Article 2

  Home visits

Review 1

     Although home visits are considered an invasion of privacy for some, both parents, and educators can derive positive benefits from home visits. Home visits can encourage open lines of communications between the teacher(s) and parents which are beneficial for children, ensure their physical and mental welfare, and encourage family involvement

     Many schools and agencies use home visits as part of their parent-teacher conferences and education plans and policies. One of the largest agencies in the United States that uses home visits is Head Start. Head Start offers free comprehensive preschool and in-home educational and social services, to families that qualify based on their income, government assistance, and homelessness.  The most common practice is to have one home visit before a child starts into the program, and one at the end of the school year. This practice varies depending on which part of the United States they live in, the university or school district that funds the local Head Start and their individual policies.

     The article reviewed was from Clatsop County, Oregon, which is in the very northwest corner of Oregon. The county is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west, the Columbia River as it flows into the ocean on the north, and old-growth rain forests on the south and east. The reason for giving some geological background is so the reader can understand how remote this area is and the sparse population of only 37,000.

     Depending on what part of the county a family is living in they, have the option of one of three different Head Start preschools. Each preschool consists of a three and a one half morning or afternoon session during which the children are provided with a structured atmosphere.  The atmosphere consists of greeting circles, academic lessons, such as math, science, geography, and literacy, and social skills, such as eating and brushing their teeth in groups. They are also free to socialize and explore during free time.

    

Review 2

     Each year the Clatsop County Head Start child advocate makes three home visits to the families of students enrolled in the program. These home visits help the families set goals, making sure the children are getting proper medical and dental examinations and help assess the child’s nutrition (Stratton, 2013).  

    The teachers and teaching assistants may do up to an additional nine yearly educational home visits.

These visits are an essential part of their curriculum and help keep the lines of communication open between the teacher and parent. Because the students go to preschool for four days of the week, Tuesday through Friday, Mondays are reserved for the teachers to do home visits.  On Mondays the teachers can go into the home for an hour and a half and work with parents and children. By going into the student’s home the staff can support learning on an individualized basis. “We believe very much that parents are the primary teachers of children” (Stratton, 2013).

     In a time when instant is the current and accepted mode of communication, it is crucial as educators that we do not lose sight of the perspective benefits of face-to-face contact. Although our current time allotment does not always make this feasible, the benefits that result from such meetings should not be overlooked. 

Article #1

Time-out 1

        The article I chose came from the website on the Council for Children with Behavior Disorders. The article compared and contrasted the use of time-outs in today’s classrooms. Many teachers today have students with EBD or emotional and behavioral disorders. These disorders can range from very mild to severe and anywhere in-between. The disorders can be multifaceted, including components from one category, or many from both. As we move toward a much more inclusive classroom structure and less exclusive, teachers and support staff are having to implement many different techniques as part of their over all behavior management plans.

            Many teachers use time-outs a part of their over all comprehensive behavioral management plan. Time-out procedures are just one tool in a teachers arsenal and when use correctly they can be effective in reducing manipulative behaviors. Since time-outs are not age, gender, creed, culture or otherwise specific this technique can be used across and with a wide range of students with emotional and behavioral disorders.

            A time-out is defined as a behavior reduction procedure or form of punishment in which students are denied access to all opportunities for reinforcement, contingent upon their displaying inappropriate behavior (Ryan, 2012). However many teachers and support staff think of a time-out as calm down or quite time. By giving the student a few minutes away from other students, the inappropriate behavior, or situation, the student can calm down and appropriately self redirect or with the help support staff or their teacher talk about their behavior and redirect in a positive direction.

Time-out 2

            While there are many variations of this procedure use in classrooms across the country the two most popular forms are inclusion and exclusion. An inclusive time-out occurs when the student continues to observe the classroom but is unable to participate and does not receive positive reinforcement. Exclusive time-outs occur when the student is excluded from all classroom activities and interactions with other students and teachers. 

                 The article stressed that if time-outs were to be uses as a form of punishment or calming down period, it would do no good to put a student in time-out that wanted to be excluded from classroom activities in the first place. Using this form of behavior management for these students would further reinforce that negative behavior and give them what they wanted. To reinforce the desired behaviors the author of the article suggested increasing the positive to negative comments by a 5 to 1 ratio (Ryan, 2012). Focusing on the positive behaviors more then the negative ones will help the student understand what is expected of them and want to try to increase the positive behaviors that receive positive comments.

            This was very beneficial article since I use this behavior method in our behavioral management plans. There were many parts of this article that I agree with, such as I think of time-outs as more of a calming down period and a chance to redirect the inappropriate behavior into something appropriate and positive. Also using time outs for students that want to get out of classroom work and activities can backfire since they are getting just what they want. Teachers and support staff have to be careful to monitor the students that this procedure is used for and weight the positives and negatives before they consider adding it to their management plan.

Time-out 3

Reference:

Ryan, J. (2012). How to Make Classroom Timeouts More Effective. Retrieved from http://www.ccbd.net/?q=node/49