Running head: FIELD OBSERVATION 1

Field Observation

Maria Roush

College of Southern Nevada

FIELD OBSERVATION 2

Ever since I could remember, I have always wanted to work with children and be able to

make a difference in the lives of the children I work with. Finally, the decision was made to

pursue a career in elementary education and I have never wavered or hesitated with that decision.

Along my college journey, I have learned things and taken classes, like Political Science, that

made me cock my head to the side and think of what it would be like to pursue being an attorney

since they also have the ability to make BIG differences. I removed those thoughts, as I was still

set on working with children in some way. But this course, and all I have learned, has made me

second guess the decision of pursuing JUST elementary education and instead look into the field

of Special Education. The class I was assigned to, or rather the children I observed, for my field

observation was departmentalized starting in Science/Social Studies/Health, followed by

Resource, moving to ELA (English Language Arts), back to Resource, then to Math, and ending

in Resource/free study period and the teachers conducting these classes were all so different in

their approach and a joy to watch. As I went through my observation hours, I was fortunate

enough to work with and get to know the few children in my class with learning disabilities and

special needs, and that lightbulb moment when something clicked for them was incredible and an

absolute privilege to not only witness but also to have been a part of.
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There were a total of six children in attendance with learning disabilities and special

needs in the class I observed and I zeroed in on four of them, although I spent the most time with

one. Megan was born with microcephaly and outside of her tiny features you wouldn’t really

know she had a learning disability or had special needs as she was engaged during the majority

of the lessons and helped the teachers with specific tasks (dimming lights when projector on,

taking attendance, etc.). Erika was easily distracted and had a very hard time focusing and is at a

lower level for math and ELA. In the F.A.T. City Workshop video, Rick Lavoie states that

“distractibility applies to the learning disabled child and means that they pay attention to

everything” so it’s harder for them to fully focus on the topic at hand which I noticed Erika

struggling with (Clearwaters). Zachary has an IEP in reading but is overall very engaged in the

lessons, especially in Math which he thoroughly enjoys. Landon has autism and true to being on

the spectrum, he struggles with communication and maintaining good behavior and focus.

Dreydon was only at school on one of my observation days and suffers from task avoidance,

struggling heavily in writing (spelling) and reading as well as math. And then there’s Larry, who

I spent the most time with. Larry is great when being worked with one on one and tends to shut

down and not focus if he’s not being worked with one on one.
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All throughout my field observation experience, I would see snippets from the “How

Difficult Can This Be: F.A.T (Frustration, Anxiety, Tension) City Workshop” video conducted

by Rick Lavoie in my head. There are a lot of mainstream teachers that don’t quite grasp how big

of an impact there is with what they say and do to a learning disabled child and that the effects

can not only be a negative blow, but can and often does have long lasting effects. According to

Rick Lavoie, when using sarcasm as a response mechanism to a learning disabled child “this

creates a victim” and while we, the teachers or parents, move on from what was said right away,

the learning disabled child will dwell on what was said the rest of the day and sometimes into the

night (Clearwaters). During several instances of my observation, I would carefully watch the

interactions between the learning disabled children and the teachers and more often than not the

teachers would demonstrate patience and a willingness to assist in working through the struggles

weather it was with reading, writing, or math. I did notice however, that the math teacher

exhibited a lower patience threshold for the learning disabled children and would often call them

out in front of the whole class. This could be considered an example of lacking an understanding

of what the learning disabled child is really going through which based on what Rick Lavoie

stated during his workshop “the biggest challenge is educating those that do not have a learning

disabled child” (Clearwaters). At one point Larry, who learns best when either worked with one

on one or has to HEAR the directions (auditory learner), was following the math teacher around

and the lack of patience and frustration in her voice and on her face was painfully evident. In that

moment you can understand how the loss of self-esteem is so prevalent in learning disabled

children.
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During a math lesson, I was walking around the class and noticed several things, the first

of which was Landon’s lack of participation in the ten question quiz. Landon was instead

focusing on a picture from home that was in his hand and when I asked him to give it to me,

promising to keep it safe until he was done, his reaction to me asking for the picture was one of

pure anxiety and stress. According to the DSM-5 article, this is normal and the behavior showed

that Landon is “highly restricted, with fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus

(e.g., strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed

or perseverative interest)” (DSM-5). I also noticed that Larry had his hood on and was not

engaged in the quiz and was opting not to join his classmates at which time I proceeded to ask

him if he needed help and he responded by saying “sure.” I read each question along with the

possible answers to him and he got every single problem right; and outside of me reading the

problem and answer options, he did the entire quiz on his own. This encounter highlighted that

Larry is a bright student and all he needed was a little guidance, direction, and to HEAR the

problems and answer choices, allowing him to rise to the occasion. The look on his face when he

not only completed the quiz, but completing it with a perfect score, was one of pride and

excitement; to have been able to be a part of that was the true definition of happiness.
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Math class was a time where you saw Zachary shine and be thoroughly and excitedly

engrossed in what was being taught. He raised his hand with every question that was asked,

didn’t talk to his friends during lesson time, and was one of the first kids to finish. I could see

Zachary’s face visibly light up when he finished and was rewarded with being able to play Ed

Galaxy, which is an interactive math game that allows you to accumulate points and move ahead

spaces resulting in prizes. During my time with these incredible kids, I began to focus in on

Megan and that created the desire to learn more about microcephaly, as like I stated above, her

tiny features are the only thing that would provide any indication to her having special needs.

According to the Mayo Clinic, there are several causes of microcephaly which range from

“Craniosynostosis: premature fusing of the joints of an infant’s skull prohibiting the brain from

growing, Chromosomal abnormalities: Down syndrome may result, Decreased oxygen to the

fetal brain (cerebral anoxia), Infections passed to the fetus during pregnancy like chicken pox

and German measles, Exposure to drugs, alcohol or certain toxic chemicals in the womb, Severe

malnutrition, and Uncontrolled phenylketonuria (fen-ul-kee-toe-NU-ree-uh), also known as

PKU, in the mother: a birth defect that hampers the ability to break down the amino acid

phenylalanine” and couldn’t help but wonder which of these causes was the reason for Megan’s

microcephaly (Microcephaly).

Being a spectator to these children in their element, and to see their struggles and the

hurdles in which they overcome everyday was truly an eye opener and prompted me to

reevaluate my decision to continue with elementary education or pursue the very demanding but

rewarding field of Special Education. There are some big decisions to be made in the very near

future.
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References

Clearwaters, J. (2018, August 29). How Difficult Can This Be- The F.A.T City Workshop.

Retrieved March 13, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3UNdbxk3xs

DSM-5 Criteria. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2019, from https://www.autismspeaks.org/dsm-5-

criteria

Microcephaly. (2018, April 26). Retrieved March 13, 2019, from

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/microcephaly/symptoms-causes/syc-

20375051