Aura

I took a test and GREEN was my aura color.
Greens are balanced, harmonious, and peaceful personalities. They need harmony in their life and prefer to live in a natural environment. They are the most balanced people in the color spectrum. They also have a powerful connection with nature. Living in the country, next to a forest or park or close to a lake or ocean is important for these friendly and heartfelt personalities. Greens are open, extroverted, expressive, friendly, communicative and heartfelt. Greens perceive life through their heart. Their primary motivations are contentment and harmony. They judge their successes by how close they are to their friends or nature. Greens are content personalities. If they are in power and have found their place they need very little to be happy or feel needed. Their inner happiness and satisfaction is important to them and is fulfilled without much expectation.

Falcon Idol

I was picked to be a judge for Falcon Idol. Canyon View Jr. High had their version of American Idol. I had a lot of fun. The other judges Clayne Robison and his wife, Kenton(who is assistant conductor of Wasatch Chorale, and Jenna who was last years vocal winner at UVU. How did I get picked. Two young men won. They were amazing. I hope to see them performing in the future.

Assignments That Work and Don’t Work

This is my last entry for my portfolio. After this all I need to do is send in my application and money and I will receive my Level 2 teaching certificate. I'm so excited.

Piano
What works: In Piano class each Monday they work on learning a new concept in piano theory. When I do examples on the board together with the students before they start their book work; they have fewer questions and their understanding seems more complete. This is then reinforced with their quiz on Friday which has the same principles done just slightly different so the students fully grasp the concept.
What doesn’t work: They have a difficult time understanding their own ability level. They want to be able to play the songs they have heard others play before they have reached that skill level. When I have let them pick their own recital piece they tend to pick a piece that is far above their level. Thus I have to then talk them into a different piece with out hurting their ego. I did this once and will never do it again. I now pick the piece they will play and try to make it challenging so they feel a sense of accomplishment and not defeat.

Horticulture
What works: When we talk about nutrition we cover a unit called portion distortion. I give them a test where they are to guess the differences in portion from 20 years ago to today’s portions. When this is complete I then put them into teams. On the board I have the quiz with the answers hidden. They then get to conference with their team to come up with the correct answer. I have found that when the students are actively involved with learning they tend to pay attention more and learn more in the process.
What doesn’t work: We do a unit on companion gardening. I pass out information and they are to sort through it and make a plan for planting a garden using this concept. I usually divide them into groups for this activity. They tend to not really go through the information to make a good plan. They want me to give them all the answers. I have since changed they way this is taught. We do it while we are planting. This is a more hands on approach and they relate to and learn it better.

Careers
What works: I have found that alternative assessments work very well with this population of students. So in careers I do their mid-tern test as a Bingo game. We play it several times to reinforce the concepts learn so far. I usually use the definition and they have to find the term. This also lends itself to additional teaching on my part. I get a kind of assessment on my teaching skills also. This way I make sure all that I wanted the students to learn is covered.
What doesn’t work: I have found that having the student read independently and then discussing what they have read is not as effective as reading together and discussing as we go.

Personal Finance
What works: When we study the budget unit I usually divide the students into teams of two. Then they are given a page with items on it that together they need to decide haw they will spend their money. They are given tokens to place on the sheet to show how they would spend their money. We than talk about how important it is to have communication when working with money. I stress that everyone has different ideas as to what is important to spend money on and what isn’t. This usually leads to a great discussion.
What doesn’t work: In this class I have found that working together on assignments works the best. This is a concept that a lot of people don’t know a lot about or don’t want to know a lot about. So in this class we work together quite a bit.

Choir
What works: I have found that before we start to sing it is very helpful to learn some basic theory. One of the things we do is a rhythm circle game. Each student makes up a rhythm on a sheet of paper in 4/4 time. We then place the paper on the floor in front of us and move around in a circle clapping each others rhythms. We start out slow and gradually build up speed.
What doesn’t work: With singing songs they are not familiar with I have found that I need to teach rhythms within the song by breaking down the songs into smaller chunks. When I first started teaching I was used to working with student with a lot more experience then the ones I work with now.

Music Appreciation
What works: A fun assignment that I did with the music appreciation class was to have them put a song they were familiar with in order. This was fun for them to do. When they had finished I played each of their songs and had them listen to see if it sounded right. We had a lot of fun laughing together.
What doesn’t work: At times because of my training I tend to get a bit too technical. I loose the student’s attention really fast when this happens. Being aware of my students and knowing their “I’m Bored” signs help me with this issue.

