Running Head: MCENTIRE JUSTIN - SERVICE LEARNING REFLECTION

McEntire Justin - Service Learning Reflection

The Exceptional Child, Education 230
Ivy Tech Community College

MCENTIRE JUSTIN - SERVICE LEARNING REFLECTION

2

For my special education service learning project I attended Danville North Elementary
School under the guidance of Ms Jordan Wheeler. Ms Wheeler has been teaching second grade
students for years and was both helpful and pleasant to work with and I would highly
recommend her classroom to any future service learning students. Overall, this project could be
summarized in three parts: the makeup of the classroom, the instruction style utilized by the
teacher, and a comparison to what our texts instruct.
To begin, the classroom I was working in was very cheerfully decorated, much more so
than the high school I worked in last year. Pink and blue anchors were everywhere, and you
could not find a square inch without some color. The teachers desk was pressed against the wall
closest to the door with the students rectangular tables all aligned in three rows with military
precision. On the back wall was a shelf of books that spread the whole length of the room, and
just in front was a round table. There was definitely ample space for the twenty or so children
present, and room to spare for the separate learning stations they required. The overall
atmosphere was just as joyful as the teacher I was working with, and it reflected her well. I bring
this up because there was a slight contrast with the art teacher, her more serious room also
reflecting her demeanor. This directly ties into the teachers method of working with her classes
specific needs.
In particular, Ms Wheeler separated her class by their need. In one instance I was taking
care of a class that had not mastered addition. Another time I was helping a child who could not
tell time. While these are not serious fallbacks, there was enough of a need that the kids had to
have separate lessons made for them. They simply could not keep up with a typical class, such as
the ones mastering basic multiplication or subtraction. A few of them may have also had

MCENTIRE JUSTIN - SERVICE LEARNING REFLECTION

3

behavioral disorders but I did not ask at the time. Thus, I would say that the classroom was
almost a composite of a pullout and a push in classroom.
With regards to my teachers class routines, I am not sure what can really be said. Since I
arrived on Wednesdays, that was the day she had a parent come in to help teach. Every day I
arrived around 10:00 when the students had indoor recess, followed by separating for specific
math lessons before re-gathering for an English lesson. Then came their lunch break where the
students would file towards the cafeteria whilst the teacher took two or three students back to the
classroom with her (to limit distractions I suppose). Lastly, the students had specials; art, music,
P.E. and so forth. Usually I had left by this point but on my last day I stayed around. The children
all filed up and marched off towards another end of the school where the art teacher met them.
She had a much more serious demeanor and took less wild behavior from the students. It became
quickly apparent how the students changed for the new authority figure. There was no yelling,
running, or energy outbursts, because the students had already learned that they would not get
away with that in this class.
With regards to the specific methodology used, Ms Wheeler assisted one group that was
having trouble reading by removing them from the classroom while the other students were
observed by an assistant and a parent. In the hallway the students who had been removed began
trying to read via a mixture of phonics and whole language reading. They were using flashcards
to memorize the sounds parts of a word made up. By doing this the students were able to both
sound out words and memorize the sight of the word by chunks. This was one of the methods
mentioned in my childhood adolescent class (Maddox, Feng, 2013) Overall, the teacher seemed
to use a scaffolding approach with the students. She was there when they needed her to be, but
otherwise she let me, an assistant, or the students themselves work out the problems (Hallahan,

MCENTIRE JUSTIN - SERVICE LEARNING REFLECTION

4

Kauffman, & Pullen, 2015, pp. 135,136). Another thing that she did that helped the students was
the application of music in her class. At intermittent parts of the day she would play a YouTube
video with a song that directly tied into the lesson. She said that she tried to find annoying songs
so that the students would never forget the lesson, and I must admit that it worked! To this day I
still have School House Rock songs in my mind and now I have a tune about coin values playing
in my head, all thanks to Ms Wheeler. This is clearly demonstrated as a working method in our
book along with mnemonics and other methods (Hallahan, Kauffman, & Pullen, 2015, pp. 133).
Overall, the biggest thing that this taught was the joy these classes can bring. I asked my
teacher what the most important thing to keep in mind was, and after some time she said proper
time management and patience. Given how I had already heard that from multiple other teachers
that I had interviewed, I took the knowledge and applied it as best I could. I learned from this
experience the joy of watching a student grasp a concept only to follow up with the feeling of
defeat after I found out he did not really understand the idea at all. The endless circuit of teach,
learn, forget, repeat became obvious to me. On the other hand, I also saw the smiles and energy
first hand. While as teachers we are called to teach, and not necessarily be friends, the short lived
friendships I gained were still memorable. I observed punctuality, hard work and determination,
joy, laughter, and an honest motivation to learn. That above all was what I learned in Ms
Wheeler's classroom.
In addition, Hubpages.com referenced multiple things that I recall hearing Ms Wheeler tell
me. Things that came up were tips like "laminate everything" or "this job can be very day to
day," and that flexibility would always be key to success in the classroom(Clearfield, 2012).
While these tips are not regulated merely to the special education classroom, they are doubly
important in that setting.

MCENTIRE JUSTIN - SERVICE LEARNING REFLECTION

5

Last of all, there is what could be implemented in the classroom. I did not see anything wrong
with what was carried out in Ms Wheeler's class. The class was high energy but she was able to
tame the storm whenever she pleased. My only recommendation would be more for the school
district than the class itself. Based on an article published in the Wall Street Journal, the article
mentioned the lack of funding provided to schools for their special needs programs (Chiapelas,
2015). The finances to provide one student with the education standards provided by IDEA can
sometimes be daunting for small communities, and doubly so for low income communities. The
article suggested that the state provide a voucher program or scholarship program for special
needs youth, so that they can obtain the kind of education they legally deserve.
I would say that thus far I have learned more in Ms Wheelers class than I have outside of
it. Most of all, I have learned exactly what I am getting into and have gained a perspective to
motivate me towards my career.

MCENTIRE JUSTIN - SERVICE LEARNING REFLECTION

6

References
Chiapelas, T. M. (2015, Aug 10). School choice for special-needs students. Wall Street Journal
Clearfield, R. (2012). Survival tips for first year education teachers.
Hallahan, D. P., Kauffman, J. M., & Pullen, P. C. (2015). Exceptional learners (13th ed.).
Pearson.
Maddox, K., & Feng, J. (2013, October). Whole language instruction vs. phonics instruction.
Savannah, GA: Author.