Host = Kristy Duggan
Guest = Brian Skinner
Host - The Teachers College at Emporia State University presents how we teach this. Welcome to how we teach this podcast, where we talk with experts and educators about topics that can help you as an educator and a person. Today's guest, Brian Skinner, is a Teacher of the Year. Awesome. 2023 is joining us to talk about special education. He has many opportunities to travel this year and meet with a variety of educators. Thank you for being here. Would you please take a moment, introduce yourself and tell us a little bit of your why for being a special education teacher.
Skinner - Absolutely. So I'm Brian Skinner. I am, as was mentioned, the 2023 Kansas Teacher of the Year. First and foremost, I am an interrelated special education teacher at the high school level at Newton, Kansas, part of the Harvey County Collaborative for Special Education. I also am in the project search coordinator that works with students that are 18 to 21 years olds as we go across. I'll be going into my 11th year here in just a few short days.
Host - Awesome. Well, welcome to our podcast and thank you so much for your time. For our listening audience, I will note that we did do a panel discussion with all of the Kansas Teacher of the Year team from 2023, and you can find us on the website if you want to listen to that discussion and conversation that we had with the whole group. And Brian would you do me a favor and just describe what a typical day in your classroom looks like?
Skinner - Right. A typical day in my classroom. Is it sometimes ever changing the needs of the students that I work with, working with interrelated special education, oftentimes known as resource room or high incidence they vary from class to class from day to day and from year to year. On A typical day, I try to structure a lot of routines that I can in there so that students will feel always comfortable with what's coming. But I also work with each student as an individual because that's something that's really important to a lot of a lot of my typical day, at least at the start of the school year, is centered around trying to pull back to the stigmas that students have. By the time a student gets to me in high school, they've realized whether or not they're good at reading or writing or speaking or listening. Those are the four core standards for ELA. And typically with me, they've decided that they aren't good and therefore they shouldn't try. So I do a lot of work of just helping build confidence and helping them to see what their success can be. And I know earlier you had mentioned about my wife, and that really links back a lot to my why of just being able to spark a belief in someone that didn't think that they had it
Host - That's great and definitely helps keep you motivated to be in the classroom doesn't.
Skinner - Mm hmm. Absolutely.
Host - So you specialize in working with students in special education, and you've already mentioned this is a very unique group. They have a lot of different needs. How do you check all of that? With a lot of time. Sometimes I need for that. I'm really focused for each day. But on days where there are tough days for me because that happens for teachers and adults as well. I'm honest with my students about it of, hey, this is a difficult day. Today's a day where I'm struggling to balance all of these all of these things that are happening and all these things we need to work through. But here's the game plan. We're going to try to go forward, because I think it's important that as you work on everything and it takes a lot of planning, a lot of scheduling. It's also important that students know that sometimes trying to juggle things can be overwhelming, and sometimes trying to juggle everything doesn't work as planned. And I think when my students see me putting in the extra hours on the front end, on the back end, on weekends, but then also sometimes having a mess, it helps humanize the position and it helps them see a little bit more, give themselves a little bit more grace when they make errors or when they struggle to balance things.
Host - Being human, I think the connection was the theme that I heard over and over again when you were talking with the team Kansas Teacher of the Year is connecting with students.
Skinner - Absolutely, connections are the most important thing, if you can't connect then you can't make progress and really build something meaningful.
Host - So if there was anything you could do differently going back to your first year of teaching, what might that be?
Skinner - Oh, so many things going back to my first year teaching, I think. I think the first thing I would tell myself is to give a little bit more grace, just kind of across the board, give myself a little bit more grace for it's okay. I didn't do this right away. It's okay that I messed up this lesson. It's okay. It didn't go as well as I wanted to do, but also grace in the area that I work with, including just other colleagues and other other students. I think some of the the hills that I died on in my early years are definitely not ones that I would die on now. I think my understanding of effort and success and empathy, all of those have grown and it's helped me be able to connect with a wider range of students. You don't have to know everything when you first start teaching. There's no way you will know everything. When you first start teaching. There's no way I knew everything in my 10th year as the teacher of the year. And that's okay because again, it's as we've mentioned earlier, that human piece and it's important to take time to just let the students see that human piece. And in the end, that's going to go a lot further than the attempt to be perfect.
