On Wednesday 04 June 2008 23:06:53 melissa davis wrote:
> Hello all,
> My name is Melissa Davis. I am a sophomore at Felician College.
Hi Melissa, I'm Deri (proud Welshman), I am a quadriplegic with Cerebral
Palsy. I spent 12 years in residential special ed schools so perhaps I can
share some insights.
> I am
> currently majoring to become a special education teacher.
Well done.
> I am hoping
> to try and open up my own day care to help special needs children. There
> are not many in my town so I am hoping as time goes on I can do this. I
> would like to be able to make a difference in other children¢s lives. I
> want them to realize no matter if they have a special condition or disorder
> they are still special in everybody¢s eyes.
Its funny you know, I thought the "Special" in Spec Ed referred to the
teachers, not us kids. We were definitely a motley crew of various physical,
emotional and mental problems - certainly not "special" in any way (well
perhaps Terry's (a boy with polio) ability to ignite his own flatulence with
a Zippo after lights out in the dorm might be considered "gifted").
We were just a bunch of kids, naughty, fun, lazy, running, falling, learning
and loving - nothing special there.
So what made the teachers "special"?
I think it was their ability to NOT see us as special, to NOT make allowances
which weren't appropriate, to NOT accept less than maximum effort. I presume
that in the US subjects are marked A-E, at my school they also marked effort
(1-5), so for subjects that I couldn't physically do (i.e. Basket Weaving) I
would receive a mark of E1 (appalling result for maximum effort) which is an
honest assessment of my basket weaving performance!!
I have given a list of negatives, now a list of positives:-
They undertood that to teach "life skills" was probably more important than
purely academic subjects. The school was aimed to train us to succeed after
we left school.
They understood the importance of careful listening to what the kids are
saying, there is nothing more frustrating than not being listened to because
your speech is difficult to comprehend.
They understood it was important to allow us to take risks, to climb trees
(even though we might fall), to ride tricycles on two wheels, to get filthy
dirty.
> To me it does not matter what
> is on the outside, but mainly on the inside. Children these days need to
> have somebody that can look up to as a model and help make a
> difference in their lives.
My "role-models" at school was the Old Boys - who used to come back to school
driving cars, with their wives & children, talking about jobs they were
doing. I wanted all that - it wasn't any of the teachers.
> I have worked with children of all ages. I have
> also worked with children who may have different conditions or disorders. I
> have volunteered at the Lincoln School Summer program for special needs
> children in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. I worked with pre-school up until
> sixth grade. I have also started student teaching at academy of Our Lady in
> Glenrock New Jersey working with grade 4. I am hoping that I can get some
> useful information that may help me out as I am going into the different
> schools and teaching. I know each child works at different paces and uses
> different strategies.
> If there is any body that can help me with some
> useful information that you think I should look for that would be greatly
> appreciated.
Hope this gives a little insight and you remember that "Special" refers to the
Education, not the children - they are just kids, you'll be fine.
> Sincerely,
> Melissa Davis
Cheers
Deri
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