Isabel's Blog

Early Childhood Special Education in the Age of Coronavirus

Young students with special needs face unique challenges when it comes to remote learning.

Education around the world has been transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Students of all ages and abilities have had to transition to distance learning. For early childhood special education students and their families, remote learning poses unique challenges.

Students in early childhood education, ages 3 to 5, already have disadvantages when it comes to learning online. They typically need help using technology and completing their homework, things which older students can handle more independently. Depending on their parents’ employment and financial situation, the constant supervision early childhood students receive at school may not be available at home.

Young students’ limited attention spans are also an issue. Melissa McCauley, an early childhood special education teacher in Eudora, Kansas, says that during her 30 minute Zoom sessions with students, “there’s about a ten minute window when I maybe have their attention.” Experts say that a typical 4-year-old can only concentrate on a task for 12 to 20 minutes, and this expectation may be lower for a student with special needs. For this reason, some states have issued guidelines advising schools to lower the amount of time young students spend in a virtual classroom. Kansas guidelines recommend 30 minutes per week for early childhood students, and 10 additional minutes per week for those in special education.

Special needs can complicate the already difficult task of teaching young students remotely. McCauley says her students’ conditions, which range from mild speech delays to severe behavior disorders, make it difficult to accomplish much over Zoom. She says they typically practice alphabet sign language, sing songs, and have show-and-tell with items around the house. “I try to make it as interactive as possible without sending them on a scavenger hunt, because if I send little Timmy off to find something green, he might never show back up,” she laughs.

Melissa McCauley with a group of her students in fall 2019, before her school transitioned to online learning.

Melinda Blake, a mother of two children with special needs in Kansas City, knows this kind of challenge firsthand. She says virtual learning has been much harder for her 4-year-old daughter than her 15-year-old son. Blake says her son Danny, who has ADHD and autism spectrum disorder, is frustrated with remote learning, but “he’s old enough to understand that he has to do it.” Her daughter Abigail is “much more of a challenge.” Abigail also has ADHD and autism spectrum disorder, as well as speech and language delays. “Danny is old enough, he has years of focus techniques under his belt,” Blake explains, “and Abigail doesn’t have that.” Blake says she is worried about her daughter losing progress, especially in her speech therapy.

McCauley says she is not particularly concerned with her students’ academic progress, because “kids are more resilient than we probably give them credit for.” She is, however, worried about her students regressing in social-emotional learning. “The other skills can usually be recouped,” she explains, “but the social-emotional aspect of what we do in a special ed early childhood classroom is the biggest part of the whole thing, and it’s lost in this situation.” Not every child receives the level of attention the Blake family can give Abigail. When it comes to social and emotional stimulation, McCauley suspects that some of her students are “high and dry until school starts up again, because there’s nothing going on at home.”

At the end of the day, McCauley says that in her school “everyone is just doing the best they can.” On the parents’ side of the situation, Blake says she appreciates everything Abigail’s teachers are trying to do, and she hopes that they will be back to normal in the fall.

For One High Schooler, “Theme Nights” Are A Way to Have Fun During Quarantine

Marguerite Dyke has been throwing creative “theme nights” to help her family have fun while quarantined. A high school junior living in Kansas City, Marguerite has been under mandatory lockdown with her family for several weeks due to COVID-19. To fight off the boredom, she enjoys planning special at-home events about once a week.

So far, her event themes have included an “Irish pub night,” a “basement rave” and a “mask-erade ball” (this event included dinner and a photoshoot in fancy clothes, but also face masks, in the spirit of the global pandemic). Marguerite’s next idea is a country music-themed evening, which she hopes to host in the next week.

Although the only attendees at Marguerite’s events are herself, her parents, and her older sister, she says that even a small group event provides some much-needed entertainment during quarantine. “It adds a little variety into our days,” she explains. “We end up doing the same things over and over again in quarantine, and so it’s nice to have one night a week where we look forward to it for the whole week, and we can do something a little different, that’s exciting.”

Cloda McCormack: Finding Home in Different Places

If Cloda McCormack wasn’t at Saint Louis University, she would probably be an ocean away. The freshman communications major almost attended college in Ireland, where her family is from. Cloda’s parents moved to the suburbs of Chicago before she was born, but while growing up, she spent many summers in Ireland with her extended family. She has always maintained a strong connection to the country, which she describes as her “favorite place in the entire world.”

Listening to Cloda reminisce about her vacations in Ireland, her love for the country is clear. Her birthday falls during the summer, so she has enjoyed celebrating many birthdays with her extended family in Ireland. Cloda has family members in both urban and rural areas, so she has “been able to experience all different kinds of life there.” One of her favorite memories from the last time she visited is going to Howth, a small coastal town near Dublin. “I just remember looking out at the water and thinking, this is my absolute favorite spot in the world.”

Despite her love for Ireland, Cloda decided to attend SLU to be close to her parents in Chicago, and to earn a degree that will definitely be usable in the United States. She says she probably wants to work and live in the United States as an adult, though she will never stop visiting her Irish family. When making her college decision, Cloda says it was the warm atmosphere she observed during a SLU campus visit that won her over. “The people were just so nice,” she says. “SLU just has this community feeling.”

Cloda decided to study communications with a concentration in journalism. Though she isn’t yet sure what she wants to do with her degree, she hopes that communications will give her a broad foundation to narrow down in the years to come. “I’ve always really loved writing,” she explains, and “you can do so many different things with communications.”