Host - Very true. You're talking about first year teaching. Thinking about a new teacher that's going into a special education classroom. What advice would you offer them if they're struggling to meet that diverse need of their student?
Skinner - I think the first advice that I would give them would be to remember that all of us that are in public education are a team, and that's something that easily gets forgotten when we are in the busiest times of our careers, the busiest times of our day, and the busiest times of our school year. We think that because there are so many things happening, we can't possibly have time to be able to stop and work with someone else because we just have to get it done. But in fact, that's the worst mistake we can make, and it's the least efficient step that we can take. Taking time to work with a teacher down the hall, work with the school, the social worker, the counselor, the admin, the parents, the students. All of those things are advice that I would give a new teacher that's struggling to understand what to do. I. I claim to be good at a lot of things, but I'm by no means an expert in everything. There are people on my team that are experts in areas that I am not, and when I reach out to them, I'm able to see new things, or at least new perspectives or vantage points to be able to work with the child and help them be successful. When I was struggling.
Host - So that's a great segue way. We're going to have a second episode. So Brian is going to come back for another interview and meet with us and we're going to talk about that specific topic in more detail of working with others in your classroom. And so I hope our listeners will subscribe and check in for that second interview that's coming up on that topic. You've traveled a lot as a teacher of the Year and seen a lot of classrooms, which, you know, after quite a while. And I've never had the chance to do that. What do you feel like you gained the most from your experience of being able to see other school districts and meet other educators?
Skinner - I've seen a couple of things. First off. The reaffirmation that public schools are succeeding. Public schools are doing great things, and that's happening consistently with educators that care all across this state. But the second thing that I've seen is just creativity and passion. Of ways of working with students in schools that I hadn't considered before and I hadn't experienced before. When on one of my visits, a superintendent had said that it does us no good if Newton is competing against Emporia within academics because it's not a competition within academics. You're working together with each other. It's not like sports where there's only one winner. The more we work together, the more we help each other build. And and in some of the different innovations have helped me, I believe, build more things and better things in Newton so that we can duplicate some of those success pieces. I've seen, for example, Emporia State as glassblowing one of six in the country that has glassblowing. I've seen ag agricultural pathways. I've seen amazing robotics teams. I've seen in jewelry making. I've seen an event where they build a CTE barrier and technical education us that travels around and gets practical skills. There's so many things that give real world skills that just get my mind running with what could be, that continue building on what we've been doing.
Host - So what do you think you might do differently this year as you start a new fresh year back in the classroom? After having seen all of that and been through this experience, what's the main thing you expect that you'll do differently or change?
Skinner - I think first off, I'm going to one of the biggest things I've taken is just reframing just small pieces of my teaching and my approach. Just some of those cognizant reminders of things that I've experienced and how to better connect with my students because of it. I have and one of my other teammates on the Kansas Teacher of the Year team, Jamie Swindler. She teaches 18 to 21 year olds and she predominantly specializes with autism. And although I'm a special education teacher, she has taught me so many things that can help me connect. And I get to apply with some of my students for just things to be aware of and to recognize that can sometimes be misconstrued as something else. And so I think those pieces are going to be really helpful, as well as some different creative tips that I've had on some activities that I can do. I just had a conference I was at last week. I was given the idea of how I can incorporate a breakout box, kind of similar to an escape room and how I can better work with that with some of my novels that I'm excited to try and how I can make the stories that I work with my students even more relatable to their lives. And when they're more relatable to their lives, they sink in. And you learn and you grow more.
Host - That's exciting. So talking about special education, there's been some changes in the expectations and a lot of teachers. General Ed, as well as special education teachers, are struggling a little bit with understanding how the law applies to them. And, you know, I'm just kind of wondering, what advice do you have? What information do you have that you think would be most helpful as they try to make sure that they're meeting the students needs, they're in compliance with the laws and need to understand them.
