Some background

Happy Sunday!  I wanted to take some time to really introduce myself, just so you know who you're dealing with around here :)

The name is Carli!  I have two beautiful children who consume every ounce of my being!  On my "own time," I'm a 4th grade teacher at one of the highest poverty schools here in Nebraska.  This is my second year doing 4th grade.  Before this, I was a Special Education teacher for 5 1/2 years.  I have my Masters in Educational Administration, and one day hope to become a principal of a high poverty school.

I've taught the gamete of students and disabilities; Autism, Severe/Profound health and mental impairments, learning disabilities, ADHD, ODD, PTSD, RADs, students falling behind academically due to cancer treatments; you name it, I've taught it! I've honestly loved every single one of my students, however, there is one group of students that have my heart the most, and those would be...

Students with BEHAVIOR DISORDERS!!  I absolutely LOVE students with Behavior Disorders (although now the new identification in NE is called 'Emotionally Disturbed,' or ED, for short.  I don't know about you, but my mind wanders elsewhere with that acronym.)  Now obviously, I'm not a huge fan of getting hit, kicked, punched, pinched, bit, spit on (the worst in my mind), hair pulled, clothing ripped and my personal belongings ruined, dealing with police officers at times, but it's the small things with these kiddos.  I suppose when I look back, they really aren't small in the grand scheme of things.  Talking with and being there when students go through meltdowns, tantrums, fits escalation, crisis, whatever you call them, brings you closer with those kiddos.

They don't necessarily want to be "naughty" or do bad things, they've just been dealt some sort of unfortunate circumstance that has delayed their ability to learn and utilize appropriate coping skills.  Sure, these students are choosing to react in certain ways, but in retrospect, they haven't been taught the appropriate ways to deal with hard moments.  My favorite thing to say to them is, "You are free to choose, but you are not free of the consequences of your choice."  I want to talk so much more about kiddos with BD and how I interact and handle their education, but this post wasn't supposed to be about that. Soooo, I will save that for another time.

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings!!  See you soon!

Carli