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When I came home from work today, I opened the mailbox and found an envelope addressed to me. It was from two former students. In the envelope, each wrote a long letter expressing their new life in high school and sharing how much they appreciate my teaching during middle school. They were so proud that they were able to answer questions about Romeo and Juliet and grammar in high school — all because of their hard work in middle school. They also sent a bumper sticker with the name of the school. I will always cherish these letters. It was the boost that I needed especially after what happened yesterday.
When I first started working as an itinerant teacher of the deaf, I was assigned 9-12 students ranging from kindergarten to high school. Some of them are consult only, and they do not need any direct services. Some of them need a few minutes of direct services, while others need more.
One of them has touched my heart. When I first met her, she had very minimal language. She gestured and made unintelligible utterances. She threw temper tantrums when she didn’t get her way. She parroted people whenever she is paying attention. When I tried to gather information to see how much she knew, she wasn’t able to tell me much. Just a word here and there, when she knew the sign. Needless to say, she’s a tough case.
I work with her as much my schedule would allow, and now she’s signing and speaking in one or two word utterances. She’s naming people by their proper names. She’s making requests when prompted. Recently, when she saw me come in the room, she ran to me saying and signing “Beth!” We work on several things: learning the alphabet in sequence, reading primary books, and learning conceptual knowledge such as colors, animals, food, and clothing. Today, we reviewed the ABC story book with sign language. She loves that book, and would recall what we’ve discussed whenever we read it. Then, I showed her a ABC story in ASL on one of the DVDs. She was captivated and played it over and over. Then she tried to parrot the ABC story. She smiles. That’s the highlight of my week.
I’m taking a short hiatus from blogging. I have a final exam and a final paper coming up in the next two weeks. Keep me in your thoughts as I study case laws in special education.
I’m finally graduating with a master’s in deaf education from Kent State University on December 13 (after starting the program back in fall of 1999). It’s a long story. Anyway, I was able to return to the program and finish it. I know I’m extremely lucky, because often universities would have required one to redo all the coursework if one did not complete in time. I wrote a letter explaining what I have been doing for the past several years since I left the program and my desire to finish and earn that degree. Three letters of recommendations were also sent. I was able to come back and complete the program as I left it. Without the support of faculty at Kent Statue and my former employers back in Virginia, I would not be able to do that. For that, I’m deeply grateful for their understanding and support.
I didn’t expect to find a job in these Kentucky mountains, especially in the field of deaf education. When we learned about this possible call in Kentucky, I immediately started looking. In the state of Kentucky, all teaching jobs are posted on the Kentucky Department of Education website. So I looked at that website every week for a possible position. Nothing was available in this area; it’s always somewhere else. By mid-July, I started to give up on teaching and moved on to looking at newspaper ads. One day, I had to take a double-look and found an ad for a teacher of the deaf in the newspaper. From there, I sent in an application and resume, went to the interview, and volia! I got a job.
I’m an itinerant teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing, which means I’m traveling many miles from home to one school to the next school. I work with the student based on his/her IEP and consult with his/her teachers and staff. It’s so different from classroom teaching. I’m adjusting to this teaching position with its own challenges, i.e. making one own’s schedule. Every day, it gets better.
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