The time had come. After four years of preservice education, I was finally on my own, teaching in my classroom, with my students, and my carefully constructed lessons. I anxiously waited for my first students to walk through the door so I could grab their attention and immerse them in my love of agriculture. However, students weren't the first through the door that initial morning on the job, the special education coordinator was. She walked in, handed me a stack of file folders labeled with students' names, asked me to sign a sheet of paper, and waltzed back out, all within one minute. Curious, I opened the top folder and scrolled down until I saw the intimidating word "Accommodations." Suddenly, I realized my carefully, yet narrowly constructed lessons weren't going to work for my students, at least not the way I had originally planned. My excitement dwindled and panic took over.... was I really ready to teach ALL of my students? How was 1 going to accommodate the varied special needs of my students? How, in my preservice education, did my view of what my students needed to be successful become so narrow? Was I alone in this feeling, or were my peers feeling the same way?
- A cut out napkin/paper towel holder"If our teaching is to be studentcentered, we must accept the idea of teaching individual students in classes rather than teaching classes" (Priebe, 1971, p. 239). Education is successful only as it relates to the needs, interests, and attitudes of the learners to whom it is directed. Teachers of agriculture have been proponents of this philosophy and have structured their programs accordingly. As we move forward, it will be increasingly important to prepare our preservice teachers for thinking beyond the narrow peephole approach to accommodations, and instead to embrace an open door of inclusion for learners with special needs.Brief Evolution of InclusionFalk, J. M., Beck, W. M., & Whittington, M. S. (2009). Describing student cognitive retention in an animal science unit. NACTA 2009 Abstracts and Awards, p. 43-44.Teaching Techniques and StrategiesOnce cut into strips, the strip is turned on its side and run through the band-saw again, cutting it so it's between � and � inches thick. I like to use what they call a re-saw blade in my band-saw, one that is anywhere from �� to �� wide. I always make sure that I have the guard down as close to the piece of wood that I can, never wear loose fitting clothes and wear protective eye goggles for safety reasons.What Scroll Saw Pattern to UseOne of the nice results of using a scroll saw, is that there is very little sanding that needs to be done, mainly on the back and sometimes in the corners, depending on how you do them. The blade that you use will also determine how much sanding is needed on your inner cuts. My preference is the Olson Double-Tooth, Skipped Tooth blade; it seems to stay a little cooler which means it lasts a little longer. One thing you don't want to use is a dull blade, as it is really hard to stay on your lines with a dull blade, and sometimes you don't have a lot of room for veering off lines. Once the piece is sanded to your satisfaction and glued together, all that is left if putting on the finish. I prefer the natural grain and color of the wood, so I usually use a semi-clear gloss coating, which really enhances the natural grain.- A welcome sign for your home- A set of carved baby blocksSummaryIn summary, secondary agricultural educators will be working with learners with special needs. It is essential that they know and understand how to contribute to an IEP, as well as how to follow what the requirements state of them as directed through an IEP. However, many preservice agricultural education programs are lacking this skill development.Once all the strips are cut, they can be glued together, making sure the grain of the wood is alternated to prevent the wood from warping. Then all that's left is putting on the finishing touches. I run both edges through the joiner to make sure I have a flat, straight edge and then through the planer to get it down to the desired thickness.Kisanji, J. (1999, March). Historical and Theoretical Basis of Inclusive Education. Keynote address at the meeting of Inclusive Education in Namibia: The Challenge for Teacher Education, Namibia.Hoerst, C. M., & Whittington, M. S. (2009). The current status of classroom inclusion activities of secondary agriculture teachers. Journal of Agricultural Education, 50(2), 38-51.- Carved top to a wooden jewellery boxInclusive education of learners with special needs "recognizes that special learning needs can arise from social, psychological, economic, linguistic, cultural, as well as physical (or disability) factors, hence the term 'children with special needs' rather than 'children with disabilities'" (Kisanji, 1999, p. 3); they are learners first, and their special needs should not define who they are. Disability advocates argue that disability is socially constructed and that society places barriers on certain groups of people. Therefore, these advocates believe that learner-centered classrooms provide the most effective education for learners with special needs.Scroll saw fans are constantly learning from one another. There are online blogs and message boards for posting questions and giving your best tips. In addition, the technology behind the saw keeps improving. For example, one manufacturer has a scroll saw where the blade instead of the table surface angles and adjusts. There are other models where foot pedals are included so that both hands are free to guide the wood. This makes curvy scrollsaw patterns much easier to follow.Now I am almost ready to use the scroll saw. Once the pattern is selected, spray art glue is used to lightly spray the back of the pattern and place it on the finished board. When adhered to the wood, holes are drilled for every place where scroll saw blade access is needed. The clock shown only needed 21 holes drilled, but I have done some designs where over 300 holes were needed. Depending on the scroll saw that you use, it is fairly quick to detach the top of the blade and insert it from the bottom of your workpiece so you can begin to cut. Delta has a handy quick release blade chuck that will also work on some other brands of saws.Newcomb, L. H., McCracken, J. D., Warmbrod, J. R., & Whittington, M. S. (2004). Methods of Teaching Agriculture (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Newcomb, L. H., McCracken, J. D., Warmbrod, J. R., & Whittington, M. S. (2004). Methods of Teaching Agriculture (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Author: Filson, Caryn Hoerst, Whittington, M Susie
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