Feldhus_A_SPED775_M4_InterviewPaper

M4: Interview Paper

Amanda Feldhus
University of Kansas

Feldhus_A_SPED775_M4_InterviewPaper
Teachers Name: Heidi Eschliman
Current Position: Communication and Social Skills Para Interventionist (CSSPI) for USD 308
Age of Students/Grade: K-12
Grades Previously Taught: K-12
Number of Years Teaching: 33 (retired in May 2016, hired on by same district for current
position)
E-mail: eschlimanh@usd308.com

Feldhus_A_SPED775_M4_InterviewPaper

At the age of seven, my host teacher knew that her lifes calling lay in working with
exceptional students. A quiet little girl asked her to come play, and so she did. Moments later,
both sets of parents rushed in worriedly looking for the girl. Heidi said the girl had asked her to
come play and so they had gone off to do just that. The girls astonished parents revealed that
the little girl was diagnosed with Autism, and didnt speak; but she spoke to Heidi. From that
moment, Heidi was intrigued, asking her father what Autism was. Not knowing, he directed her
to research it. It was in 1983 that Mrs. Eschliman took her first steps into the classroom as a
teacher.
Mrs. Eschliman retired in May of 2016, but retirement wasnt really the end. Plans were
already in the works to bring her back part-time as a Communication and Social Skills Para
Interventionist. In jest, I shortened the name of Mrs. Eschlimans new title to CSSPI during a
conversation about signing documents on IEP forms. She laughed and noted that she liked the
PI part, because it makes you sound like a detective, and that is similar to what you do as a
special educator. Much like a private investigator, you are presented with a case, must look for
clues, methods, motives, and present evidence to support your findings to solve the case. Being
the CSSPI, Heidi travels between the three Communication and Social Skills (CSS) classrooms
in USD 308 and assists the teachers by addressing any concerns that may arise (or just sitting in
to help write your first IEP!). She has been invaluable to my classroom.
WileyElementaryhasaTitleIlabel,somethingthathaschangedsinceIattendedtherein
thelate1990s.Thelocationofthisschoolisinterestingtoconsiderwhenthinkingintermsof
diversity.Itsacommonpreconceptionthatinoursmalltown,onceyoumovesouthof17th
street,theincomesarelower,andtheneighborhoodsarerougherandrundown.Northof17th
streethowever,youbegintomoveintothemiddleanduppermiddleclassneighborhoodsof

Feldhus_A_SPED775_M4_InterviewPaper

town.Wileyison21ststreet,soweseediversityinabigway.Weseestudentsfromaffluent
families,aswellasthosewhoarestrugglingonadaytodaybasis.Weseeblendedfamilies,one
parenthomes,childrensplitbetweenhomes,involvedparents,absentparents,andmanydifferent
culturesarerepresented.WhenIaskedMrs.Eschlimanaboutherthoughtsonteachingstudents
withdiversity,sherecountedanexperiencewhereshewasaskedabouttheracialdiversityinher
classandshesaidshehadtopauseandthinkforamomentbecauseIdontlookatastudentand
thinkaboutwhatculturetheyrefrom.Ilookateachstudentandfindtheskillsthattheyneedto
learn.Thatisasentiment,whichIagreewith.WhenIaminmyclass,Iseemykids,myclass,
notfourwhitemales,oneAfricanAmericanmale,onebiracialmale,andonewhitefemale.I
seesevenindividuals,beingawareofthedistinctneedsofeachone.Aconversationcameup
aboutEnglishLanguageLearners(ELL)intheclassroom.Mythoughtswere,whyisthis
relevant,ImteachingstudentswithAutism,notELLs.However,Mrs.Eschlimanbroughtupa
goodpointthoughthatsheoncehadastudentwithautism,whowasthechildofSpanish
speakingparents.Thismadecommunicationwiththeparentsquitedifficult.Thisremindedme
ofastudentinanotherclassroomfrommypreviousjobwhowasinthisexactsituation.So,
whetheryouarethinkingofdealingwithalanguagebarrierduetobeinganELLstudentora
studentwithdisabilities,itisrelevant.AsitstatedintheblogItsNotEnoughtoTalktheTalk,
Sacks(2014)makesanexcellentpoint,Wecanteachthesekidsatthehighestlevelpossible,
butwehavetoprovidethemwithalotofsupport....Sacksaddedthatwejustifyouractions,
andcallsusonit.So,youknow,enoughexcusesonthatend,let'sseehowwecanactuallyhave
themdothesethings."Lookingattherelevanceofdiversityoverall,itaffectseveryclassroom,

Feldhus_A_SPED775_M4_InterviewPaper

sometimesinwaysthatyouwouldntconsiderrightaway.Forinstance,howtheELLconnection
inthespecialeducationroomdidntoccurtome.
TheUniversalDesignforLearning(UDL),(Universal,2012),isanotherelementatplay
inthisclassroom.WhilewedonotexplicitlysitandplanoutourdailyinstructionwiththeUDL
guidelinesinhand,ourplansexemplifyprinciplesofUDLregularly.Iwasrecentlyableto
witnessMrs.Eschlimanusingtheprinciplesofengagementandrepresentationwithastudent.
Thisstudenthasanaversiontocompletingmostwork.Inthepastithascausedsuchuproarthat
theclassroomhastobeclearedwhilethisstudentisventingtheirfrustrations.Inanattemptto
workinsomelearning,whiledoinghisnumbershewasgettingfrustrated,soshewentandgot
atubofdinosaursandtheycountedthoseinstead.Thisengagedhimonhislevel,becausehe
lovesdinosaurs,italsoofferedadifferentrepresentationofthesameconceptwhileallowingthe
studenttobesuccessful.Mrs.EschlimanhasalsohelpedmewiththeActionandExpression
guidelinesparticularlyintheareaofprovidingoptionsforexecutivefunctions.Shehelpedcreate
andimplementschedulesforeachofmystudentsthatisappropriatefortheirabilitylevel.They
allnowhaveavisualscheduleofsomesortthattheyusetoguidethemthroughtheirdays.
It has been one of my greatest pleasures this year to work with Mrs. Eschliman. I am
convinced that I could not have made it this far as a first-year special education teacher without
her vast knowledge, work-ethic, limitless ideas, and open mind. Her commitment to her students
is an encouragement and inspiration to me as an educator. It is clear that she was made for this
profession. I look forward to learning all that I can from her in the months and years to come.

Feldhus_A_SPED775_M4_InterviewPaper

References
Sacks,L.(2014,June7).It'snotenoughtotalkthetalk[Blog].Retrieved
from:http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning_deeply/2014/06/its_not_enough_to_talk_
the_talk.html.
UDLGuidelines:Theory&PracticeVersion|NationalCenterOnUniversalDesignfor
Learning.(2012).RetrievedNovember20,2016,from
http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines_theorypractice