Tales From My Life

Today I wanted to share some of my own experience from childhood, and how they helped shape me as an educator and as well as a human being.  


My first story is from when I just started school in the States.  I was in the general education classroom for the first time in my life, and until my IEP (Individualized Education Plan) was written, I had no services whatsoever.  I didn't see anything wrong with that, because I was used to being in a classroom and doing work, and I did that here to the best of my ability.  Once my IEP was done, I started receiving services of a vision teacher.  Now, that's all well and good, but the issue came when the said teacher just took me to the back of the classroom and therefore took any opportunities of interaction with my classmates away from me.  This created all types of problems which ranged from me giving the woman h*** and attitude to my classmates isolating me on the playground.  It was during this time that I learned that I wasn't like all other kids, and trust me, it wasn't a good way to find out.  


This experience taught me that children want to be like their peers, regardless of exceptionality and are entitled to get as many 'normal' experiences as possible.  This means making sure that the child is included in classroom activities and is not ignored by the general education teacher.  When the teacher is including all students, he/she is modeling acceptance, which leads to the kids emulating the behavior and allowing the child with exceptionality feel like a part of the group.  This has tremendous effect on social and emotional development, and gives the student a taste of what things may be like in the workplace and higher education setting.  I know that I will do my best to make sure none of my students feel left out or isolated, and make sure that the general education teacher is made to feel comfortable with the fact that the child with special needs is participating and engaging in classroom community.  I can't even begin to stress the importance of that (and I will, when I write about social skills).


My next experience deals with bullying.  While I don't want to go into any details, I do want to say that it is never all right to tell the child that is being bullied to keep his/her mouth shut and not report anything.  Having been on the receiving end of bullies from the time I was in primary school, I know first hand how demeaning it can be to feel defenseless, especially when the adults in your life are choosing to ignore what you're telling them.  Bullying can be very damaging to a child (or adult) of any age, and it's so important to make sure that the person gets the proper psychological and emotional support.  Those that don't get the help they need may suffer from low self-esteem and self-confidence, as well as depression and anxiety (believe me, I speak from experience).  I hope that at some point people understand that it's not acceptable to allow a person to be bullied to the point of wanting to end his/her life.  So, please, take what your students/children tell you seriously.  It could potentially save a life.


What I have taken from my own experience with bullying is that sensitivity training needs to start very early.  And it doesn't have to be focused on accepting those who have special needs.  Kids who are high achievers, shy, and enjoy different things than their same-age peers can be victims as much as those who are in special education, so I think it's best to teach our students to treat everyone around them with respect, and realize that words have power, and that power can inflict more lasting damage than a punch.  Physical wounds heal, but emotional ones leave scars that cannot be covered with make-up foundation.  Also, teachers and others who have daily contact with children need to make sure that the person doing the bullying is punished right away.  It doesn't matter if it's first offense, because there should be zero tolerance for any sort of abusive behavior.  A remark that one person meant as harmless teasing, can have lasting consequences on a sensitive person who is insecure, and is trying to work up the courage to get out and socialize just a little bit.