2011 March » Special Education and Learning Differences

by Janie Haugen-McLane, Co-Founder PCI Education
(Second in a Series: 20+ Years Building PCI Education)

There will always be certain students whom you remember fondly. For me, the first was Russell M. in my classroom in Houston, Texas, 1987. In order to save money (in a tough economy), a teacher who resigned from the campus… “adults with special needs,” was not replaced.

All the teachers had to draw names from a hat to get four new students. I had only been there a few weeks and didn’t know any students other than the ones in my classroom. I drew the name, Russell M. and was quite surprised when a long-term teacher looked at me and with wide-eyes exclaimed, “Whew, I’m glad I didn’t get him.” That was a little scary to say the least.

I was nervous the next morning anxious to see my students when the door opened wide and they blew in. One student stopped dead still, looked over at me, and said, “A princess!” Here was this tall, early 30ish handsome man with an impish grin from ear to ear. He held out a hand to shake and said with the slightest lisp, “I’m Russell. You are pretty.”

We were crazy about each other right from the start. In fact, he became a little too infatuated with me so I had my big, burly husband, Jeff, come visit the classroom and Russell “fell” for him too! While on business trips, Jeff began sending Russell postcards from all over the country—it was the perfect win-win solution. After each trip, Russell would ask my husband if he saw any “grrrrs,” their secret word for pretty girls and when not out of town Jeff would often take off work early to come visit with Russell – some time for man talk.

In March of that year, Jeff sent a bunch of daffodils, King Alfreds, for my birthday. I told Russell that since I was a little girl, I had called them Buttercups because yellow was my favorite color… he never forgot that conversation. Even years later, Russell would talk to me or write me and mention my favorite flowers. Of course, he always called them Buttercups. How I loved him, his mischievous almost shy smile, and his entertaining stories.

I met Russell’s parents and we all became friends. When my husband decided to start a bio-tech company in San Antonio in 1988, the hardest part was leaving Russell and the other students in my class. We all cried and Russell said, “I’ll be over to see you, don’t you worry.”

And you know what? His family did come to San Antonio in their motor-home and we had a wonderful time. Russell is one of the bright lights in my life.

I thank God everyday for allowing me the honor of drawing Russell’s name from that hat. It turned out to be my lucky hat. Sometimes things just fall into place, and Russell fell into the center of my heart. I miss him greatly!

Question of the Week: Who was that first student who stole your heart and made you love teaching? Please use the first name and last initial for privacy reasons. PCI and I would love to hear your experience.

Come on board with PCI and blog your story to the world.

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Janie McLane Co-Founder PCI Education

Janie McLane Co-Founder PCI Education

Janie Haugen-McLane, creator of PCI’s flagship product, the best-selling Life Skills Programs, Series I and II, draws on her years of teaching to develop real-world, innovative educational products. She has conceived of and developed more than 95% of PCI’s proprietary products and has attracted a number of nationally recognized authors to PCI.

by Janie Haugen-McLane, Co-Founder PCI Education

I arrived in Special Education through a side door. When my accounting job in Houston, Texas ended in 1987, (because the company closed unexpectedly) the want-ads became my new friend. A small ad caught my eye: Need teacher with degree to work with adults with special needs in classroom setting.

Janie Haugen-McLane (Back in The Day)

Having volunteered at Special Olympics before and loving it, I hurried over to a large residential campus in the River Oaks section of Houston. The administrator took me on a tour to visit the classroom where 30 adult students (ranging in ages from 18 to 70) and two teachers occupied an extremely large room. After introducing me to the students, these dedicated educators explained why they loved working there. Within minutes the students were gathered around me, all talking at the same time and begging me to be their new teacher. I was the one excited; no one had ever pleaded for me to work for them anywhere before. I was hooked and started my journey into Special Education.

There were ten students in the morning class and ten different students in the afternoon. My new job was to teach life skills… how to survive in the real world. I wanted to give to these students an exciting, fun and creative environment; I wanted them to have the best that life has to offer.

Wanting to beat the sludge of early-morning Houston traffic, I would arrive at the school more than an hour before the 8 a.m. class time. Since it was a residential facility, little by little, my students began knocking on the locked classroom door, pleading to come to class early. Together, we would work on getting the classroom ready for the day. We talked, we laughed, they learned, I learned… and as the days unfolded we learned about each other, about who and what we were.

In the first few days of teaching, one student was making the two “e’s” in his name backwards. Sitting down at the table by him, I showed him an easier way to make an “e.” Then he proceeded to write his name again with the backwards letters. Just as I began to say something else, he tugged on my sleeve, “Miss Janie, did they not tell you that there is something wrong with my brain?”

