It feels a little unreal sitting at a keyboard fourteen years later since the publication of ParaEducate. Ideally, we would have republished ParaEducate for an update. But with one or two notable changes potentially needed: the backbone of ParaEducate remains the same.
Of our near future: we are looking forward to seeing two of our four original members of ParaEducate this week even though Renay has been pretty sick this week. She will be there by Saturday for certain.
We think about all the things we have seen, and when one considers the demands placed on all students, not just students with disabilities, the education world seems much different than it did, even when major school districts are changing how they approach the use of technology in classrooms. Evacuation drills and lock-in drills are a part of the landscape. When Renay just started, while she knew what they were for, it was still new vocabulary for a lock down, even as an adult.
The role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and technology in the classroom seems to be the largest jump recently. While Renay has always considered herself intuitive when it comes to computers, she still looks skeptically at the use of AI by both adults and students. However, she knows that AI is here to stay, and the purpose of AI will be slowly formed by a combination of why educators and students reach the solutions they pose.
However, she knows that AI is here to stay, and the purpose of AI will be slowly formed by a combination of why educators and students reach the solutions they pose.
Things that have not changed: the need for education around disability for everyone. The role of education for someone with a disability alongside their non-disabled peers. The role of educating someone with a complex disability alongside their non-disabled peers to other educators. The need for self-advocacy among students. The need to understand the importance of independence and interdependence—that it is not a failure if someone with a disability needs that support for a long time, but they should know what they are looking to do.
The memory of walking next to the students we support. We will not always be with them to navigate all the bumps of education or even life. The more confident that a student feels in a task that they can be independent doing, the better position that student will be for other demands.
What We Still Are
We still are here to train paraeducators. The new, the veterans, and the ones about to retire. We are here to make teams of paraeducators, teachers, and administrators stronger and bring out the best in students with disabilities.
Where Do We Head
We are in the process of approving some more materials for small sales, but the strategies we have used in the past are just moving us along in inches.
We are still committed to making materials available for use in public settings in different ways of engagement for many students. We are still reaching out and helping schools work with their teams of paraeducators in inclusive settings.
Who We Have Been, and Do Remain
ParaEducate is a company training paraeducators in a public education settings K-12+ working with students with disabilities in inclusive environments. We can be found online at our website, our store, and on limited social media platforms. We are contributors to different groups of educators, families, and self-advocates. We share our work for publication.
Things have changed, and yet sometimes, they do not. We are honored you still follow us and take the time to share what you discover.
Do you have any comments about this month’s blog? Do you have a question for us? Would you like to have an opportunity to pilot some materials at your campus? Find ParaEducate online here, here, here, and on our website. ParaEducate is a company providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is usually published once a month during the academic school year. ParaEducate shares its findings at conferences, through its books, and through its academic adaptations.
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