MONDAY FEBRUARY 12th

Woke up and had breakfast with Ida and Jens. Big news about some polititian who was funneling money to some org. that he wasn't supposed to.
Went for a run. Found a cute park and a trail that runs along the S-train line.
Went to the Central Station to meet Elizabeth and make reservations on the trains for break.
Went into DIS for a meeting about the short study tour to Sweden on Thurs.-Sat. I can't wait. We go to a glass blowing place, observe in a school, and get presentations at a Special Needs think tank administration type place.
Had lunch then had my practicum class.
We meditated with music in the background for a new minutes. Then we broke into small groups (and if you've ever broken into small groups you know just how painful that can be---Mr. Atlas). We talked about out practicum sites and had to make presentations about them to the whole class. Basically we were all impressed/shocked by the independence and self governance of the children. They are not guided nor reprimanded. As a result they are much more self sufficient. People cry but they work it out themselves. The children dress and eat with real utensils. There are great circle times where they share about their days. The children are pretty rambunctious and violent to each other but not the point of actually hurting each other. They regulate themselves and socially interact well. The idea of communication came up. We came to the conclusion that it makes it fun. You can get the point across by mimicking what you want the child to do. Jamie, a woman in the class, told a story about how she hid something up her sleeve and made it look like it came out of a child's ear. The child picked something up and stuck it up her sleeve and tried to do it too. Jamie wasn't fooling anyone.
The pedagogues are very laid back but it works out. The children are motivated to some extent I suppose and certainly prepared for life just as well as in the US.
In theory class we talked about observation and all the different aspects of things to be watching for in children's development and interactions. We watched some of Forrest Gump. We also had a mini lesson the changing theories of child mental illness and institutionalization versus normalization into the main culture. Remembering that children with special needs have amazing talents and capacities that just need to be expressed and tapped into in different ways is important. Other students in the theory class were being so incredibly disrespectful. Laughing and chit chatting in the middle of when Jan (the professor) was trying to talk. It was interesting stuff too. I hope he doesn't take it personally and think they're laughing at him. It is a big class 60 people and we all come from very different backgrounds (psych and edc and others) so its hard to tailor the class correctly and keep everyone's attention.
Came home. Talked with Ida and watched the news. Story about the trains being delayed and about a beached whale. Ida got a Steinberg poster from an exhibit he had at Louisiana (an art museum of modern art in Denmark) for Jens. Guess he's a famous artist. I don't know.
We had left over lasagna for dinner.