Espectroelectroquímica UV-Vis en ITIES

mainstream class, Computer Skills. Three times a week, Jack also spends a portion of his school day at different community sites to develop work skills. His two primary teachers are Ms. Aurora and Ms. Snow White. Jack also receives one-on-one support from Mr. Hercules, a teaching assistant and Ms. Ariel, Jack’s transition specialist.

Jack begins his day in Ms. Aurora’s classroom. It serves as a homeroom where Jack checks in with his teacher throughout the school day. He prefers not to use a locker and instead stores his backpack, lunch box, and jacket at his designated workspace in a back corner of the classroom. His workspace is a desk with privacy shields. Various schedules and reminder notes are taped inside. One reads:

Figure 8. Jack's Choices

A lunch schedule is also posted, presenting activity options for Jack after finishing his lunch to occupy his remaining lunch period.

Reminder: You have choices. If your first choice is

not working, choose something else. Do not waste your choices on being

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Figure 9. Jack’s Lunch Options

A transition schedule for moving between 5th and 6th periods reads: Figure 10. Jack’s Rules for PE

Ms. Aurora’s classroom, in many ways, is similar to most high school classrooms. Fifteen to twenty desks grid the central space and face a front white board where class rules and a daily schedule are posted in the top left corner. However unlike other classrooms, the space is equipped with kitchen appliances, cabinets, a sink, and counter space. A

washer and dryer are located in an attached alcove separated by long curtains. Two long tables with benches are positioned in the back of the room.

7.1.4.1 First period: Health science. The first period bell rings and Ms. Aurora begins instruction on human sensory systems. Seven male students occupy the center desks with textbooks open. Each takes a turn reading a passage from his text, pausing occasionally to respond to questions presented by Ms. Aurora. Although Jack begins the class seated with his peers, within the first ten minutes he stands and begins to pace the perimeter of the room. As he paces he whispers quietly to himself. This does not appear to disturb the others and Ms. Aurora makes little notice of it other than to occasionally ask Jack a question. Although he responds on-topic, his answers convey a limited level of engaged awareness. For example, when reviewing a previous lesson on preventative measure to protect the skin, Ms. Aurora asks “Jack, why did you choose to wear shorts today?” He pauses and with a puzzled look, responds, “So I won’t be naked, of course!” A little later the topic turns to sense of smell. Again, Ms. Aurora calls on Jack.

Ms. Aurora: “Jack, how many smells can the nose detect?” Jack: “Three.”

Ms. Aurora: “No, please go check your book.”

Jack quickly returns to his desk, glances at his textbook, and comments enthusiastically “1000! Wow! The nose is sure powerful!” Toward the end of class, students are asked to provide written responses to chapter review questions. As the seven young men pull out a piece of paper and begin writing, Jack moves to a classroom computer to complete the assignment. He moves through each question, quickly identifying the appropriate answer from his text and types his response with relative ease. Saving his work, he finishes at the

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sound of the second bell. As he is rushing out the door, Ms. Aurora hands to him a piece of paper with printed instructions for the next class.

7.1.4.2 Second period: Computer skills. First to class, Jack confirms

instructions with his computer skills teacher and sits at a computer facing away from his peers at separate computer stations. Mr. Hercules takes the adjacent seat and begins reviewing the instructions with Jack. Jack’s task is to create a spreadsheet of volunteer contact information for the upcoming prom. He works in parallel to the other students who are watching a short video on computerized special effects and are later instructed to experiment at their computer stations with online tools.

As per his written instructions, Jack is provided free computer time after completing twenty-five minutes of work. As he begins to type the URL for YouTube, he is reminded by Mr. Hercules that the site has been blocked by district administrators. The dialogue below followed:

Jack: When will the administration turn it back on? I’m VERY angry with them. Mr. Hercules: Have you written your letter to them?

Jack: No.

Mr. Hercules: You need to write your letter, Jack. Explain to the administration why it is important for you to have access to the site.

Jack: I’ll say I miss Little Einsteins.

Mr. Hercules: Well, you need to say why it is important.

Jack: I’ll say that I get a break from my work and I need it for my break. I’ll say it nicely first and if they don’t do it, I’ll write an angry letter. I’ll show them a thing or two! Who do they think they are?

