I spent my visit this time in the infant room.  I was able to observe the two classroom teachers.  I was also able to observe a student worker and the children present.  I observed as the parents came into the classroom and brought in their children.  I was again introduced to the parents.  Most of them seemed pretty friendly and welcoming.  There was one family that brought in their child.  I feel that I made this parent very uncomfortable.  I do not think that it was totally all me just being there as it was not a typical day.  One of the teachers was sick and she ended up leaving and so the student worker came in and took her place.  It was actually during this time that this parent arrived with her child.  The other classroom teacher had went to another building and was to return in a little bit.  I think this parent was uncomfortable because I was there and there was not a regular teacher in the classroom.  I can totally understand this.  The teacher came back and the parent seemed to be better but I felt very much like it was because I was in the classroom. 
I also interviewed two parents who have children in services.  I wanted to find out their experiences with all of it.  The first parent felt that she had a postive view of the services her child was recieving.  I was told that she felt she had a lot of notice for the IEP meetings.  Also she felt that everything was thourghly explained to her during the meeting about the testing.  She did tell me that one negitive about it was that in the very beginning when they were doing all the investigation for qualification.  During this time she felt that it took way to long, her child continued to suffer with the difficulty of the schoolwork and the teachers were at a loss as they were all waiting on the outcome of the process.  This parent also opted to take her child to an outside agency to also give aide to the child to further his progress along.  She felt the outside agency really helped a lot yet it was very costly and she had to leave work in order to transport child back and forth.  This she found as a frustration with the Special Ed. program because in order for her child to get the added help that was still needed she had to deal with all of the transportation and cost.  It was a hardship on the whole family.
My next parent is educated and holds a full time job. Here is what she had to say. I also have only a short duration of experience as a parent. I know I have many more years and will learn more about special ed in the years to come. Also please understand that my child has not actually qualified for true special education services as of yet though I have been doing a lot of research. I have learned, as a parent, that the special education system has experienced severe financial cuts and therefore was told that special education services provided through public schools typically only reach the very bottom 25% and is academically focused. Meaning that as long as you can meet academic milestones a child does not qualify for special education. My experience as a parent is that the main focus of special education services now seems to be that of helping a child reach “functioning” ability not full capacity. Meaning that if a child can “function” in a classroom even if it’s not great they will not qualify. Also children who do qualify for special education services at one point will eventually be removed from special education services as long as they can “function” in a regular classroom without assistance.  In my relatively short experience the word “function” is not synonymous with “success.” Function typically means if the child can follow classroom rules and not cause disruptions (behavior, academic, social, etc) due to the disability then they can “function.” Special education seems to still be working on a reactive level rather than a proactive level. Students who do not qualify may have difficulties/disabilities but will not qualify until their disability gets in their way of “functioning.” Another interesting thing that I knew before, but has been reiterated since I have been a parent, is that medical diagnoses do not always hold up in the special education system. For children on the autism spectrum (not sure about other issues/disabilities) there are medical diagnoses and school diagnoses and the medical diagnosis is not enough for children to receive special education services. The schools must deem it necessary to engage in IEP meetings, etcetera using the criteria mentioned before about the ability to “function.” The best strengths of special education in schools is that people are more aware, more educated, and more open minded about what it means to be in special ed. Thought the stigma of special education is not gone I do not think it is nearly the same as in the past. People (teachers) regardless of being in special ed are more willing to try different approaches and it seems that people use more of a team approach rather than the “it’s your problem, you fix it approach” which I believe is more helpful for everyone involved. Parents have to do a lot of their own research and find a lot of a their own information because while schools are mandated to provide services for those who qualify they do not spend a lot of time looking, but rather leave it up to the children’s parents. Parents have to be huge advocates for their children with special needs otherwise the needs may not be met.   I found this parents information quite informative. I feel that both parents I spoke with had a lot of good points and I feel that they are both adovacating for their children well.

On my visit to my fieldsite on 2-5-13 I was able to observe the Director of the site, observe and talk with a classroom teacher and speak with a foster parent.  The first part of my day was observing the Director of the program.  I observed as she went to the different classrooms and spoke with teachers.  The talk that I observed as she visited the different classrooms was about breakfast, and also about the weather.  They talked about it being cold outside.  The classrooms go to a large gym on the campus to do the gross motor so to get there they need to go outside and walk.  On this day because it was to cold she was sharing with the teachers that it was to cold to take the children out and to hold the gross motor room time in there room.
I also observed as she did a tour of the center with a family that was looking for service.  They talked about the handbook and all that was in it.  They looked at the rooms and was told the beliefs of the center.  There were policys and procedures that were followed.  The family seemed to like the center but I do not know if they went ahead and placed the children there.  A lot of the conversation she had with the family was in the classrooms and she talked quietly to the family so some of it I did not catch.  I did learn through questions and talking that sometimes families will bring children to the center and they will be there until they go to Kindergarden, others will be there for a while and will leave and go somewhere else. This could be for many different reasons.  Moving, change in income, family problems or sometimes they may leave because they do not like something at the center or do not like what they may be told after and assessment and feel that it will be different somewhere else.
The foster parent that I talked to that day had two children in the program.  This parent was sharing with me that she had, had many different foster children.  As we talked she shared with me that it takes her a long time each day to get the children ready to leave the house and come to the center. 
I talked with a classroom teacher we discussed assessment tools, referrals and results of screenings.  This teacher had done screenings before working in this center.  One interesting concept that I learned was that many times when a child is screened instead of placing the child with some delay in services, they look at the learning development center they are in.  It that center is a good quality program they will not place the child for services because they feel that they are already in a good learning environment that will strengthen the child's area of weakness through the learning environment.
I also spoke with a Speach theropist we talked about the need that many children have with minor delays yet they do not recieve services.  I felt that this theropist was sincere in how she felt about children getting the help they need.  I learned that many times the Dr. will tell the parent to just watch their child for awhile if they have a concern.  The theropist feels that anytime a parent has a concern they need to contact Early Intervention.  The sooner a child begins to get help the better it is for the child.  I felt that she has some valid points.
Now back to my outline!