Stopping in my tracks, I excused myself to the other teacher and stepped outside the classroom. Tears welled up in my eyes. What had I been thinking? This was an adult man who had been trying to write his name correctly for over thirty years. In the whole, big scheme of things, what did it really matter? Upon returning to the classroom, I made a check-mark by his name signaling a job well done and assigned him another task. That day was the turning point in my life; I became the student… the student became my teacher.

Quietly and with little warning these students captured my imagination and heart. Special Education was the place where I belonged. Finally, I had discovered my life’s purpose. Life would never be the same.

Question of the Day: What drew you to a career in Education? PCI wants to hear and learn about your experience. Come on board with PCI and blog your story to the world.

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Janie McLane Co-Founder PCI Education

By Jose Romero

A month ago, I was having lunch with an administrator who shared with me the story of how her grandson, who at barely three years old, could quickly access a popular website that offers educational games. She was amazed at how easily he was able to get to her favorites folder and start the game without any guidance from an adult. I am sure you have similar stories of your own.

In contrast, I bashfully confess that it took me years to become a moderately fluent typist. The album that takes five minutes for a younger cousin to upload and publish on Facebook takes me hours, perhaps because I carefully pick which pictures I want to share. Although my exposure to it was limited during my school years, technology did make a positive impact on my own learning experience.

The reality now for adolescent and younger learners is that they are exposed to multiple technology devices at an earlier and faster rate than those of us who remember dialing up to access the Internet. For the longest time, I remained wary of using technology devices in the classroom. However, the more I fondly reflect upon certain computer programs that I used as a young student, the more I realize the value that technology offered me. It allowed me to explore worlds I could not experience through field trips or books, and it helped me develop basic skills.

I think back to my middle school days in the Washington, DC suburbs of Maryland, when I excitedly waited for the days I got to go to Lab and play “Oregon Trail.” In groups of two or three, we navigated rivers, hunted deer, and bargained for and traded supplies. We knew that when someone slammed a computer, he or she had unfortunately succumbed to typhoid fever or malaria.

As a person who had left a rural village in El Salvador at the age of six and never left the confines of my new home outside Washington, DC when I was a child, I now see how important technology was to my closest exposure to the pioneer life I would experience as a young learner. Field trips and books were other alternatives, but I distinctly remember the eager anticipation of playing this simulation game.

In elementary school, my teacher, Dr. Clarke, was an old-school teacher who focused on the basics: reading and math. In addition to multiplication and division problems and repeated chants of “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sadie,” he supplemented the daily routines by allowing us to play Math Munchers. Dr. Clarke would have students line up against the wall, count off 1-2-3, and divide into teams. Those who were number one would sit in front of the computer and play “Math Munchers” in groups, using the two computers in the classroom. The other two groups would use flash cards to practice their multiplication tables or solve problems together. Once we students were busily working, our teacher would come by and quiz each team working on their multiplication facts and keep an eye on the students working on the computers. Then, after ten minutes, he would rotate the groups.

Dr. Clarke was not using these games to simply fill instructional time or provide entertainment. He was absolutely serious about ensuring that we had some basic math skills once we left him at the end of the year, and he would use any means available to him to do this.

Technology tools have the power to inspire learning, allow students to explore new worlds, and reinforce and apply skills.

Tell us, what you are doing with technology tools or computer-based programs in your classroom?

What do your students enjoy most? What do you enjoy using?

What are some challenges you have in integrating technology in the classroom? What are your concerns?

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Jose C. Romero, National Education Consultant

Jose’s responsibilities include organizing and delivering in-service and professional development sessions in districts and at conferences for PCI’s reading and math intervention products, stayingcurrent on emergent and current Education issues through professional readings, trainings, and networking with professional organizations.

Prior to joining PCI Education on October 2010, Jose C. Romero worked with Kaplan’s K12 Learning Services as an Implementation manager for Kaplan’s pre-college and intervention products. In addition to ensuring the fidelity of intervention and pre-college programs, Jose has provided coaching, training, direct instruction, and management for SpellRead, a top rated reading intervention program for struggling readers by the What Works Clearinghouse. He earned a BS in Finance and Marketing from the University of Maryland in College Park and resides in Maryland.

Special Education and Learning Differences

The Lucky Hat – Students with special needs keep our hearts

How I Came to Work in the Field of Special Education

Technology Has the Power to Help Build Knowledge and Reinforce Skills