Skinner - Right. The most important thing that a general education teacher or a special education teacher, for that matter, can do from day one, is to read through what we call an at a glance version of an individualized education plan. That document is going to give you the core of what an IEP is. It's going to talk about what their exceptionality is, what their strengths are, where they may struggle, as well as the goals that they're building on. So, you know, the areas that they're trying to focus on as well as then the services they get in, the accommodations that they need. And if they're older, they have a transition plan there as well. But understanding that is the first piece for knowing, okay, here's the little piece about this student that I don't normally get for every student. And that can give me a job for connecting with them right away. But also, it gives you the pieces of here are the needs that the student needs. And what I need to do as a teacher to help ensure that students can be successful. Because at the end of the day, if it is in the individualized education plan that is legally binding and that is what needs to happen, and if there's ever any doubt as to how you implement or why you implement, or if something needs to change, then you need to talk with the case managers. You need to again work with that team again. And you need to build through, okay, how do we need to adjust this plan? So it's about success for the student, but until anything changes, what is in the plan is what is in the plan, and that's what needs to be followed. So often when I see general education teachers that get into a panic of wondering, well, what have I done? It's centered around miscommunication with an individualized education plan. And going back and looking at it and asking questions oftentimes resolve that.
Host - So I recently was teaching an elective course. And of course, we still have to follow the IEP for students. And we didn't get the opportunity to meet with the team or have a dedicated time to touch base with the special education teacher. And a lot of times those elective classes are a little less structured. And sometimes that's hard for students. But then, on the other hand, they often our classes, the students can really excel and where they might not in a traditional academic class. Do you have any advice for those elective teachers that kind of have a unique role?
Skinner - Right. I think you're completely spot on with that last piece. You had said that oftentimes the elective courses are either courses that students that sometimes are on an APF for a reading deficit or a math offset or any of that. Oftentimes, those are the courses where they can thrive in and feel most confident in. But also, those are the courses they need the most because those build your skills that you can utilize in the career world immediately if college isn't your future. So the advice that I would give at least take you through those students is because your roster is going to notate which students have an individualized education plan. And just looking then and seeing if you can find a lecture docket electronic document, even if you can't reach out and meet with the team, you should have a document that expresses those things But just by notating which students are an APF and don't have a chance to meet with them, that's where the parent guardians come into play, reach out to them and they know the students best. They've been working with that. They're going to say, Yeah, my child signed up for Woods because this is my free time doing. And that gives you an insight of, okay, here's how I'm going to gear this project and making sure you're utilizing all those resources. So often people outside of just your hallway that can give you some of the best advice.
Host - Earlier. I'm going to bring you back another question. And you mentioned transition plans.
Skinner - Mm hmm.
Host - What exactly is a transition plan and how does that apply to the general education teacher?
Skinner - Absolutely, yeah. The federal IDEA, which is the overarching law of special education, mandates that a student that has an IEP must have a transition plan by the age of 16. In Kansas, specifically, that age is set at 14. And personally, I am a big fan of that plan being mandated to start at 14. What that means is you have a specific section of your individualized education plan that is dedicated towards helping that student know what they want to do after they finish high school. And not only knowing what they want to do, but planning our coursework within the high school that will help them get there, planning out what they will do in the community before they graduate to help them get there and planning out what resources you can acquire that can help them. For example, there are a number of different organizations within Kansas, such as Kansas Vocational Rehabilitation, that if students are at a place where they would struggle due to a deficit with being able to attain independent living or a full time job. Kansas vocational rehabilitation is a service that they could qualify for, potentially that helps them with creating those career goals after high school and can and can go with them. So when we talk about a transition plan, it's just being more purposeful about ensuring that the student knows how they're going to be successful afterwards. And I think that that also connects really well with one of KSTE pushes the last couple of years of post-secondary success. And I know that Commissioner Watson's push for that has originated from an IEP and from special education. So I think it's really great that some of these pieces are really playing hand in hand just statewide.
Host - That's great. And I mentioned the behavior plan. Some general teachers might see that on their IEP and it might cause them a little bit of anxiety. What exactly is a behavior plan and what are the advantages of a student who has one written into their IEP?
