A New Interest!

Hey everyone!

I know it's been a while since I last blogged! College life can get so crazy sometimes and before you know it it's spring break! Anyway, I wanted to share a little bit about a great experience I had recently. I told my mom, who works in the elementary school that I went to many years ago, that I wanted to observe and help out in the preschool classroom for students with autism. She talked to the principal, and arranged for me to go in on the Friday of spring break. As soon as I stepped through the door that morning I was greeted by eight smiling faces and a few tiny waving hands. The teacher announced, "Kids! Let’s sing hello to our new friend Erica!" and seconds later I was serenaded by the innocent voices of three, four, and five year olds. Over the course of the next few hours, I was able to talk with the teachers and aids, observe the strategies they used, and of course play with the kids. I learned so much and had an absolute blast.

Now you're probably thinking, how does this have anything to do with BC? Let me explain. During course registration at the end of last semester, as I realized that there was a time conflict with two classes that I wanted to take, I found myself frantically searching for the last class to complete my spring semester schedule. I had heard about people taking Working With Students With Special Needs as freshmen, so I set up a meeting with my advisor and found out that it is a required course for Elementary Ed majors. After about 37508924 log-ins on BC UIS (the ancient course registration system) I was able to secure a spot in Professor Ricciato's 1:30 pm section of the class.

My initial thoughts going into the class were that it was probably going to be interesting, and that I might be able to apply some of what I learned to my volunteer work. I volunteer in a program called Creative Kids in the Campus School, where I sing, dance, play instruments and most of all laugh with my buddy, a girl close to my age who has severe special needs. It always brightens up my Fridays and is the perfect way to start the weekend! Back to the class. I honestly had no intentions of teaching in a special education classroom, for I knew that it required a ton of patience and creativity. I didn't think that I had that in me, and figured general education would be the way to go. Needless to say, by the end of the first week I found myself pulling out my phone to call my mom, bubbling with excitement about how much I loved what we were studying. This without a doubt has something to do with my professor as well. Professor Ricciato is the director of the Campus School, and does a fabulous job integrating presentations by psychologists, speech pathologists, and other special needs personnel, as well as his own experiences with students, into the curriculum.

The point I'm trying to make here is that you never know what you're going to become passionate about here at BC. You might not know what you love, or you might be like me, and have something in mind only to have it shift direction after taking a specific class. Keep your mind open, because there are so many possibilities here, and when you find something that you really love, it's an amazing feeling.


If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to e-mail me at e.paglierani@gmail.com! Ta-ta for now!

~Erica