Trip to Provo

A couple weeks ago I was invited by Timpview High School in Provo, UT to do a work shop for Hispanic students on choosing, applying, and paying for college. I worked in the middle school ESOL program there for 4 years so the majority of Hispanic students at Timpview are former students of mine.
It was great to see some of my students again. From the moment I stepped into the building I was surround by old students of mine that wanted to say hi to me and tell me about what's going on in their lives. We actually ended up starting the workshop late because of it. I was amazed by how many of my students were still so interested in college and by how much they had improved. When I worked with these students they were the ones that most of the teachers wrote off as unmotivated and unteachable. To see so many of them were still in high school, on track to graduation, and getting good grades was almost overwhelming. The very fact that they came to my workshop, over 40 of them, after school and that they actually took notes just floored me.
Before and after the workshop I went around with the district social worker visiting former students of mine that were having troubles or that I wanted to check on. He told me that for days several teachers had been asking him who was this Ryan that the Hispanic students were writing about in their journals and so excited to see when he came to visit.
It was a wonderful trip.

Objectives and Lesson plans

Since I'm a counselor my lesson plans and objectives for my groups are different than for most general ed teachers. I begin each group by discussing the topic of the group with all of the members. Together we set out our own objectives and goals for that group. I then use different activities to teach the skills necessary to reach those goals. This means that things may change a lot, and that sometimes I have to redirect an activity while we're in the middle of it. But since my goals are not concrete literacy objectives, there's more flexibility. Also I don't have to implement district academic objectives so that allows for more freedom.

One month done

So this is the finished product more or less. The view is from my desk because I forgot my camera. The couch is for crying, telling stories, angry parents, etc. Just like any other good mental health practitioner would have (thank you Freud!). The table I use for small group activities and other things. The surfboard is there for decoration and will be until my roommate pays me back the money he owes me.
More things I've learned about differences between middle and elementary school; getting your head shaved when you're 5 doesn't mean you got jumped in like when you're 15. Getting a hug from one kindergartner is nice, from 6 it starts to hurt. Kleenex is still a foreign concept. And finally 5 and 6 year olds can confuse a muppet with a chupacabra.

Hopes and Dreams

This is my office as I found it. I'm still working on the finished product, so I'll post pictures of that when I get there.
Hopes and dreams for this year..... Well I hope to be running several different small groups on different themes effectively. I want to understand the RTI program and keep it running, make contacts with people and agencies in the community that can help me out, learn the students' names, and figure out what the uses are for all the stuff I found in my office. For the present I need to figure out a way to explain bullying to 5 year olds without causing them to report and thing that happens to them to their teacher.

The First Few Days of School

I've spent abut six years off and on working in public schools while I was going to school and some in between times. Mostly though its been in secondary schools, middle school or high school. Now I work at an elementary school and I've noticed some differences. First there's actually less crying at an elementary school than a middle school, but its done mostly by 5 year old boys wanting to go home to mom and not by thirteen year old girls crying because "he broke up with me by text!!!!!!!"
Though one time I had to find pants for a kid who refused to change for gym class and ripped the back out of his pants, I've never had to tell parents to send an extra change of clothes to school with their kid "just in case."
The first day of class I had three kids crying uncontrollably off and on all day long. Two wanted to go home, one because he freaked out every time the class left the room the other because her mom told her she'd wait in the hall all day till class ended bu then bolted as soon as her daughter looked away. The third kid would not say why he was crying and cried for close to 2 hours straight, nothing I or his teacher did could calm him down. After crying for 2 hours he finally stopped when he peed his pants, which makes me think he just really had to go to the bathroom and didn't know where it was or what to do. Then the nurse and I had to scrounge around for 15 minutes trying to find a pair of pants for him. That was fun.
Anyway its been an experience

Me

Ryan, that's me. Finally free from Utah and now back into the wonderful state of Colorado. I'm working as a school counselor up in the mountains. Mostly this blog will be about me and what happens in my life, since I'm an expert on the subject. Follow along if you care......

My first blog

This is my first blog. Ta Dah!