I have learned to be receptive to my student’s needs, learning styles, and interests. This is very important when working with this population. They have had mostly negative experiences in education. I want to be a positive influence to encourage them to continue learning.

I Love You Doug!

How do you live when you miss someone so much?

You love everyone the way he loved them!

Doug was the smile in my life. He could always make me laugh. Dizzy French Fry, Geewaus, Marmoset, and so many more. His spirit lite up the room. His love melted every ones hearts.

It has been 8 years and yet it seems like only yesterday. I can't listen to the radio, hear his drums being played, watch Gladiator or hear Pachelbel's Canon in D without crying.

I miss him so much and can't wait to see him again. I'm sure he has a girlfriend and is making big plans. I want to watch him fulfill them.

I miss you everyday! Love Mom

This is what I do for a living. And I love it!

Returning To An RTC Second Time May Be The Charm
Posted in Adolescent Residential Treatment Centers on Feb 22, 2009
When my son ran away five weeks ago and we sent him back to Heritage Schools in Provo, Utah it was another experience of feeling somewhat lost and relieved. I felt like he was returning home to the place where he belonged and could be taken care of. We knew Heritage, we know the staff and we know that they treat them with love. It was the right place for him. There was no question in my mind that he would not return to the group home he had been living for the past 10 weeks. It was obvious that he was not happy there, did not like the staff and that we would be dealing with the same issues in a matter of days. I know in his heart he did not want to go back to Heritage, but if he had to choose between the two it would have been his choice if we had given him one. Later I asked that question and he confirmed it.
Our relationship has been a bit strained and somewhat distant since he returned, he is tired of being told what to do. All that said the transition has gone very smoothly, almost like he belongs there and he is moving up in his levels without any difficulty. The biggest change for him now is his age, teenagers do grow up and he had his 17th birthday a few weeks ago. It was difficult for him to turn 17 at an RTC, I think in his mind he should not be there and in all of our minds we felt the same way. Missing his birthday has been hard on all of us, but the hope and plan is that he will have many more. From the time he got there these are the thoughts that have evolved in his mind:
The first week he got there we did not expect to talk to him, but his therapist put him on the phone and all we heard about was how we should emancipate him so that “we would no longer would have to worry about him”. I was just glad to get a phone call and that he would talk to us.
Next phone call, he had plans with another resident to get an apartment in the Haight (San Francisco) when he got out of Heritage at 18. He thinks that we want him living in an RTC until he turns 18. Once he leaves he does not plan to ever live in our home again.
Next conversation, he plans to join either the Peace Corp. or Job Corp. when he gets out because they will let him smoke cigarettes, drink and help you get a job.
Last conversation, he does not want to ever return to a regular high school when he gets out. He hates high schools. He wants to go to the community college and now is talking about getting his drivers license, even though he will continue to walk everywhere.
He does not want us to come and visit, because visits in Utah are boring. It just so happens I am going out there for business the first week in March and I asked him if I could visit while I am there and he excitably told me yes. This post is about a lot of different ideas going through his head, some fear that he will be 18 soon. Wanting to be emancipated then asking us to help him get an apartment, community college and a driver’s license. I think he is beginning to take his life more seriously, growing up and what is more reassuring he is able to make decisions with a sober mind.
The second time at Heritage RTC is different for all of us, because it is only months until he will be 18 and then he truly will be making his own decisions.
A toddler learns to walk, they fall down, get back up. Teens make mistakes, fall down and get back up. As parents with teens it is our job not to give up hope and help them get back up.

Concert

The Wasatch Chorale did their "Broadway to the Met" concert Feb. 26th. It was a great concert we did a medaly from Mama Mia, Les Miserable, and Wicked plus the "Habanara" from Carmen and the "Trumphal March" fronm Aida. I was one of the featured soloists. I snag "Someone Like You" fron Jekyl and Hyde. I will soon get a recording of the performance and will post it. Thanks to all of you that came. It was good to see you there.

Our next concert is April 28 at the Covey Center at 7:30. We are performing the "Brahms Requiem" in German with the Utah Valley Symphony. It sould be great.

We are also going to Europe May 2010 on tour. I'm trying hard to earn the money for this great experience. If you have any extra cash send it my way. JK

Cindy Payton Barlow

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