7.1.4.3 Third and fourth periods: Life skills. Jack returns to Ms. Aurora’s classroom for Life Skills, his third and fourth period class as Ms. Aurora is assigning tasks to each student in preparation for “Teacher’s Treat.” “Teacher’s Treat” is a day once a week in which the school faculty may purchase baked goods for themselves and their students. Through this experience, Jack and his classmates develop and practice skills in shopping, money management, food preparation and handling, dish washing and laundry skills, customer service, sales, and collaboration. Jack is assigned to fold kitchen towels. He completes his job quickly and returns to ask Ms. Aurora for his next task. The

following exchanges occur between Jack and his teacher over the course of the two class periods:

Ms. Aurora: Jack, would you rather do the receipts or help with the dishes? Jack: I AM NOT doing receipts! I’ve already done too many!

Ms. Aurora: Well it is either receipts or wash dishes. Jack: I’ll do receipts.

---

Jack: What should I do now Ms. Aurora? Remember, I’m NOT doing dishes! Ms. Aurora: Don’t you mean I would rather not do dishes?

Jack: I would rather not do dishes, Ms. Aurora. I’ll help Poseidon with the snack preparation.

Ms. Aurora: Ok, but wash your hands first. ---

Jack: Ms. Aurora, I just washed my hands and I am NOT doing it twice in one period. I WILL NOT wash my hands twice in one period!

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Ms. Aurora: Jack, it might be better to say ‘Remember Ms. Aurora, I just washed my hands.”

Jack: Remember Ms. Aurora, I just washed my hands. ---

Ms. Aurora: Jack, can you please put those dishes away? Jack: What did I tell you, Ms. Aurora? I WILL NOT do dishes!

Ms. Aurora: Jack, what might happen if you say something like that to a boss? Jack: Oooh….alright Ms. Aurora.

Jack puts away the dishes and the bell rings. As Jack leaves for lunch he looks at Ms. Aurora and says “You sure are beautiful, Ms. Aurora.”

7.1.4.4 Lunch. Jack’s lunch period is spent with the general population of students. By preference, he eats alone at a table at the far end of the cafeteria. After finishing his lunch, he begins to walk the open space next to his table. As he walks, he quietly whispers a story to himself. Although he occasionally pauses with a dramatic pivot or sword swing, others in the crowded cafeteria pay no mind.

7.1.4.5 Fifth period: Math. Fifth period is spent with Ms. Snow White and Jack’s classmate, Poseidon. The two students work quietly at their separate desks on a review packet in preparation for an upcoming math assessment. After a few minutes of work, Jack stops and looks over to Poseidon. “I’m in the lead!” he gloats. With a look from Ms. Snow White, Jack gets back to work but not before saying, “I love you, Ms. Snow White.” She responds with a smile and says, “I love you too Jack.” As Jack

progresses through his packet, he whispers quietly to himself and appears to be counting on his fingers. When later asked, Jack explained that his counting was not related to his

computations stating, “No, I just was counting the words in my story.”

7.1.4.6 Sixth period: Adaptive PE. Jack participates in an adaptive physical education26 (PE) class with approximately twelve male students and one female student. As they enter the gym, the students begin to walk the perimeter. Some, including Jack, talk to themselves as they walk and/or engage in self-stimming behaviors (repetitively flapping hands, snapping fingers, etc.) When asked, Jack shared that he was telling himself a story and counting his words. A teaching assistant from another classroom guards the door and explains, “Some have been known to bolt.” The students walk for approximately fifteen minutes until their PE teacher, Coach Mick arrives. He instructs the students to sprint back and forth across the gym floor a few times and then removes balls, hoops, a small

trampoline, and other items from a storage closet and allows the students time to freely engage with the items. Some of the students, including Jack, return to their walking. For a short while, Coach Mick shoots baskets with three of the students and then comes to the side of the gym to initiate conversation. He shares that he is a retired high school coach recently hired to teach the adaptive physical education course. Except for a season of coaching Special Olympics in high school, he explains that he has little previous experience working with individuals with disabilities.

7.1.4.7 Seventh period: English. Jack returns to Ms. Snow White’s classroom for English, his last class of the day. He sits with Poseidon and Ms. Snow White at a small table reviewing proper uses of punctuation. After a short while, Ms. Snow White assigns the students ten sentences to rewrite inserting the correct punctuation. Jack quickly moves

26_{Adaptive physical education is a federally mandated program enacted under IDEA 1990 and is defined by} the National Consortium for Physical Education and Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities as “physical education which has been adapted or modified, so that it is as appropriate for the person with a disability as it is for a person without a disability.” Although national standards for certification in adaptive

