THE COMPASSIONATE CLASSROOM
Psalm 139:14 says, “I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” God created every single one of us for a reason, for a purpose. He made us all unique and special in His eyes. His desire is for us to praise and serve Him using the gifts and talents given to us by Him. When we create a church environment where we all are loved and made to feel welcome, we are being the hands and feet of Jesus. When you reach out to families affected by disability, you are fulfilling the mandate as stated in Luke 14. When you begin disability ministry in your church, you are reflecting God’s love in your community and on the right path to become an Irresistible Church. An Irresistible Church is “an authentic community
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Others of you may be in the beginning stages. In her book titled “Special Needs Ministry”, Pat Verbal says special needs ministries are ministries aimed at meeting the spiritual needs of those who have disabilities. A special needs ministry (or disability ministry) reaches out to children and adults with disabilities of all ages as well as their families. In many cases, friends who have disabilities can benefit the most from inclusion with their peers. While Jesus was on this Earth, he spent most of his time with people who had disabilities. He included everyone he encountered. We can share this love with others and use this model that Jesus set for us by having relationships with people with disabilities and welcoming them into our churches. Forming a disability ministry does not necessarily involve starting a new program from the ground up. It’s about having an open heart, an open mind, and a willingness to do things a little bit differently. All people are invited to participate in God’s church and ministry and friend, I would like to give you some tools and tips to help you. When you venture into the world of disability ministry, He will equip us with the ability to allow all feel loved and …show more content…
Teaching friends with special needs can sometimes require intentional planning, teaching, and training. Intentional planning can help you reach ALL students in your class of ALL abilities. All children have unique styles of learning. Getting to know each individual in your class as well as intentional planning can help you meet the needs of every friend in your class. If you do create (or already have) a special needs ministry, there is a chance that some of your friends may have short attention spans, impulsiveness, trouble with motor skills, mood changes, problems with social interaction and unpredictable behavior. Disabilities you may see in your church include physical disabilities, hearing impairments, visual disabilities, learning disabilities, and intellectual impairments. To assist you in effectively reaching each friend in your class, it can be helpful to understand these different disabilities. It can also be helpful if you become familiar with some behavior modification techniques (figuring out the meaning behind behaviors), curriculum adaptations (making changes to your lesson to help reach every student), and new ways to set up your classroom environment. These three proactive approaches can help your programs in church run smoothly and hopefully allow you the ability to teach effectively. These approaches can be useful in teaching Sunday School, in holding
While the major thrust of this manual is to help Christians in a nursing home ministry, this final part enlarges the scope a bit to help churches organize to meet the needs of elderly people both inside and outside of nursing homes.
Previous experience of working in the care industry, with adults with a wide range of needs and disabilities, has given me the experience of working with a diverse range of people. I am currently an administrator for a charity whose service users are adults with learning disabilities. Being caring and compassionate has helped build up a strong relationship with the service users, which in turn has helped me gain their trust. This has helped me to be able to develop a better relationship
Students with disabilities are not the only students who can benefit from creative tasks, projects, and assessments. A positive and caring approach to dealing with all student regardless of culture, disability or any other thing that make then different from the norm is key to the success of all concerned.
...ual fulfillment and religious support can play a strong role in overcoming major hurdles in a person’s life. Other ways that can help with individuals who care for a person with a disability is to involve in psychological counseling that can offer alternative ways to think about the problem and find solutions for stress that can help lessen the impact of stress on the individual’s well being and ability to function clearly.
The official mission statement for the House of Compassion is “Called by our faith in Jesus Christ to act in love, the House of Compassion responds to the needs of our neighbors and advocates justice and dignity for all” (Frohwein, 2013). While on earth so much of Jesus ministry was focused on healing, feeding, clothing, and lifting up the marginalized. He feed and healed people before he professed to them that he was the Bread of Life and the Messiah. This is way it is important that we too are willing to feed and clot...
They are human beings determined to make something good in their lives. Across the world, people with disabilities have poorer health outcomes, lower education achievements, less economic participation and higher rates of poverty than people without
We were designed for one purpose, to honor and love our creator (Matthew 6:24). When we look at ourselves, and others we find that we each have individual humanistic characteristics. Each with different thoughts of how we perceive God and what we think he wants from us. By using our talents and gifts wisely and just we are giving praise back to our creator (1 Timothy 6:17).
