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I'm Tim Herrera
with the Sacramento County Office of Education, here with another Teacher of the Year profile.
We're speaking now with Monica Smith who is with the Center Joint
Unified School District. Thanks for joining us. Thank you.
Tell us a little bit about yourself. Tell us where you teach and tell us what you teach.
I teach in Center Unified School District. I have a special day class, 1st through 6th
grade for students with autism. I do have some students
in the classroom who do not classically have autism but who have
sensory integration disfunction disorders, so they are in my
room. And I have worked in the district for 20 years.
So, what is it like -- I mean, that's a very specialized and unique student population.
And it's obviously very challenging. Tell us a little
about that type of student. Well, I learn from them every day.
They're wonderful.
They are very open and honest with you, so
you know not to take things very seriously when they
tell you something that is maybe not so nice to your ears.
You know, about your hair, or how you're being.
But because they're such visual learners, I do a lot of work
modifying the curriculum to make sure that their learning is done through the visual modality.
And modify the curriculum to meet their needs. And create projects.
So that's where I have my fun is modifying the curriculum to make their learning
important to them. How challenging is that to work in that environment?
I love it. It's not challenging for me at all.
Otherwise I wouldn't be there. Umhmm. Are we seeing -- do you think
we're seeing more students who seem to be diagnosed in the autism spectrum?
Yes. And that's been one of my concerns is
because right now the number is about 110 to 1,
that the child is -- every child is being
diagnosed with some sort of pervasive developmental disorder and so
being put into the general ed population and
a lot of those children's needs are not being met because we don't have
the resources to do that. So,
we are really working together as a district to make sure that all teachers and
staff are trained and informed as how to best meet their needs.
And we are seeing more of that training. Because like you say -- because, you know
years ago, you may just think of a student as different. Yes.
Or maybe learning disabled. And that was kind of the blanket category.
But now, it's a very specialized ideal.
You know, what the student is. So, what are some
special things that you do, then, since you -- obviously each student
is a different type of student to begin with, on top
of that, each student is different in other ways. I mean, how do you
work with such a diverse classroom?
Well, we work as a team. I have seven instructional assistants who work with me in the classroom.
I have a wonderful speech and language pathologist who is part of the team.
And an occupational therapist. And we basically
look at each child individually. If they are verbal or non verbal.
If they need a communication system
besides regular speech for them to be able to get their
needs met. So we create picture exchange communication
books where they have icons and we come up with
strategies and procedures to teach them how to use that and communicate with us.
Because, often times, they'll get frustrated and show
aggressive tendencies if their communications are not able to
be met. So, we do that, and then we look at
academic levels. Some of the students in my room are gifted and work at
grade level. They just can't handle the pace and all the
individual stimuli that's in a general ed classroom, so
they have a place to work at their level. And if they need to take a break or
have some sensory input, that is looked at.
And some children work on functional academics.
Some are working on life skills. So it's all individually
based and then kind of put together in one program.
So, if not for the help that you have in the classroom, obviously, you wouldn't be able
to accomplish what you do? I would not. I would not, no.
So tell me about, you know, you get a student who comes in and the progress you see that student making throughout the year.
How gratifying is that? Well, it's wonderful because they
tell you when they get it.
They'll come running up to you and say, "Look Ms. Smith, I can
make my letter T." Or, "Look Ms. Smith,
I can read the book!" They'll often fite you on learning
because learning to them has to be meaningful in a way
that makes sense to them. And, often times, paper and pencil tasks
are nothing to them beside scrap paper.
So, if they are able to use paper and pencil and do a
math problem and the lightbulb goes on,
it may take six months and it may take a year for them to get something, but once they do,
they really just shine. And they'll let you know. And then
it makes us happy just to see the smallest little
incremental steps being achieved. It must be very gratifying to see
the light go on and see them really advance.
So, you've taught for 20 years now. What are some of the big
changes that you've seen, just that have impacted you in that span of time?
Well,
I really haven't seen
that big of an impact because I've always been in the special day
class. And I've always modified
and worked individually for each child. So that's something
that I've done. I think where the change is is trying to use
standardized curriculum to meet the needs
of the children
of the children and modifying that in a different way
so that, depending on if they want to go into
getting a diploma or a certificate, it's my job to
help them get more successful earlier on. But I've really not seen
a change for myself, personally, because I'm kind of in a bubble.
In the classroom. So, that's kind of where I am.
What about innovations in dealing with students with special
needs? You must have seen quite a few changes over the years in that.
Well, I've always been very positive. And I've had some
wonderful mentors who have always been positive.
So there has been a trend to use more positive reinforcement
instead of some of the aversive tendencies that used to be done
many, many years ago. None that I ever used, but,
using the positive reinforcements and
making sure that communication needs are met so that
things do work for the kids, have changed.
Do you find it difficult to motivate some students in your classroom and what are some of the special things that you do?
Well, we use a lot of praise. We use
a lot of -- we use a token economy system, so some of the children
will work for either extra computer time or
time to walk with me around the campus.
We use stickers, we use
different kinds of motivators, depending on each child's
interest. So, if a child has interest in trains, we'll
maybe give them the opportunity to earn something
that has to do with trains. Or time with trains. Or working with trains.
Or a positive phone call home to say that they've accomplished something.
So we try to just make it as possible and give them
encouragement through some of their more difficult times.
Special incentives? Yeah.
So, what motivated you to become a teacher in the first place? Especially the type of teacher that you are.
My best friend. Becky Smith. She was a teacher when I met her in American Samoa.
And she taught a special education classroom
and had a wonderful passion for the children and I
often went to go visit her classroom and saw
what she did. And liked what I saw. And fell in love with her students.
And moved on to looking into becoming a teacher myself.
What would you say to those folks who are thinking about teaching as a career?
What would you say to kind of motivate them to consider it?
If you love children and if you learn to
love to learn every day, do it. But you have to have
passion for it. Do you find that your students teach you?
Every day. Every single day.
Especially if I am not being as literal as I need to be. Some of
them, there was an example today. One of the little boys
told me that he had a crush
on one of his peers. He says, "I have this feeling
in my stomach that I don't understand." And so, we said "Oh, you have butterflies in your stomach."
And he says, "Are you telling me I had worms?"
So, we have to be very careful on -- you know, then we had to explain the idiom.
And then he understood. But we have to be very careful
about what we say. Because they do take everything very literally.
And we have to be careful on that. And you have to take a step back and say, "No, that's not what I meant. This is what I meant."
Umhmm. So I learn every day. Well, congratulations to you on being named
the Teacher of the Year for the Center Joint Unified School District.
Quite an honor. Thank you.
We've been speaking with Monica Smith. Thank you.