Skinner - Right. As they're sometimes called a behavior intervention plan. Those are something they're special education specific, and they're written into an IEP. If a student has a behavior that they exhibit that under normal circumstances may be considered to be in contrast with an academic setting, but is also directly related to their exceptionality. For example, if a student has an ED diagnosis and an emotional disturbance diagnosis, part of that diagnosis means that they cognitively struggle with being able to regulate their emotions and understanding how to respond to different social situations that could come across from just shutting down rapidly from things that may not seem like triggers. And when they shut down, they don't know how to come out of it. Could be just ticks of students needing to move and be able to be active. It could be something too, where there's a verbal component that comes with that or someone that might just storm out. It's inappropriate to punish a student for something that is outside of their control. And a behavior intervention plan is a plan that is built by the team, understanding the exceptional student that helps that student be in an environment and have an escape to the environment or a way to fix the environment if it gets to where they are in a situation where they cognitively aren't able to process what's happening, so that ultimately they can get back to where they're learning and they're being successful rather than feeling like they're in this cycle of consequence for something that they can't control.
Host - Thank you. That's a great explanation of a bit of your intervention plan. So we've mentioned a lot of acronyms and a lot of vocabulary that maybe our listening audience has got familiar with. Can you think of any other commonly used terminology that it might be helpful for us to clarify that's related to a special education or students with an IEP?
Skinner - Right. So education in general and more specifically, special education is a career or is a focus that has just a ton of acronyms. In some of my speeches that I give on special education, I cover some of those acronyms, some that are going to come up most commonly within education and special occasions. We've talked about behavior intervention plans and individualized education plans. They have been IEP. L.D. is going to be a commonly used one. L.D. stands for a learning disability. It is the most common exceptionality that a general education teacher is going to work with a student on. A student would be L.D. for reading, writing or math. You also have faith for appropriate public education. Your GEI leads up usually to a special education, which is general education intervention of just how do we work to meet a student's needs prior to a special education evaluation? And then the last one that I think I would put in there is LRE or a least restrictive environment, which is something that we talk about a lot with special education is the idea of that the environment a student is placed in, whether that be a general education environment, a cohort environment, your high incidence in a related special ed or maybe a categorical special education, there's a range in there of of restrictiveness, of access that an individual has to what your general education peers have and your least constructive environment. It's the job of the IEP team to always make sure that you're putting in support for a student and you're helping build their plan for them within the environment that allows them to thrive without restrictions.
Host - Thank you for clarifying and explaining those terms. So we are just about out of time on our podcast. Is there anything that you wish the general education teachers you work with knew and understood about students you work with?
Skinner - At the end of the day, all public educators want to see the best for every kid, and at the end of the day, every student, whether they're general education student or special education student, wants the chance to be as successful as they can sometimes. The strategies that we use for special education students don't have to be these extra things that we do for them exclusively. Sometimes those strategies work well for everybody, and when we clear a path for something that works for everybody, it doesn't just help special students, it helps general students also. Making that our focus is really important because our kids deserve it. And I think you'll find that as educators, we see more joy when we're working with every kid as a team.
Host - Thank you so much for your time. I appreciate you.
Skinner - Absolutely. Thank you.
Host - If you've enjoyed this podcast, I hope you will subscribe. We have a second interview coming soon with Brian Skinner, where he shares about the ideal environment for working with others in a classroom, talking about paraeducators, co teaching and more of special education. Stay tuned.
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Host - We hope that you've enjoyed this episode and will subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. This podcast has been brought to you by The Teachers College at Emporia State University, featuring talks with experts and educators, addressing topics that can help you as an educator, a parent and a person. We release new episodes every other Wednesday. You can get more information provided by our guests on our website. www.emporia.edu/hwtt We would appreciate it if you could help us spread the word about the podcast. You can follow us and share on Twitter @HWTT_ESU. You can find us on Facebook. Just search for how we teach this. If you would like to be a guest on our show or are willing to give us some feedback, please send us an email at hwtt@emporia.edu. I'm Kristy Duggan, the executive producer. You've been listening to How We Teach This. Thank you.