{"id":193554,"date":"2022-09-26T07:20:01","date_gmt":"2022-09-26T11:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=193554"},"modified":"2022-12-20T09:05:58","modified_gmt":"2022-12-20T14:05:58","slug":"neag-school-alumna-liz-devitto-self-publishes-childrens-book-shares-insights-on-being-a-special-education-teacher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2022\/09\/neag-school-alumna-liz-devitto-self-publishes-childrens-book-shares-insights-on-being-a-special-education-teacher\/","title":{"rendered":"Neag School Alumna Self-Publishes Children\u2019s Book, Shares Insights on Being a Special Education Teacher"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elizabeth \u201cLiz\u201d DeVitto \u201914 (ED), \u201915 MA<\/strong>, a special education teacher for the past eight years at Roaring Brook Elementary School in Avon, Connecticut, had a goal to write a children\u2019s book before she turned 30. When she looked for a book to help her students deal with emotions, she couldn\u2019t find anything appropriate. Since she couldn\u2019t find the right book, she decided this was her chance to fulfill her goal by publishing Finding a Safe Spot<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> to help her students when they become overwhelmed with emotion.<\/p>\n

DeVitto has always loved children\u2019s books and is amazed by the illustrations and words. \u201cThe words can have such simple phrases and hold so much meaning,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

While she previously joked with friends, saying, \u201cSomeday I\u2019ll write a children\u2019s book,\u201d DeVitto was determined with her goal, and she knew this was the perfect opportunity.<\/p>\n

It began as simply as writing notes on her phone. She would constantly write ideas and go back and change them. Then she shared them with her younger sister, who would start writing ideas for simple pictures and would eventually create the illustrations. Finally, DeVitto researched book publishing and found the most practical route was self-publishing through Amazon.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal was just to do it and be able to share it with my students in the school, and if it impacted at least one kid or one parent, then I did exactly what I wanted to do,\u201d she says. \u201cAmazon was the easiest way to go about it (for self-publishing) because it wasn\u2019t like I was looking to make a bunch of money.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeVitto\u2019s book, which has sold 500 copies so far, helped her fulfill her goal. \u201cI wanted to make a difference and make it easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The topic was essential to DeVitto as she wanted to make it clear to adults and students through the book that it\u2019s okay to feel emotions. \u201cIt\u2019s okay to be mad, it\u2019s okay to be sad, it\u2019s okay to feel anything, and sometimes you don\u2019t know why you feel those things,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She notes how individuals react is very important. \u201cWe can\u2019t feel mad and tear a whole room apart, she says. \u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s not socially acceptable, but if we\u2019re feeling mad, we can solve our problem differently. We can go to that safe spot and sit there until we are ready to face the world again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Setting Up a Safe Spot <\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Corner
\u201cIn my classroom, I always set up a safe spot they can go and sit at any time, even if they\u2019re not in my room,\u201d DeVitto says.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

DeVitto, who shares a classroom with another teacher, moved to a new, larger classroom this fall that has a big workspace with tables and stations. Each student also has their own bin. In the room, she set up a \u201csafe spot,\u201d a quiet corner in the back where the students could calm down.<\/p>\n

Setting up the new classroom was an undertaking, with moving and organizing all her materials, resources, and equipment, but she\u2019s excited about the bigger space.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a designated space at school is important,\u201d she emphasizes. \u201cStudents like to create that space with you. That also makes a difference for some kids. It\u2019s so valuable to have them help build that space with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeVitto enjoys that the safe spot makes students feel happy and safe. \u201cBeing able to have a relationship and build relationships not only with the kids but also with the parents, who for many of them at the elementary level, this might be a completely new and sometimes scary experience when they\u2019re trying to navigate the world of special education.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my classroom, I always set up a safe spot they can go and sit at any time, even if they\u2019re not in my room,\u201d she says. \u201cThey know they can leave a space and go sit there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having that designated space is huge, because DeVitto says that each one of the kids comes in with their backpack that teachers can see, but that they also have an \u201cinvisible backpack\u201d that teachers must unpack.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to figure out, did something happen this morning?\u201d she says. \u201cDid they get in a fight with their sister or brother?\u201d<\/p>\n

There are so many things that the teachers can\u2019t see. \u201cUnpacking that invisible backpack will really help you as a teacher figure out how to help them regulate their emotions and get them in a good state,\u201d DeVitto says.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, being able to do that is the root of building relationships with kids first and foremost,\u201d she says. \u201cIf they can trust and have a relationship with you, it makes it much easier to unpack that backpack.\u201d<\/p>\n

Managing Life as a Teacher<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Female
Dean Jason G. Irizarry, right, views the book “Safe Spot” with Elizabeth “Liz” DeVitto during a visit at Roaring Brook Elementary School in Avon, Connecticut. (Shawn Kornegay\/Neag School)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ever since childhood, DeVitto has always wanted to be a teacher, including playing school in her parent\u2019s basement. Her mom would bring her to the teacher store, and DeVitto would buy all the supplies. Her best friend\u2019s mom was a teacher who would let them go into her classroom every year to set up her first-grade classroom. She thought that was \u201cthe coolest thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeVitto loves being a special education teacher. She has thought about going into educational administration but likes her current position. \u201cI like being able to be and work with kids every day in the capacity that I do. I can\u2019t see myself doing anything else,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Over the past eight years in the classroom, she has realized that the teaching world looks drastically different than it once did.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just the teaching, it\u2019s adapting to change and having that mentality of asking, \u2019Okay, this is where we are in today\u2019s world. What are we going to do?\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She understands that change is hard, but with change comes growth.<\/p>\n

Over the past few years, she has learned to focus on work-life balance because she can\u2019t be the best teacher she can be unless she\u2019s taking care of herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will wake up every morning and work out before I go to work,\u201d she says. \u201cI like to get to work early. This sets me up for success and I like the routine of working out.\u201d<\/p>\n

While she gets in early, she doesn\u2019t stay late. \u201cEven if I think I can get more done, I will not,\u201d she says. \u201cThis is something I\u2019ve promised myself. I will go home and be with my family or do what I must do.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeVitto has benefitted from work-life balance and thinks teaching is the \u201cmost rewarding job.\u201d However, there are days when she thinks, \u201cOh my gosh, what am I doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

But there is always that \u201cone moment of the day,\u201d she says. That one hug from one student or a smile from another that makes her day.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething happens that makes it the most rewarding job and makes it all worth it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever considered becoming a teacher through the Neag School of Education, visit teachered.education.uconn.edu<\/a> to learn more.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Elizabeth \u201cLiz\u201d DeVitto \u201914 (ED), \u201915 MA looked for a book to help her students deal with emotions, she couldn\u2019t find anything appropriate and decided to publish ‘Finding a Safe Spot’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":193555,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,1855],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[1879],"class_list":["post-193554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-neag"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-08 11:31:05","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193554"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193554\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":193568,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193554\/revisions\/193568"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/193555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193554"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=193554"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=193554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}