year. By providing opportunities for student-athletes to serve, these young men and women make meaningful contributions to society. Teams as well as individual student-athletes are involved in numerous charity and community organizations, schools and hospitals. Some student-athletes have also created, initiated and implemented service projects/activities. One specific event, Reddie to Serve, allows us just this amble opportunity to show our gratitude and appreciation back to the citizens of…
One passion we as educators all share is the love for our students. Those of us who chose the path of working with special education students especially know that genuine place we have in our hearts for teaching students disabilities with learning disabilities. Over the last few decades, more awareness about these disabilities has florist throughout our nation. Many advocates of their time have fought to educate these students in order to help them overcome their struggle. Over time we see the long protect the rights of the students and provide them with the restrictive environment settings in order to provide an equal but adequate education. Despite the fact services are an essential part of protecting a student with special needs rights; it cannot be at the cost of their education either. If the student is able to complete the work at the same annual yearly progress as the general education population, proper services whether it be assistive technology or a personal aide, must be provided to the student. The services not only help students’ with special needs successfully graduate school but it provides them a promising future. Graduating with the tools and knowledge needed to survive on their own, students are now becoming functioning members of our society. As the candidate for my interview, I chose Dr.Gerard Crisinino, special education director of Jersey City Pubic School. He has instilled within him that compassion for working with these children and dedicated the last 30 years of his life to providing services for those students in need. Therefore, he was the perfect advocate to answer the following interview questions.…
I have been a volunteer with the local Special Olympics program for a little over a year now, and it has truly been one of the best experiences. I love being able to support and motivate the athletes to do their best and to just have fun being active. Special Olympics has also lead me to other opportunities I would not have known about before volunteering. For example, I recently applied to help volunteer at the Miss Amazing program in Sioux Falls coming up in a couple of months. Spread the Word to End the Word was also a local program I was able to be a part of thanks to Special Olympics.…
When I was a National Honor Society Member at my High School, we were able to work with a program called VIP Soccer in which volunteers played with and taught special needs children the game of soccer. It was actually my favorite event within our organization especially when we got to see how happy each child was and the smiles on their parents’ faces when they saw that their son or daughter was having fun. Eventually, I was so inspired by this movement that I actually started a similar program but at my local golf club. How I got this started was actually by meeting the owner of the golf club, and the parents of my teammates on my school golf team. After a couple of months of planning and talking to more interested volunteers, I was finally…
The Boys and Girls Club of America helps thousands of Americans each year as a daycare, escape from home, way to meet new friends or to eat a sustainable meal that they wouldn’t be able to get at home. Another way that the Boys and Girls Club benefits kids is by having organized sports where the players can develop competitiveness, teamwork and become coachable. As someone who volunteers at the Boys and Girls Club I am able to experience all of the good that goes on both within and outside of business hours. As I wrap up my high school career and go on to the next stage in my life I often find myself looking back at not only those who helped shaped me into the person I am today but also the extracurricular activities I participated in. The Boys and Girls Club is one thing that continually pops into my head with the activities I partook in as well as the children and adults alike, without these experiences I would not have devolved my love for basketball, been so willing to give back to the community, or have been showed the do’s and don’ts of parenting.…
My freshman year in high school, I decided to join Best Buddies. Best Buddies is a program where a high school student is paired with another student, who has an intellectual and developmental disability, in a one-to-one friendship. During my first year, I learned Best Buddies is not simply a club but a family. My second year of being a part of Best Buddies I began truly noticing a change in myself. Sophomore year I was paired with a girl one year younger than me named Carrie. She and I have become best friends and have now been buddies for the past three years. As I interacted with Carrie these past years, I began to realize disabilities do not hold people back, but that we hold ourselves back. Despite Carrie’s misfortune, she wears a smile…
“Forty five percent of children in America live in low-income families” (Child Poverty 1). The many negative effects a low-income environment causes can greatly impact a child’s life. Keeping these children motivated to be successful and to get out of this negative environment can be difficult. As a Sport Management major, I plan to serve the common good by volunteering my time working with local high school volleyball teams located in Pontiac, Michigan. My goal is to motivate these young women to finish high school and get out of Pontiac.…
This past Summer, as part of my social justice service hour requirement, I volunteered as a big buddy at the Miracle League of Green Bay.The Miracle League is a program that allows children and teens with a disability to play baseball. A big buddy helps one of the players run the bases and hit the ball. Every week you play a different team but have the same buddy. As a big buddy it is also your job to communicate with the player and get to know more about them. My favorite part of this experience was getting to know my player. My player (name), was an eleven year old boy. When I first met him I thought it was going to be hard to relate or talk to him however, as the season went on I realized I was totally wrong. I asked him about what interested…
As every summer approaches, I am filled with the joy and excitement of returning to my second home, Eckhart Park. Over the past three summers, I have had the privilege of working with some of the most loving, outgoing, humble, and playful people I know. Being a special recreational leader at times is challenging but never the least the most rewarding of jobs. As a special recreational leader you are expected to work five days a week, seven hours a day, in the blistering heat, while also trying to keep all of my campers entertained and above all, safe. A special recreational leader is unique from a traditional camp leader in a way that all of my campers suffer from a spectrum of disabilities including Autism, Asperger, and physical impairments.…
I am excited to be doing service learning. However, I wish I had more time to get involved with Special Olympics here in Manhattan. Since my schedule is so busy I am working with the Bread Basket for my first three hours of service learning. I expect that it will be hard work, but it will be well worth the effort. I predict that I will start to love helping my community and will want to find more ways to get involved. However, I do think that basketball will prevent me from being as involved, as I would like. For my next four hours I would like to get some of those helping little kids, that is one of my favorite areas to help in. I hope that I stay involved in my service learning even after this class is over. It is important to help your community and I think I will feel good about myself for trying to make a…
Throughout my softball career I have been a team player and leader. I often played as a utility player adapting to the team’s needs. My sophomore year of high school, myself and another teammate were co-captains. After getting hurt that season, I decided on starting the first Unified sports team at my high school. When creating the program, I wanted to create an inclusive environment that fostered teamwork and sportsmanship between people with intellectual and/or physical disabilities and those without disabilities. I believe that by playing sports myself was very instrumental in the success of the program I established. The Unified team that I play on has some of the best comradeship I have had on a team. Personally, I have seen a change in my sportsmanship. I have seen a return of the care-free pure enjoyment of…
Since my last CAS reflection and meeting, the special needs cheerleading team that I coach has started practicing again. I plan to work with the team until the end of the season in May. The group of kids has grown from seven to twelve and I am excited for the new kids on the team. I hope that they will enjoy it as much as I do, and I know that I will be able to bond with these children just as I bonded with the children on the team last year. I feel that my leadership skills continue to develop and I step farther out of my comfort zone and help the children. The new team members have different disabilities than the children on the team last year, so I am working with them to understand what they are able to do and what they need extra help with.…