Please read this website that I read on a blogspot: Sarah says.... She is a special education teacher from Indiana. Very cool blog Sarah, and very cool name. Anyway, here is the website:
http://www.thearcofil.org/document.asp?did=749
After reading this I thought of my classroom this year and one of my students. This year I have had the pleasure of being the teacher to a remarkable young man who is brilliant, a great friend, has a wonderful working memory, and who is constantly under the scrutiny of others. Did I mention that this young man is completely blind?
I know, you are saying, "Oh, Sarah, what a tough job teaching 20 "normal" kids and then adding a child that is blind." Or, how about this one, "Oh, Sarah, why is he here in a regular room when he could be at the School for the Blind?" His parents I am sure have faced this their entire life, the pity and the sadness in people's voices when they find out their son is blind. I've only had to witness it for 9 incredible months. I guess as an educator I was excited about having a student with blindness. I mean, why wouldn't we want 20 other kids to learn how to accept a person's disability and erase the discrimination that we live with everyday in our world?
Never have I had the honor of knowing such a remarkable child. He really is brilliant. His ability to conclude what is going on and respond to is it unbelievable. He works so hard. When his visual specialist teaches him something new from the mysterious world of Braille he begs for more. He listens better than anyone I know. What impresses me most is his astounding resiliancy to the rest of the world. They expect, since he is blind, that he will not be able to do something, or that we should be easy on him because he is blind. He takes this expectation and throws it back in their faces. He works so hard overcoming the world's discrimination for him. It's almost an, "not only can I do it, but I can do it better!" attitude. After spending any amount of time with him you don't pity him. You just wish you had the same superpowers that he has!
My only sorrow is that during his life there will be a multitude of people who will never get to know his superpowers. They will never be able to see past the pity, and the blindness. They will always keep a wall up. It's a shame because not only is he blind, but he is a remarkable, brilliant, super human.
Recently, we got to talking about the special education preschool we have at my school and one of my students asked, "why don't we have anyone with a disability in our classroom?" that question says it all......
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If we fail to nourish our souls, they wither, and without soul life ceases to have meaning... The creative process shrivels in the absence of continual dialogue with the soul. And creativity is what makes life worth living. -Marion Woodman
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About Me
- Sarah Amick
- I am so blessed, I am a wife, a mother, and a teacher. Daily I experience the joys of childhood in a fresh and new way. Like a new box of crayons these children reveal to me all the colors of a rainbow. They color my life with their reds and blues and I am blessed to know that I am changed by who they are becoming. This is who I have alway wanted to be...a teacher.
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- 365
- A Teacher's Life
- becoming...
- Busy Teacher Mom
- Chocolate for teachers...
- Creative Literacy
- Edu Blather
- Learning On The Edge
- Literacy Launchpad
- Living, Loving, Learning
- Moving Mountains Hubley Style
- Mrs. Jones' First Grade
- Stenhouse Publishers
- Stone academy room 241
- Teacher Food
- Teching Around
- Two Writing Teachers
- The Write One
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5 comments:
YOU GO GIRL....You are right- HE IS AMAZING! I can only hope that he graces my classroom in three years.
Sarah,
This reminds me of the time I first started teaching at Indian Village. There were some lower functioning students in another room and my students were always making fun of them. Finally, I asked the teacher if we could get together once a week for games, reading, and math activities. She agreed, and for the rest of the year we all met and interacted. By the end of the year a few of my students were calling these same kids their friends and asking if they could help them with their work on a daily basis. Not all my students responded in this fashion, but I feel that they at least became aware that their disablility was something not to be made fun of. If any of your students would like to come and see our class snake don't be afraid to ask. Gracie told me to tell you HI. She still is the same height.
Jake Sproat said, "I have seen him and he really works hard to fit in with the other students." Jacob Huss said, "It reminded him of another school where he got to work with some students who were in wheelchairs." Adara Armey said, "It reminded her of the time her mom and her were in the grocery store. They saw a couple of blind men and asked if they could be of help. They both declined, saying they were confident in theirselves.
Thank you Jim,
I know that Dennis really wants to do what boys do and his parents are so encouraging to him. The funny thing is that he has no concept of what it is to be sighted. He doesn't know what that has ever been like for us.
Thank you Jim,
I know that Dennis really wants to do what boys do and his parents are so encouraging to him. The funny thing is that he has no concept of what it is to be sighted. He doesn't know what that has ever been like for us.
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