One obstacle that I believe many special needs students and families will face is understanding and dealing with the disability itself. Speaking from experience, this process can take time to understand and accept. This is where a special education teacher plays a significant role, assisting the student and family with information and support for understanding the student’s disability, facilitating education programs, and most importantly hope and progress for a bright future. Another obstacles that students with disabilities may face, is social interaction and acceptance. It is vital that all special education teachers and programs, try to incorporate strong social connections with their regular education peers and other community members and
Students with learning disabilities in the regular classroom may have challenges that require special attention. If the teacher is able to identify the disabilities and the features associated with them then the teacher can tailor the lessons to meet the needs of the students. These may include differentiated instruction and facilitating an inclusive classroom which will see inclusive strategies employed that will cater to the needs of students with learning disabilities. These inclusive strategies can range from individualized learning programs to team and co-teaching. In some cases, the teacher can arrange for a special education teacher or arrange for a pull out program to assist students who have learning disabilities. Strategies that will also cater to learning disabilities may also include the use of technology. According to Ford 2013 ‘In some situations it may be best for students with LD to be taught in separate pull out classrooms with a teacher who can provide targeted skill instruction in areas where a student is struggling.’ ‘When provided appropriate support within this setting, many of these students can achieve academically and develop positive self-esteem and social skills. (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 1991). They also recommend that schools should ‘require in-service programs for all school personnel to give them the knowledge and skills necessary to provide education for students with learning disabilities in the regular education classroom.’ Schools should include activities to help participants learn strategies to meet individual needs of students, foster attitudes conductive to educating students with learning disabilities in the regular education classroom, and promote
During my service I hope to gain a lot of knowledge in working with those who have all different kinds of disabilities. I have worked with people with disabilities and special needs before, but I would like to be able to better my understanding and knowledge in this field, and be able to be as effective as I can in helping and serving these people. I want to gain more patience, knowing that it will take more time and patience to work with them sometimes. I want to take time understanding and giving each individual my full attention. I want to better my communication skills, whatever that may look like, and be able to feel completely comfortable with each person. I know depending on the person, they can be more sensitive, so I want to be able
I was always the person to shy away from a disabled person because I didn’t know how to handle it. I always thought if I avoided them I wouldn’t have to face the truth, which is I was very uncomfortable with disabled people. However, since our discussions in class, reading the book, and going to the event my views on the disabled have changed drastically since then. I learned that people with disabilities can do the same things, if not more, that a person without disabilities can do. I realized that I need to treat people with disabilities just like any other person, like an equal. People shouldn’t be ostracized for something that they cannot control. Everyone should treat disabled individuals with respect, dignity, and concern. This is why from now on I will not shy away from a disabled person I will welcome them with open arms because they are no different than
As you know, more students with disabilities have been entering general education classrooms due to changes in legislation. I have had many students with different disabilities in my classroom. I have had students with autism, communication disorders, and down syndrome, just to name a few. I have, of course, had plenty of typically developing students as well. .
When teaching students with disabilities it is important to know and understand the needs of all the students in the classroom. Ultimately, the goal for any educator is to educate all of the students in the classroom and ensure that appropriate accommodations are being made for students with disabilities. By utilizing these skills in reading, writing, and classroom management, an educator will be able to help all students be successful.
There are numerous careers related to special needs, all of which require different schooling, training, mentorships, and other types of preparation. Any type of job working with children with mental and physical disabilities can be challenging but also very rewarding when one sees the child improve (Tyrer, 2007). Different types of careers affect special needs children in different ways. For example a teacher will help them thrive in school, while other careers may help the kids improve at home or in a public setting. Special needs workers should be creative, flexible, and personable to be able to meet the needs of the child and also provide useful information for the child’s parents. It is important for one to at least complete minimal required training so one will be fully prepared to work with a child with any type of delay. Often children in schools do not improve at a higher rate because their teacher may not have the necessary training to assist them (Marković, 2014). No matter what special needs career someone chooses, everyone should have one common goal: to help special needs children thrive. Marković from the article “Work with Kids with Special Needs” puts it perfectly when she states, “the main aim is that children with disabilities get the chance to grow, learn, and socialize with children with normal development, and that these children can adapt and learn together with children with special needs. In this way, they develop understanding, tolerance, and humanity” (Marković,
There is so much to know about special education that is separate from teaching in a traditional classroom. One thing that has really stood out to me is how many acronyms and terminology these teachers need to know. IEP, LRE, IDEA, FAPE, IFSP, and that is just to name a few (DREDF, 2017). Special education teachers, really need to be knowledgeable about a ton of things. Not only all of the terminology associated with special education, but about disabilities and the best way to go about educating a child with disabilities. When working with children in special education, there will be students of all ages with all kinds of disabilities and different ability levels that you are teaching. It is important to know about each child’s disabilities, what they should be learning and how they should be learning it. There may be times that are challenging education students with disabilities, but when a teacher properly educates themselves on all the aspects of special education and the resources out there for them, it may help make your classroom run more smoothly and easier to