Day 3 - "The Very...Scary...IEP" - SOLSC

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#SOL21

Today's slice was inspired by my last IEP meeting of the year! 

As of now, I have completed the writing of almost 10 IEPs and progress reviews. This is a HUGE feat for this new LBS, as you see, the thought of IEP's truly scares me. All 50, 60, or even 70 pages of them. They are a HUGE deal. I took myself out to celebrate with a friend for an hour today just to rest my brain which has been running on rapid as I have written one IEP each week for the last month, and I DID IT! 

Yet, I still continue to doubt that what I am doing for these students is truly enough. I've heard wonderful comments from my mentors this week and making it through the meeting, I feel like I wanted to share how happy I truly feel today. You see, I never think my work is good enough - and I wait for others to say "hey, you can do this", or "hey, great job!" Yet, IEP's still scare me. In college, I wrote a few drafts, but those weren't for real students. Now we are in the big show and these are legal documents. They stay with a student for a year and we are responsible for not only the creation but the implementation too. 

I have been so Blessed with amazing support from the families of my students, but I know that not everyone may be so lucky. I ask myself each day - how do new educators find the path to success? Is it accolades from mentors? Is it seeing a smile on a student's face or hearing wonderful comments from their families? Is it watching them learn and grow right in front of you? How will I know as a new educator that I have made a difference? 

Well, today I know that I have done the very best I can. I have spent the last month with some very scary IEP's....scary not because they were long, but because to me I wanted to give so much more. I want to provide the world to my students, not just the goals confined within the pages of their plans. The next round of IEP's will have to wait until the next school year, where I'm afraid I still might fear them. I hope that these fears are only because I am new here. That's the new teacher testimony. 

So until next time I leave you with a quote that helps me realize today that again, if I try, I can triumph, even over the very, scary, IEP.

" I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." - Nelson Mandela

*GB

Comments

Anonymous said…
You definitely got this! Look how far ahead you are with the very scary IEPs!
March 3, 2021 at 5:37 PM
Lainie Levin said…
You have put SO MUCH time and effort and heart into this work, and it's so amazing to know that you're past this obstacle. Hooray! And. As a veteran teacher I'll say this. It might sound discouraging, but I'm actually hoping it provides a bit of validation. I've been a teacher for a REALLY long time. And I *often* feel like I don't do enough for my students. I think it's because there is no limit to what we CAN or SHOULD do for them. There will always be more. The good news? Is that your students and families, and the relationships you grow, are solid proof that while we can't do everything, we can do (as you said), the very best we can. That, for them, really IS enough. =))
March 3, 2021 at 5:53 PM
Adrienne G. said…
You definitely have this! It's all about doing right by students and their families.
March 3, 2021 at 8:44 PM
Stacey Shubitz said…
There is so much that goes into accurately updating and maintaining an IEP. Then, making sure the SDIs are executed... Well, that's a full-time job. Kudos to you for working diligently on behalf of your students!
March 4, 2021 at 12:06 PM
JudyK /J Koval said…
Congrats, you did it! Writing an IEP is challenging and time-consuming, but after you write enough of them, they get a little easier.
Now that you're done with yours for this school year, if you're looking for something to do in all your free (ahem) time, you could help me write some IEPs....I still have three of them that I have to write in the next week! ;-) ~JudyK
March 7, 2021 at 4:54 PM
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