Mansfield,+Rianna,+Peer+Relations

Welcome! :)

My name is Rianna. I was born in Santa Cruz California. I grew up in Eugene Oregon and love the outdoors! I graduated from South Eugene International High School and was the 2006 Oregon’s soccer player of the year.

Interests and Hobbies: I have played soccer since I was the age of four. I enjoy camping, sushi, and hiking with my yellow lab Sammie. I have been coaching high school and club teams throughout Oregon for 8 years. Along with teaching I am looking forward to coaching high school soccer and basketball.

Family: I have nine brothers and sisters, which is why family is the most important thing to me. My mother is an Autism Specialist and my father is a computer programmer. My family loves hiking and cooking gourmet meals together. School, family, soccer and my students are most important to me. Education is my passion and I am excited to finally become an encouraging middle through high school teacher!


 * //Did you ever experience a time when something was extremely difficult to learn? Explain that time and how it made you feel. How might this piece of your history help you connect to students with learning differences?What do you want to gain from this course? //**

 I remember in the 7th grade I had a really tough time learning Spanish. I could understand words, read and write the language, but speaking it fluently was a challenge. It made me feel very frustrated and annoyed wanting to stop trying. It wasn't until my teacher helped me put sentences with images and not cards to put together sentences that I was able to finally speak Spanish with complete sentences. I found out that was how I learned best and used that tool all through high school.

This will help me connect to students with learning differences knowing that just because someone struggles with a task doesn't mean s/he is incapable, it could just mean it needs to be taught in a different way to fulfill the learning style. What want to gain from this course is how to modify lesson plans for students with varied learning needs.


 * __Peer Relations:__**

I chose the topic Peer Relations because this is a hidden factor of why students are effected in the classroom. I want to learn more about it and from researching it I have learned far more then what I knew before about in the classroom behaviors correlated to peer relations.

__**Top 5 things I learned while researching:**__

1.) Words Hurt! I knew that bullying was a problem but wasn't aware of how significant hurtful words are in adolescent growth. Words stick with an individual for a lifetime. We as teachers need to stop this from happening everyday.

 2.) Peer acceptance represents social status or popularity within a large group, whereas friendships represent relationships based on mutual respect, appreciation, and liking.

3.)Peer popularity scale: qualities of best friendships and romantic relationships as predictors of symptoms of depression and social anxiety.

4.)Peer relationships appear to be instrumental in facilitating adolescents' sense of personal identity and increasing their independence from family influences.

5.)Peer relationships of adolescents with juvenile primary fibromyalgia syndrome (JPFS) compared with matched classroom comparison peers (MCCPs) without a chronic illness.

//**__Top Resource:__**//  __ []  __ This is an Anti-bullying video and how peer relations can be hurtful to other students. This is an Anti-Bullying Ad from South Medford High School for project citizen short film. David Delladio Kody Ramsey Arturo Mendez Ed Steig all helped to make this video and it is an extremely emotional and powerful film. Events presented in this video happen all the time, and this video can make a change in how we interact with other students, both teachers and students. I cried when I saw this video and I recommend you clear it with your principal before viewing it to teenagers. Bullying is a growing problem in our public schools, teachers can help reduce this problem with taking the time to talk about it in our classes on a regular basis. Asking someone to join your group for lunch can make someones day and even save a life. Adolescents fear embarrassment so why not make life easier for everyone surviving public school peer relations. This video says it all of why peer relations are a major part of how students behave in the classroom and building their self esteem.


 * __ 8 additional resources with a brief description. Rated 1 to 5 scale (1 least effective/useful, 5 is the most effective/useful): __ **

__ []  __ This is an Anti-bullying video and how peer relations can be hurtful to other students. This is an Anti-Bullying Ad from South Medford High School for project citizen short film. David Delladio Kody Ramsey Arturo Mendez Ed Steig all helped to make this video and it is an extremely emotional and powerful film. Events presented in this video happen all the time and this video can make a change in how we interact with other students, both teachers and students.(5)

 [|http://cals-cf.calsnet.arizona.edu/fcs/bpy/content.cfm?content=peer_rel\] This website is about peer relationships and friendship. Peer acceptance represents social status or popularity within a large group, whereas friendships represent relationships based on mutual respect, appreciation, and liking. This website has multiple resourced liked with this site and why peer relationships and friendships are so important. Developing high quality peer relationships and friendships are important because young people who have difficulties in developing or maintaining friendships are more likely to engage in aggressive behavior, report low academic achievement and high unemployment later in life, and exhibit higher degrees of loneliness and depression.(4)  <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">__ []  __ <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">This site is helpful because it has a forum in which you can ask questions and get advice about how to help peer relations in school. The Child Encyclopedia insists that peer relations are experienced through group activities or one-on-one friendships, they play an important role in children’s development, helping them to master new social skills and become acquainted with the social norms and processes involved in interpersonal relationships. This site not only includes info of what should be done about peer relations, it has information about what can be done.(4) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> [] <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">This website is about the development of youth and how peer relations is a major factor for a successful future. There is a lot of up to date news about peer relations on this website and surveys given by teachers and students. The program Building Partnerships for youth is an organization spotlighting positive youth development. There is a great networking link and information for building partnerships in youth.(3)

