(I'm here on the right)The other two in this picture are my co-workers. We are in the same classroom Monday- Friday from 8am -3:15pm. We just started working together in January. I became a permanent substitute teacher in their class after their teacher passed away from lung cancer. We all work together in the special education department working with children with emotional and behavioral problems. I had no idea what I had gotten into or the task that was before me. Entering into the classroom I quickly realized that I was out of my element. These children are from broken homes and neighborhoods that breathes negative energy. The three of us together have formed a team and a bond that I never would have imagined coming from this school. Each of has something that the other doesn't and together we're a perfect match. We love on the children the same. We want them to feel special and loved even when the world around them tells that they shouldn't feel that way. These people hold me accountable in my day to day walk with Christ. They understand that I am growing and I can even confide in them when I have fallen. The other young lady in the picture says that I have helped her calm down so much, because I am pretty calm. The guy in the picture is constantly making us laugh, but is also a great instructor. The kids get to see this positive bond lived out in the classroom everyday. I pray that we have planted some time of positive seed. These are my daily supports and without them in this part of my life I couldn't imagine. I believe God puts people in your life for a reason and I am glad his placed them at this moment in my life.
Hello Quintina, enjoyed reading,
ReplyDeleteI too first starting off, teaching autism, the first 3 months of school. I was very disturbed by the way the teaching for this children were; most times I did not want to be there, but I knew that for the time they would get a better treatment than I was seeing. Special needs and at-risk children are just that to some teachers, their emotions are none. The key is seeing and ensuring that the Department of Education and other entities have an effective impact in children’s safety as well as their learning environment for all children. All in all, I hear in passing the collaboration across different agencies are needed that includes teachers as well that work with special education children. As we know all too often in prior years, services and problems have been fragmented; they are sometimes burdens that are not good for the families having to sift through this many protocols as well as procedures from these entities that are not coordinating them effectively. We all have to do better for our children, they are the next generation that will have to run this world; they need to be prepared. I think that your team will do find with the humbleness that you all display the children will learn, thank you.