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to the computer, smiles and says, “Mr. Hercules, DO YOUR DUTY!” His command is met with a gentle but firm, “Yes Jack?” Rephrasing, Jack tries again. “Mr. Hercules, would you please log me in?” When finished, Jack and Poseidon read quietly at their desks until dismissed. Before leaving, Jack turns to Mr. Hercules and says, “I’ll teach that

District Office with a letter!” and rushes out the door. In a later conversation, Andromeda shared that Jack did write a letter. Sent through email to the school district’s

superintendent and board members, Jack explained that he earns computer time for appropriate behavior, that he is no longer able to access favorite sites, and that he would like for the filter to be removed. Upon sending, Andromeda warned Jack, “You might not get the answer you want…but you should get some answer.” After a few weeks and a second email, Jack finally received the answer he hoped for. The filter was removed.

7.1.4.8 Homework. When asked about Jack’s homework, Perseus shared, Well, don’t tell him I said this, but he doesn’t have homework…at all. He is very happy about the fact that he doesn’t have homework, but I think it limits his

independent quest for knowledge. I think it is difficult for educators when it comes to my brother simply because he is so in the middle of the autism spectrum. He is not at the bottom end so he is not really challenged by what some of his classmates are challenged by. He becomes bored… but yet, he is not at the high end of the spectrum so he is not expected to do more. He doesn’t have the same requirements that a normal student might have. I do think that a lot of people have lower

expectations…he is very smart.

7.1.4.9 Vocational experiences. As part of his transition program, Jack is

Andromeda had hoped that Jack would be able to gain experience volunteering in his own school library. Although he had previous experience shelving books in their local public library, she shared,

They won't let him work in the library and I don't know why. He is a really good library worker and he has letters of recommendation from the head children's librarian at public library. They [the librarians] let our kids empty their recycling, but I’m not going to let him do that. I’ve made it very clear that he is not to do janitorial work. It is not ok with me at all. At all.

She continued,

I mean, they have these days where they bake. They do a “Teachers Treat Day” every week. So the 9th graders go food shopping on Monday for the ingredients that they need. Then on Tuesdays, they bake and other classes help with cleaning up from the baking. The class periods are only so long – it is a life skills type of program. I said, “I don’t have a problem with him coming in and drying dishes or folding aprons or putting things in a washing machine or washing dishes or wiping down tables in the classroom after people have baked. I have no problems with that. I have a really big problem with Jack wiping down a cafeteria table - where he is out in the main venue and that’s how people see him. That is not ok with me and I don’t want him doing it. I don’t want him cleaning up bathrooms or working with the janitors. I agree everyone needs janitors. I think his skills are a lot higher than that and I have higher expectations.” I think they were a little surprised when I said that. They said, “The janitors have always been so willing to have our children.” I said “Of course they are, but it is not what I want for Jack.”

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Jack’s brother added,

He’s very smart. So when my mom comes home from the IEP meetings and they are talking about him becoming a janitor ....well he can do more. It just seems very limiting. Not to mention the fact that he’s seventeen. Why would you want to limit someone’s potential?

Eventually, Jack was allowed to work in his school library and now volunteers every day before first period. He shared, “I reorganize the shelves so that the books are straight.” Additionally, Jack has four off-campus volunteer positions. They include making frosting for a local pastry shop, data entry for a community non-profit agency, and reading stories to young children at two preschools. With supervision from his teaching assistant, Jack travels to and from his worksites using the city’s public transportation system.

7.1.4.10 Mentorship. Jack also spends an hour once a week with a mentor, Dr. Purple, a faculty member from a local university who specializes in storytelling. Together they work to develop Jack’s public storytelling skills through the presentation of Jack’s original stories and new stories introduced by Dr. Purple. One goal of their work is to prepare Jack for opportunities to participate in community storytelling events and competitions.

In summarizing Jack’s high school experience, Andromeda reflected “Things are going well there… Jack has a lot of opportunities, though we’re still breaking down some walls.” She also readily admits, “I’m probably one of the most challenging parents they’ve had.” Because of her advocacy and involvement in Jack’s schooling, Andromeda was asked of her own intentions after Jack graduates.

You know…I don’t know. I’m really worried about the kid that doesn’t have the parent that can go to bat. The parent who doesn’t speak English, for instance. I want to make it a better place for them. For those parents who aren’t the loudest or squeakiest or volunteer the most hours, because not everyone can do that. Not everyone knows how to do that or has the time. People shouldn’t be railroaded and people have a right to an education.

7.1.5 Jack and social interactions. Contrary to common perceptions of individuals with