At most of my schools, I teach at least 1 special needs class a week. The most recent school I went to, I taught the “Sakura” class.
Before I came here, my impression of special ed teachers was that they have so much patience that they too, must be “special.” I really don’t know how to explain it, but something about the kids is really endearing. For instance, they do the goofiest shit with the goofiest faces, and they don’t have Bell’s Palsy either.
One girl must have been watching the Star Wars movies because in the middle of Christmas arts and crafts session, she started to sing the Darth Vader theme song. Then, she dropped her colored pencils and glue stick and slowly raised her hands, palms facing the ceiling and saying, “Emi! Who am I? I... Am…Darth Vader! HA HA HA.” Special needs girl.
During the second week, still doing Christmas lessons, I made a Christmas CD and we handed out Jingle Bells lyrics to the kids. They really, really, REALLY liked the Jingle Bells song. They kept playing it until the most special boy screamed and grabbed the remote from one of the other students and put the controller on the other side of the room.
Cultural Note:
1. Sakura – (Sah-Koo-Rah) – Cherry Blossom in Japanese.
2. Bell’s Palsy – Paralysis of a cranial nerve, where the affected side of the face droops.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment