What to do with A.T.T.O?

“Okay, I tried dolce far niente and I’m bored to tears! What now?”

In our teaching practice, we are lucky to have chunks of time to spend during summer breaks, holiday breaks, and of course the beloved personal days. This gives us time off that many professions do not enjoy. In case you are having trouble coming up with ways to spend A.T.T.O. (all that time off), here are nine ideas for you.

Siena, Italia

Siena, Italia

#1- Read. During the school year, time for reading fun books may be limited. But that is why we are so fortunate to have A.T.T.O.! The author of Teacher Man, Mr. Frank McCourt, understood the concept of A.T.T.O. after he spent several years in the classroom (2005). His book was a treat one summer when I finally read it. I do not read as much as I want when I am teaching, because there is too much other stuff to do (e.g., grade papers, prepare lessons, address student needs, and much more). When it is time to rotate the crops, and cash in on A.T.T.O., I get my book list out that I’ve been collecting all school year. Remember to ink it when you think it or you might forget what you want to read. The act of writing down the book titles during the year is reinforcing, and gives me something to look forward to during the long months before A.T.T.O.! I just got done reading Susan Vreeland's Lisette's List and a character in the book tells another character to "do the most important thing first." Agreed! Read!  

#2- Take a class. Enroll in a fun class. Your local community college might have just the class for you. Would you like to take a literary cooking class where you cook foods from a fictional book? Are you interested in learning the basics of car care? Maybe learning how the stock market works sounds fun to you? Do you want to learn how to decorate a cake? Being the student instead of the teacher may give you new insights into your teaching practices.

#3- Travel. Hit the road, air, water, or do what you can to get out of Dodge during A.T.T.O. If you cannot travel, the next best thing would be to read a travel book. Some inspiring creative non-fiction books about travel are: (1) Oregon Trail: A New American Journey by Rinker Buck, (2) Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, (3) Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed, and (4) Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. Go somewhere, or read about another place, to transport yourself.

#4- Watch a movie. You will see that many of your joys and struggles in the teaching profession are universal. You are not alone. Here are some of my favorite education-related movies for A.T.T.O.

Breakfast Club (1985); Dangerous Minds (1995); Dead Poets Society (1989); Ferris Beuller’s Day Off (1986); Finding Forrester (2000); Freedom Writers (2007); Goodwill Hunting (1998); Grease (1978); Karate Kid (1984); Kindergarten Cop (1990); Lean on Me (1989); Miracle Worker (1962); Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995); Remember the Titans (2000); School of Rock (2003); Stand and Deliver (1988); Summer School (1987); The Theory of Everything (2014)

 #5- Go glamping. Explore the great outdoors. Go on glamorous camping trips. Breathe the open air in the style of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, John Burroughs, and Harvey Firestone. The “Vagabonds” as they called themselves knew how to go glamping in their later years by exploring the road less traveled together. Their camping trips became legendary. Interesting ideas may have been sparked during the campfire conversations between the automobile manufacturer, inventor, naturalist, and tire mogul.

Ford and Edison worked together before they became neighbors in Florida. Their friendship had spanned several years before they decided they’d like to go on camping trips together.  They set out on several glamping adventures with friends. Their trips were a chance to relax in style, have fun, and experience nature decked out in luxury (i.e., cooks and assistants to help with work, spacious tents, Ford automobiles, gasoline stove, built-in refrigerator, Edison’s lights from the mobile electric generator, and more). Pretty impressive and glamorous given these glamping trips took place between 1914 and 1924.

#6- Write a novel, memoir, magazine article, or children’s book. If writing is your thing, A.T.T.O. is perfect for you. Writers need large amounts of uninterrupted time to develop a manuscript. You don’t need much in the way of equipment…just a pencil and some paper will do. You can write anywhere: laying on a sandy beach drinking spa water with infused tropical fruits, waiting for your dentist appointment, or sitting in an airport waiting for your flight to someplace fabulous. Just write!

#7- Projects. All those things you have been putting off can now get done during A.T.T.O.! Most of my household projects seem to take more time than I expect. One summer I treated and stained my outdoor decks. I thought it would be a two hour job. Wrong! My ability to estimate how long a project will take is about as reliable as a Wi-Fi connection inside the concrete walls of Costco. Have a blast! You will be glad you had the time to tackle these time-consuming projects during A.T.T.O.!

#8- Hobby. Now is the time to take up a new hobby, or further develop one you already have. Becoming good at a hobby takes a major time investment. We have so many talented hobbyists in our profession because of A.T.T.O.. I once worked with a Home Economics teacher who became a motorcycle enthusiast. In the summers she put away her quilts and recipes, slipped on black leather pants, and revved up her Harley on Route 66. Viva America!

#9- Play. Have you ever stopped to really watch a child who is absorbed in play? They don’t look at a clock to see what time it is. They don’t follow a schedule. They are in flow. They are totally lost in their fun. The founder of the Guild, Felicia Day, describes how she played Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft on average of sixty hours a week (Day, 2015). That is more than a full time job’s worth of hours. Isn’t that awesome! Imagine playing more hours than you work. Bravo, Felicia! With A.T.T.O., teachers could get on board a grand expedition too. Whatever it is you consider “play”–do more of it during A.T.T.O.!

Dolce Far Niente

Call it a hiatus, respite, or vacation, but whatever you call it we all need one. The singer and songwriter, Joni Mitchell is also a painter. I watched a documentary where she was describing her process. She compared how she moves from painting to songwriting like a farmer rotating crops. She described how she spends time with each activity and then enjoys the break when it is over. Mitchell's approach is similar to what we do in the teaching profession. We spend time teaching and then we rotate or shift our focus during A.T.T.O. (all that time off).

Educators should not feel lazy if we take time off work. We need time to rotate crops. “Dolce far niente” is an Italian phrase meaning the sweetness of doing nothing. Taking time to enjoy the pleasures in life can make for better teaching. All work and no play is bad for educators. Take time today for dolce far niente.

Pisa, Italia

Pisa, Italia

A.T.T.O.

Before Y.O.L.O., I.R.L., and F.O.M.O there was A.T.T.O.

Poet and teacher, Frank McCourt, wrote about All That Time Off (A.T.T.O.) in his book “Teacher Man.” He showed how teachers are awarded A.T.T.O. in exchange for 180 days of service on the academic calendar. That’s right. Vacation time, Baby!

Enjoy your summer and A.T.T.O. teachers! THANK YOU for all you do for students!!!

Louvre

Louvre

McCourt, F. (2005). Teacher man. New York: Scribner.

Adding More PLAY in Your Day

It can be a challenge to get enough PLAY in your day when you feel overwhelmed, overextended, or overworked. Here are some indicators that you may need to play more.

Rocks from Puget Sound in Seattle, WA.

Rocks from Puget Sound in Seattle, WA.

Top Ten Signs You Need More Play

  1. The last pleasurable book you read was Facebook.

  2. It is your parents’ anniversary. You order them a basket of fruits online from Harry & David, but don’t recognize you are in the bereavement section. When it gets delivered to them they receive their apples and oranges in a beautiful basket with a white ribbon that says the word: “Condolences.” Can’t wait to see what they get for the 50th wedding anniversary.

  3. You try to make a phone call and realize you’re operating the remote control to the television.

  4. You do not feel like “family” anymore at the Olive Garden.

  5. You go to pick up your knitting to make your kid’s teacher a pair of socks for her birthday only to find you’re using #2 pencils instead of #2 knitting needles. Good thing the yarn is gray.

  6. Your sweet tooth says “I wanna,” but your wisdom tooth says “no way.”

  7. Your future tripping is so out of hand that your  <fill in the blank>    (fortune teller, therapist, hairdresser, barista, MOPS leader, other) asks if you want a punch card for future discounts. Boy she sure can be snarky!

  8. Your best friend tells you a secret and asks you to keep it on the D.L. You thought she said “deal” and you congratulate her savvy shopping at T.J. Maxx.

  9. You accidentally wear your partner’s underwear and discover while sitting at a light on your way to work that the Fruit of the Looms fit better than yours.

  10. The Snapfish order has arrived in the mail. You complete several scrapbook pages before figuring out that it is not your family in the pictures. You’ve just scrapbooked your neighbor’s family.

     

What your score means

If you answered YES:

0 times = Wow, you really have things figured out. You are doing a fine job getting enough play in your life, and managing the whole work and life balance. Good for you!

1-2 times = You might be a little stressed out. But overall things are fine.

5 times or more = You might be overwhelmed with the balancing act thing that is life. Go get a massage! Now!

Just like children, we need play in our daily life. All work and no play…well you know. President Lincoln once said, “Whatever you are, be a good one.” Play can help you reach your best. Take time to play more! President’s orders! Oops, I meant doctors’ orders!

Storyboard

Most teachers have only one student teaching experience. At the end of the semester, I had student teachers I supervised create a storyboard. Our last meeting was a celebration of the highs and lows of their student teaching experience. The storyboard is a creative way for student teachers to reflect on this time in their life. It’s a story unlike anyone else’s they are sure to remember for years to come.

I created the Storyboard Activity for my student teachers after a trip to Walt Disney World. There was an attraction called The Art of Animation at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida. I saw how the Disney Company and Imagineers created storyboards and thought, “We could do that!” 

Student teachers complete the storyboard draft before our lastmeeting. This gives them time to think about each prompt instead of being put on the spot. They can illustrate or create a collage to accompany each cell of their storyboard. Each student teacher presents his or her storyboard during the final meeting. Student teachers can add or modify this list of prompts as needed:

  1. Title

  2. Actor or actress you would cast to play you

  3. Cast of characters (may include a protagonist and a nemesis)

  4. Actors to play your cooperating professional and students

  5. Theme song

  6. Develop a soundtrack of sounds and songs that help tell your student teaching story

  7. Plot

  8. Highpoint

  9. Resolution

  10. What are three important things you learned from your student teaching that you will remember many years from now?

Storyboarding

Storyboarding

Artwork

“Would I be bad parent if I threw this away?” If you are a parent, you may have asked yourself a question like this. Or maybe I’m the only one who has questioned myself when deciding what to keep and what to toss. I’m talking about artwork. Can or should we keep everything our children make? There are only so many things to do with kid artwork. Or is there?

Before tossing that masterpiece, see if one of these might work…

  • Frame the art to hang on the wall at your child’s eye level

  • Make a calendar of your child’s art

  • Put the art in a storage bin under the bed

  • Turn the art into a coffee mug

  • Make a scrapbook from the art

  • Use the art for your holiday cards to highlight your child’s work

  • Put it on the refrigerator to make an art gallery

  • Display 3D art (e.g., pottery, soap sculptures, etc.) in the home

  • Use the art to give a gift to someone

  • Collect the art for a portfolio

  • Take a digital photo of the art and make an e-portfolio

  • Tape art to the windows around the house

  • Make stationery out of your child’s art

  • Have an art show in your backyard where you celebrate the artist…all attendees can leave with some art

Do you have any ways you like to archive children's artwork? Please share. I’m starting to run out of ideas. Help!

Painting a wooden birdhouse

Painting a wooden birdhouse

Fancy Cancy

Decorations for a party can get expensive. Make your own works-of-art when you decorate for a party. You and your child can get your creative juices flowing and enjoy making a project together.

Here is a craft for a table centerpiece called, Fancy Cancy. All you need is a clean empty can, paint, glue, scraps of fabric, and ribbon. First, glue fabric scraps around the sharp part of the can for safety. Then paint the outside of a clean can. Add ribbon and any other embellishments when the paint is done drying. Glitter and beads can add a finishing touch. Once the Fancy Cancy is done you can fill the can with your favorite party items (e.g., cut flowers from the yard, candy like tall red vines, decorated chop sticks, name cards, etc.).

Facilitate your child’s creativity by noticing what s/he is interested in talking about while creating art. You can make the Fancy Cancy together, or each person can have their own can to decorate. Have a party preparing for the party!

Fancy Cancy

Fancy Cancy

Marbled Art

You don’t have to be Martha Stewart to have a little fun with scissors, ink, and shaving cream. If you are looking for a fun activity to do this month with children, why not try the ancient craft of marbling in celebration of National Craft Month!

The art of marbling goes back centuries. It was used for official purposes and documents, as well as for decorative purposes. Marbling can be done in so many different ways. Marbled designs can be applied to paper, fabric, three-dimensional surfaces and more. No two designs are alike. Here is an activity to get you started making marbled art.

Materials: pan, shaving cream (the white foamy kind), food coloring/dye, paper, and toothpicks

Create: Spray the shaving cream into the pan. Add the food coloring to the shaving cream. Use the toothpicks to create swirls in the white shaving cream. Next, gently lay your paper on the surface of the marbled design you made. Lift the paper and scrape off any excess foam. Voila! You have marbled paper! Let the paper dry for at least a day.

When your paper craft is done drying you can make all sorts of things out of your designs. Stationery, bookmarks, and wall art can result from your marbling. L’arte d’arrangiarsi is an Italian phrase that means to create something from nothing. Create something beautiful today!

Marbled Art

Marbled Art

26.2 Reader

Imagine the frustration of starting a book you really want to read and then not being able to finish it. Some children begin reading a book and will abandon it before they get to the words “The End.” Finishing a book is similar to finishing a marathon. Both take endurance to complete.

In order to finish a marathon, an individual needs to be able to withstand the challenge of 26.2 miles of terrain. There are mile markers along the way to indicate location of the race. Readers can use book chapters in a similar fashion. 

At the finish line, marathoners often feel a sense of accomplishment. They may receive artifacts, like a medal, indicating they just completed a marathon. Additionally, they may see the happy faces of friends and/or family who have been cheering them on. It is not uncommon for marathoners to talk about their next running challenge or goal at the end of a race.

Dharma would like to run a reading marathon and finish a good book, but there are obstacles in her way.

Dharma’s Story: As a fourth grader, Dharma is reading at grade level. She has been reading middle grade chapter books for over a year. Dharma checks out Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey on her weekly visit to the library. It is a 400-page book. Dharma gets frustrated and gives up reading the book after the third page. Here are some ideas to guide a young reader, like Dharma, who selects a challenging book.

#1 Conference- Sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with the reader and discover why they want to read the challenging text. Maybe it is the genre or main character that has sparked their interest. With your help, they can be guided to a similar text that is within their reading ability.

After conferencing with Dharma, I found out that she really wanted to read Gorillas in the Mist after a visit to the zoo. She was looking for a fictional text about gorillas. We talked about some other books that she might also like. She decided to read Good Morning, Gorillas by Mary Pope Osborne. This middle grade chapter book was a good match for Dharma. She enjoyed reading and finishing the book. Dharma also started reading more Magic Tree House books by this author.

#2 Sharing- If a reader is able to read with fluency but lacks the stamina to finish the book alone, they could share the reading experience with a partner. Dharma could pair up with another reader. She could share her book by reading a page, and then her partner could read a page. This format could be used until the dyad finishes reading the book together. 

Another way to share the book is have the teacher or adult read the book aloud. Every day after lunch recess, my 5th/6th grade teacher Mr. Cecarelli would read a J.R. Tolkien book to my class for a half hour. It was a calming way for us to transition from playground to classroom by listening to a book that was interesting but probably too challenging for elementary school students to read independently.

#3 Activities- Incorporate authentic activities related to the text. Dharma could explore her interest in gorillas by reading magazines about animals, watching movie(s), singing songs, dance, art, reading board books (e.g., Good Night, Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann) about gorillas to her baby brother, and more. A book club with other readers could introduce a social aspect of reading. 

Part of the joy of reading is finishing a good book. Guide, coach, cheer, and support your child to becoming a 26.2 reader. Bumper stickers forthcoming….

Spaco!

I recently went to a professional conference. It was my state chapter of the International Literacy Association (ILA). The organization serves literacy teachers PreK to High School.

Teachers, families, and children kicked off the conference Friday evening with fun events. People of all ages enjoyed the art of storytelling by author Mr. Joe Hays. The reading conference had excellent sessions and workshops on Saturday. It was impressive to see large groups of teachers give up part of their weekend for professional development. It got me thinking….

Attending a work conference is a lot like going to a spa. Self-improvement is the focus of both endeavors. At a spa and conference (Spaco) you get pampered. Other people have considered personal comforts and attempted to create a pleasant experience.

There were so many details at my ILA conference the planning committee considered. Meals, decorations, schedule of activities, speakers, vendors, prizes, awards, clock hours/continuing education units, and more were coordinated for the comfort and enjoyment of participants. A special touch at my conference included the creative centerpieces on the tables. Floral vases with artistic flags that had state authors and illustrators were proudly displayed, and given away to participants at the end of the conference.

At a Spaco you get to focus on yourself. Your personal responsibilities related to children, pets, and/or significant other have been left behind so you can pay attention to numero uno.

At a Spaco you choose to go. Nobody is forcing you to attend. In fact, you probably moved heaven and earth to get this chance.

Enjoy your next Spaco experience. You deserve it!

The Cancel-er

It was Kevin’s birthday on the day his teacher was out and I stepped in to cover for her. This wasn’t my first time in "Ms. Cayman's" Kindergarten classroom. She requested me whenever she needed a substitute teacher.

Kevin arrived with a giant Tupperware container full of his Mom's homemade cupcakes. During lunch Kevin passed out his cupcakes to each of his classmates. When lunch was over all the kids went out to recess except for the birthday boy. He asked me if he could go to the office and pass out the remaining cupcakes. I said "yes" and off he went.

When he returned to the classroom, his container was empty. He placed it in his cubby and went out to the playground to join the rest of the kids for recess. I ate lunch in the classroom and finished getting everything ready for the afternoon. It was a wonderful class and I felt good about the note I left the teacher that evening when I was done. I locked up the classroom and went to the office to turn in my key and sign out.

The principal invited me into his office. I worried what could be wrong. This was unusual. He asked, “How did your day go?"

“Fine," I said. "I was teaching for Ms. Cayman today. The kids were great. Things went smoothly. Nothing out of the ordinary. Why do you ask?”

“Well because of a situation with Kevin during lunch,” answered the principal.

Oh dear did something bad happen? The principal began...    

Kevin approached the secretary and asked if she would like a cupcake. The answer was yes and he gave her one.

Kevin then asked the secretary, “Can I give a cupcake to the vice principal?” She said yes and Kevin went to give one to the VP.

“Can I give a cupcake to the principal?” asked Kevin. The answer was yes and he gave me a cupcake.

“Can I give a cupcake to the nurse?" asked Kevin. When the answer was yes, he delivered a cupcake to the school nurse two doors down from the secretary’s desk. He had one cupcake left.

“Can I give the last cupcake to the cancel-er?”asked Kevin.

“The school counselor is out on the playground. He has recess duty. He will be back in the office later,” responded the secretary.

“No. Can I give a cupcake to the cancel-er?” requested Kevin.

“Kevin, honey, the counselor has recess duty,” she explained.

He clarified, “No, you don’t understand. Not the counselor. I want to give a cupcake to the cancel-er. You know...the one who cancels school when it snows outside. I want to give my last cupcake to the snow cancel-er.”

Horse Play

“Giddy up!” Kids have a field day at events that are novel for them. Getting out of the routine to do something different gives children unique experiences to talk about, as well as exposure to new concepts to expand their understanding about the world around them. New vocabulary and language opportunities are included.

The Future Farmers of America (FFA) organized an outdoor event for children in my area. It was a rodeo. No experience required! Children got to participate in activities like races with wooden stick horses. Navigating around barrels and other obstacles with their horse was a fun way for children to problem solve, get exercise, and breathe fresh air. Opportunities for social development occurred during horse play with peers.  

National FFA week is Feb. 20-27, 2016. Check out your local FFA chapter to find fun activities you and your family might enjoy. No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle. ~Winston Churchill

Children's FFA Rodeo

Children's FFA Rodeo

Say Fig

School photographers have a tough job. Can you imagine how hard it is to get distractible children to sit still so pictures can be taken? “Say Cheese,” just doesn’t cut it anymore (if it ever did). How odd that we Americans choose to use a dairy product to get people to smile. The double e sound is supposed to help the corners of the mouth turn up. Wouldn’t ski or free also work? “Say free!” Not sure it has the same ring as cheese.

Why does the person in the picture need to “say” anything? It is not like we can hear them when we look at the picture. A more practical suggestion might be to tell the person who is having their picture taken: “do whatever you want to capture the look you are going for.” Maybe that is too long. Ready-set-SMILE! Other countries seem to participate in similar shenanigans when taking pictures. In Latin America, the word whiskey is used like our say cheese. In Korea it is kimchi. In Sweden it is omelet. I wonder what would happen if the word fig was used?

Fig grown near Puget Sound.

Fig grown near Puget Sound.

School photographers work hard for a smile. A smile is a universal expression of happiness. In the animal kingdom, “smiling” or showing teeth may indicate emotions other than happiness. Like a dog growling if you touch her bowl of food. The show of teeth is an unhappy warning to get away! But for us humans, a smile is an indication of pleasant feelings. Parents want to think their child is happy in school. The school picture proves it for years to come.

What do the school photographers do when a child is unresponsive to “Say Cheese?” There was a television show called Candid Camera and their tag line was “Smile, you’re on Candid Camera.” The hidden camera was set up to capture people’s reactions to practical jokes. Following this model, maybe school photographers could say or do something unexpected to get students’ attention and garner a smile. Jocose photographers were surely needed in the days before modern cameras.

People in black and white photographs rarely smiled. Why? Were they unhappy? Was it because of rotting teeth? I think there was a seriousness back then when sitting for a photo. Cameras were expensive and rare. It was an important event like a wedding that landed you in front of a camera.

The lack of smiles may have been due to the amount of time it took for a photo to be taken. Having to wait a long time for the camera may have made people annoyed and grumpy. The wait time may have resulted in a population of non-smilers in old photographs. But today we have quick point and shoot cameras that are faster. My “good” camera broke. I had to use my back up camera which took forrrrrrrrever to take a picture. By the time it finally captured the shot I was after, my human subjects were out of position, bored, or mad at me for making them wait. The result was the absence of a smile in most of the pictures I took with the back-up camera. Apparently, people don’t like to wait for their picture to be taken.

If those excuses were true for people in the past, why do models on the catwalk avoid smiling? Today, professional photographers use state-of-the-art technology to snap quick images. Are models miserable? Notorious non-smilers are supermodels, Victoria Beckham, Madonna, and Karl Lagerfeld. Some people say it is due to social superiority. Dr. Timothy Ketelaar and researchers at New Mexico State University (2012) found that smiling is related to lower social status in both models and football players. Another hypothesis for non-smiling might be so they don’t distract from the clothes or game. Whoever heard of such a thing! Maybe models and football players will get fined or fired if they smile?

New parents are on the look-out for their baby’s first smile. Parents might wonder if it is a “real” smile or just the baby passing gas. By about two months old, babies will begin to develop their social smile.

Their development occurs by mimicking the people in their environment. When they are born their eyesight is limited and can only see about 6-12 inches from their face. Caregivers hold babies close. Babies love to study the human face. Studies have shown that babies prefer the human face more than just about anything. They learn quickly to copy the facial expressions of those around them. The next time you hold a brand new baby try sticking your tongue out at them and watch what they do. The facial expressions of those around them has a big impact on babies. Post-partum depression and maternal mental illness can have a profound effect on a newborn.

“Your day will go the way the corners of your mouth go!” According to the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (I’m not making this up), the average adult laughs fewer than 20 times a day, whereas children laugh more than 300 times each day. Laughter can burn calories, is good for relationships, and can be contagious (just listen to Car Talk on NPR if you don’t believe me). So what happens to our funny-bone from child-hood to adult-hood? I wish I knew. Scientists have long known that attractive people are perceived as more intelligent and competent. What makes someone instantly more attractive could be a genuine smile where the mouth is upturned and the eyes twinkle. My resolution (or goal) for this new year is to smile and laugh more. It couldn’t hurt.

 

Literature cited:

Ketelaar, T., Koenig, B. L., Gambacorta, D., Dolgov, I., Hor, D., Zarzosa, J., Luna-Nevarez, C., Klungle, M. &  Wells, L. (2012). Smiles as signals of lower status in football players and fashion models: Evidence that smiles are associated with lower dominance and lower prestige. Evolutionary Psychology, 10(3), 371-397.

Individualized Education Program (IEP)

“Make it work,” says Tim Gunn each week as clothing designers on Project Runway compete for a coveted spot to present their designs at fashion week. Teachers are pros at making it work. Project Runway designers and special education teachers are cut from the same cloth, and have a lot in common.

Couture. The first common thread between designers and special education teachers is the project they create is one-of-a-kind. A designer creates a couture project which is chic, contemporary, and made to measure an individual rather than the masses. Up-to-date designs are fresh and modern. A designer will have a signature style, but they won’t create the exact same design more than once. Same with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) a special education teacher creates with a team—which includes the student’s family. IEPs are unique. No two are alike. Every time a special education teacher designs an IEP, s/he does so from a blank canvas just like a designer. No two children will have the same IEP. The same child will have a different and distinct IEP each time one is created.

Florentine Boutique

Florentine Boutique

Individualized. Designers and special education teachers are creating a project for an individual person. The better they know the person, the better their design will be. The judges on the Lifetime show often ask, “Who is the woman you are designing for?” Special education teachers ask a similar question, “Who is the child/student you are designing for?” The better we can answer this question, the better the outcome will be. "In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different,” proclaimed Coco Chanel. Every student we design for is different, and their IEP is individualized to personalize for them what is important.

Use of assessment data. An IEP can be a masterpiece if created to fit the person perfectly. To do so, we need to be able to use assessment data to inform the development of goals and objectives on the student’s IEP. Assessment also helps us create customized interventions for each student, because we know what students need based on observations, direct testing, parental and professional report. Same with designers who use measurements for creating the right fit. Hubert de Givency said, “The dress must follow the body of a woman, not the body following the shape of the dress." Measurement is critical to accomplishing Givenchy’s ideal. In order to create a tailor-made IEP, accurate assessment data helps the team create a perfect fit.

Team. In sewing, a seam is the straight line where two pieces of fabric meet with thread. A seam brings two separate things together as one. So do teams. Designers, from Project Runway, work independently on many of their creations. However, they are still part of a team that may include: Tim Gunn their supervisor, Mood their provider of materials, and the panel of judges who give the designers feedback. There are some episodes of Project Runway where designers work on teams with other designers to collaborate on a single item or collection. An IEP team may consist of: the student and his/her family, general education teachers, special education teachers, a case manager, the lead educational agency (LEA) or school district representative, related service providers, social worker, physician, and/or other member(s) needed to create a meaningful IEP. The student’s IEP team co-creates the plan, and some but not all members will be involved in implementation of the IEP.

Limited resources. Special education teachers and designers on Project Runway both need to work with limited resources. Time allocated for designing is limited. Both are constrained by a limited budget. Specialized materials and equipment may be needed to design.

Creative. Both types of designers start by drafting their ideas. A clothing designer might use a pad of paper and drawing utensils to make a sketch of the garment they will later sew. An IEP comes together from a rough draft also. Designers of IEPs and garments may get their inspiration from a variety of sources. Input from parents is one source of creativity. For example, I once had a secondary student with an intellectual disability who loved wood working. He was born with four thumbs and was getting occupational therapy. His Dad owned a cabinet making business and he and his family wanted “Peter” to eventually have a major part in the family business. When we designed Peter’s secondary IEP, his parents provided input about vocational opportunities they dreamed of for their son. With the team working together, we designed a creative program for Peter with: job coaching and shadowing in a woodworking company, coursework in shop/carpentry, field work, and independent studies all aimed at his future dream of making kitchen cabinets in the family business. Project Runway designers use locations, buildings, and other environmental influences as inspiration for what they create. Environment and people may be sources of creativity.

Goals. "I don't design clothes. I design dreams," said Ralph Lauren. That is what we do when we design an IEP. We design dreams for students and their families. The goals are a way to achieve the dream. Dreams need deadlines. The goals we create may have short or long term objectives.

Every member of an IEP team is a designer. We design meaningful IEPs for students that are one-of-a-kind. Every student should be so lucky to have an IEP designed just for them. Can I have one?

Shopping for one-of-a-kind designs in Florence

Shopping for one-of-a-kind designs in Florence