Jaci's Writings For the Soul

   Through my special education journey, I have learned that one of the best practices to utilize when working with students who have special needs, is to teach them the growth mindset. Many students who have intellectual disabilities, for example, grow up through the deficit mindset. The deficit mindset talks about the lack of something or the needs that an individual has versus the strength mindset that focuses on the individual's strengths. When I hear growth mindset, I immediately think about the strength mindset. They are both mindsets based off of developing the student's already existing strengths and skills and helping to develop new ones.     Many E.L.L. students, or English Language Learners, are wrongly placed into special education. The students are placed there because their reading skills are not up to par with their grade like peers. This is often times, not due to an intellectual disability but rather, to the fact that English is not their fir...

   During the first class, when asked if we were writers or not, I labeled myself as not a writer. Even though I am on social media daily and write emails and Facebook posts for work, I did not consider that under the category of "writer". I would like to become a more prolific writer. I have tried journaling in the past but I haven't much luck. I am not the best writer whether it is personal, professional, or educational. I have always struggled with sitting down and putting my thoughts on paper. My struggles with writing, make me wonder how effective I could be as an English teacher. The three articles provided a lot of great information that will help me to better focus my thoughts on paper, whether it is for personal, professional or educational.    While reading the three articles, I noticed many similarities and connections to some of my other classes, in particular my SED 407 class. The Radical Eyes for Equity article was the most interesting. The lessons to...