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<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This website is the journal of Clinical Child and Abuse Adolescents Psychology, Volume 34, Issue 1, 2005 shows qualities of best friends and romantic relationships as predictors of symptoms of depression and social anxiety. Information in this journal article shows an ethnically diverse sample of 421 adolescents (57% girls; 14 to 19 years old) completed measures of peer crowd affiliation, peer victimization, and qualities of best friendships and romantic relationships. Peer crowd affiliations, positive qualities in best friendships, and the presence of a dating relationship protected adolescents against feelings of social anxiety, relational victimization and negative qualities of best friendships and romantic relationships predicted depressive symptoms. (4)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> []  This website is the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, Vol. 26, No.2, 1998, pp. 83-94 Social Anxiety Among Adolescents: Relations and Friendships by Annette M. La Grecal, and Nadja Lopez. Peer relations, friendships, and social functioning all effect students education. Peer relationships appear to be instrumental in facilitating adolescents' sense of personal identity and increasing their independence from family influences. Along with romantic relationships at adolescent ages, the importance of peer group acceptance is huge. This study results highlights the interconnections between adolescents' social anxiety and their interpersonal functioning, and identify gender differences in adolescents' reports of social anxiety and close friendships.(3)

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> [] <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">This website is helpful for fining factual literature for a crucial to understanding adolescents' engagement in various behaviors. Peer relations for the kinds of adolescent behaviors that have a direct impact on health is strongly present in this article. This website highlights key themes in the rich literature on the general developmental significance of adolescent-peer relations.(4)

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> [] <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">This article by <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Kashikar-Zuck S, <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;"> is about social functioning and peer relationships of adolescents with juvenile fibromyalgia syndrome. The study assess peer relationships of adolescents with juvenile primary fibromyalgia syndrome (JPFS) compared with matched classroom comparison peers (MCCPs) without a chronic illness. JPFS is characterized by chronic musculoskeletal pain, sleep disturbance, fatigue, and difficulty with daily functioning. Longitudinal studies of adolescents with JPFS are needed to ascertain whether these patients are at long-term risk and will provide a foundation for the need for early interventions. This is one study of how to handle diversity in classrooms and how to handle it as a teacher.(4)

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<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">This Journal article was interesting in how students with disabilities struggle with peer relations of not. Peer Relations of Hearing-impaired adolescents were examined and according to Scott W. Henggeler, <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> parents of hearing-impaired youths rated their adolescents' friendships as relatively high in aggression, but hearing-impaired adolescents rated their behavior with friends as relatively low in aggression. It’s not that students with impaired hearing don’t have peer relations, they interact different to understand each other, but they still have positive relations with peers yet feel restricted at times. Mothers of hearing-impaired youths also rated their adolescents' friendships as lower in emotional bonding than did mothers of hearing adolescents.(4)

CBL Project January 30th, 2012 Practice Acceptance.

I observed a teenage girl with an IEP in her home setting. This individual is a junior in school and was very kind to welcome me in her home. KO was adopted and her parents had to “quickly overcome their challenges and get the most of life for them and for her”. Her parents explained, “being in high school and experiencing autism is not easy. The key as a parent with a student like KO is learning all you can about autism and how to work with it”.

As I observed her interact with her parents and siblings I notice that with every conversation and interaction they practiced acceptance. This included being extremely patient, and knowing what buttons would set KO off, oh and no unexpected plans. Her mom explained, “the key in keeping KO calm is having a strict schedule that is consistent with no surprises”. She added, “having a daughter experiencing autism, it is important to make sure you get the support you need. When you’re looking after a child with autism, taking care of yourself is not an act of selfishness, it’s a necessity”.

KO experienced brain damage at an early age from her biological father abusing her giving her trauma to her head. She has difficulty communicating, and she has language difficulty. With this traumatic brain injury it has made her life extremely difficult, but she had such an amazing attitude it was inspiring to spend the day with her in her home.

Observing KO’s behavior she becomes very self-abusing when in distress. For example when her parents gave her feedback on homework she stabbed her pencil in her hand. Her mom explained that she gets frustrated and cuts herself as well. I noticed if her mother says any corrections she self abuses. If not talked to gently enough, she will engage in self injurious behavior. I have seen this before and to keep it from happening is a true skill.

KO’s mother illuminated, “with Self Injurious behavior (SIB) you have to function KO’s behavior. We analyze why a behavior is happening, to avoid something happening to her. For example giving her attention or change direction with conversation. Once we figure out why she’s doing it we work on preventing her from doing it. Don’t be to direct with her, abrupt or raise your voice, she will then participate in SIB". I asked if they use “pair praise with redirecting her, making it so she’s not too hard on herself and SIB won’t occur” and they said that’s exactly it, “we plan around her behavior, and cant be to direct. Pad it with lots of praise”.

It was neat to see the compassion her parents had, they really enjoy their kid’s special quirks, celebrate small successes, and never once compared their child to others. Her parents explained, “feeling unconditionally loved and accepted help KO more than anything else”.

Approaches they used included to be consistent, stick to a schedule, reward good behavior, and create a home safe zone. They feel thankful overall that assistance is available to meet KO’s special needs. They highlighted, “figuring out what triggers KO’s “bad” or disruptive behaviors and what elicits a positive response”.

Becoming a teacher it is important to practice acceptance and know people with autism have a different learning style and that is different then the neurotypical learning style for a mainstream student.