So the semester is winding down in typical crazy fashion. I'm starting to put my portfolio together, which should be a good experience because it will force me to revisit my work over the semester. I feel that I have grown and learned quite a bit, so hopefully I will be able to prove that in my portfolio, through my responses, etc.

The last set of culture presentations were very interesting, especially the presentation about the ld/bd classroom. I was impressed when the presenter gave us write-ups of the current classroom structure, and when she addressed the problems she saw and potential solutions.
I have not been exposed to a special ed classroom setting, so the information she presented was relatively new. I'm familiar with the IEP process, but there are a lot of subtleties to the Americans with Disabilities Act that I will have to become comfortable with before I can be in a classroom setting where I have the possibility of having some students with special needs.

One of the things that surprised me was the layout of one of the behavior management plans used in the classroom. After reading Kozol for my lit circle book, I am very sensitive to the style of curriculum used in different settings. This classroom uses titles like "unemployed" "trainee" "apprentice" and "professional" as levels for students to work towards in the classroom. My initial reaction to seeing this system was shock, because Kozol would never expect to see these types of labels in a suburban public school, however, upon second glance, I can see how it would work well in this type of classroom. For students that crave a different kind of structure and consistency, it could be a good thing to have specific goals to work towards, and these labels could promote a more professional attitude in the classroom.