Thanks to her childhood travels, Cloda knows how to make herself at home in a new place. She spent the past year doing just that in Saint Louis, where she enjoys meeting new people on campus and exploring the city. SLU’s recent shift to online learning due to COVID-19 somewhat interrupted her process of settling in. “Just as you’re starting to get to know people and starting to get close to them, you’re all in different parts of the country,” she says. “It’s hard, because you don’t know when this is all going to be over.”

Still, even when talking about the abrupt change in her life as a new college student, Cloda sounds optimistic. A change in environment is certainly nothing new for her. For now, she is making plans to see her friends over the summer, and looking forward to coming back to SLU in the fall.

Africa Fest 2020 Celebrates African Arts in Columbia

Members of a local Methodist church sing a song in Twi, an indigenous Ghanaian language.

Exotic music filled the Missouri Theater on Saturday evening as crowds gathered for Africa Fest 2020. The annual event, organized by local arts nonprofit Jabberwocky Studios and the University of Missouri African Graduate and Professional Student Association (AGPSA), includes a showcase of African music and dance.

The evening began with opening remarks from Dr. Badiana Mamadou, the faculty advisor for AGPSA. He discussed recent accomplishments by Africans in technology, literature, and the arts, emphasizing that “Africa has many great innovators, just like the rest of the world.”

Five local acts then presented different types of African artistry, from solo drum performances to large group dances. Harambee Dance Company gave the final performance of the night: a four-part blend of traditional African dance and modern dance, backed by live instrumentals. The audience responded with a standing ovation.

Dr. Linda Schust, Executive Director of Jabberwocky Studios, says the primary goal of Africa Fest is spreading awareness of African culture and art. Dr. Schust says she hopes this event is a chance for people to have a positive experience with people who are different than they are. “If you’re clapping to music with somebody,” she explains, “it’s hard to entertain negative feelings about that person at the same time.” Dr. Schust also wants people to understand that Africa is constantly modernizing. She said that “some Americans feel like Africa is still the Africa that existed during the slave trade,” but “while respecting the traditional culture of Africa, we wanted to spread the understanding that Africa hasn’t stopped changing.”

More about Africa Fest 2020 and Jabberwocky Studios’ work can be found at jabberwockystudios.org.

Reporters Speak to Journalism Students

Journalists Lauren Trager and Sarah Fentem spoke to students in a Saint Louis University journalism class on Thursday, February 13 about launching a career in journalism, their biggest challenges, and other topics related to their industry.

Trager, an investigative reporter for KMOV, talked about the atypical path she took to reach her current position. After graduating college, Trager worked multiple jobs in radio and small newspapers. Now, Trager advised aspiring journalists to “start small, get your hands dirty” and “work your way up.”

Fentem, a Saint Louis University graduate who now works as a healthcare reporter for St. Louis Public Radio, gave students similar advice: “do your time in a small station first, build your reputation, then you can start moving up the ladder.” Fentem said her career path has included various setbacks, but she found her place in radio reporting, eventually becoming one of Missouri’s only full-time health reporters.

Students had the chance to ask both reporters questions about different types of broadcasting, the reporters’ day-to-day routines, tensions between reporters and politicians, and more. Trager’s reporting can be found at kmov.com, and Fentem’s reporting can be found at stlpublicradio.org.

Student Witnesses Hit-and-run

Image: Trenton Almgren Davis, The University News

A Saint Louis University student was struck by a speeding vehicle last night in a hit-and-run at the intersection of Grand Boulevard and Laclede Avenue.

Colin Thierry, a fellow student, said he had almost finished crossing Grand Boulevard when he heard the sound of a vehicle accelerating behind him. He turned to see a white SUV driving off the road. The car, which Thierry estimates was going 60 to 80 mph, hit the student near the crosswalk. Thierry said the car immediately drove away. He said the car “didn’t hit her full-on” but made significant contact. He could not tell whether the driver saw the student.

Thierry’s first response was a rush of adrenaline. “It was really scary,” he said, to think that he was so close to being hit. There were six or seven other bystanders at the scene, many of whom rushed to help the injured student. Thierry describes the small crowd as panicked and concerned about the student’s condition.

Thierry observed that the victim was semi-conscious and had an injured leg. When she tried to stand, bystanders urged her not to move. A bystander called an ambulance, which arrived shortly. Officers from the Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department also arrived within a few minutes, and officers from the Department of Public Safety (DPS) came soon after. Thierry gave a statement to DPS officers.

24 hours later, Thierry describes the incident as “jarring,” and says it is hard to explain his feelings about it. Thierry says he called his mother soon after the incident for emotional support and to assure her he was okay.

Thierry says the incident has somewhat impacted how he views his own safety. He explains “it has made me a lot more cautious crossing the street, and on Grand. I always check, even if the lights are red, whether any cars are still going” because “you never really know.”

Thierry heard afterward that the car was stolen, which he suspects may explain why the driver was going so fast. Police have still not identified the driver, though they have released a description of the vehicle and the victim’s name. Police say the victim was seriously injured, but is expected to survive.

Student Witnesses Hit-and-Run

Photo: Trenton Almgren-Davis, The University News

A Saint Louis University student was struck by a speeding vehicle last night in a hit-and-run at the intersection of Grand Boulevard and Laclede Avenue.