One of the Joys in My Job

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.

The Irony in My Job

Let me start with describing my job a little bit more. I work in three school districts and sometimes, they have different schedules. That’s the fun in coordinating schedules. I’m going to give each school district an alias to make things easier to explain.

Farthest School District, about 65 miles away from home
Home School District
City School District, about 15 miles away from home

Remember the first snow? Home School District had a snow day, but Farthest School District was open. I still went to work. This morning, I woke up and saw just plain ugly brown mud and grass, wet from yesterday’s rain. I got ready for work at the Farthest School District, but I had a hunch that I should check the news before I leave the house. Lo and behold, Farthest School District is closed, even though there is nothing on the ground outside my window. (Home School District had one hour delay.)

Ironic, isn’t it?

First Snow of the Season

Two days ago, I smelled snow just like Lorelai of the Gilmore Girls. I knew it was coming. And it came today! Beautiful white sheet covered the ground. White topped trees and bushes. White roofs. Smoking chimneys. Snow-covered cars and trucks.

Local school district announced a two hour delay, which eventually cancelled the schools for the day. Some of the back roads in these mountains are so narrow, steep, and crooked. Black ice were on roads and bridges. However, this was not my day to work in that school district. (Rats!) Since we live close to the major highway, I was able to go to work at another school district about 65 miles away. There, snow was almost no where to be seen. Just a little dust here and there.

I didn’t get a chance to take pictures of the snow this morning. Hopefully, next time.

More Pictures of Beautiful Mountains

Part of my new job is traveling to schools. On average, I’m driving 100 miles round trip. At first, I really didn’t like it, because at my old job, I was driving barely 4 miles round trip. I’m also taking my office, which is really a rolling suitcase with compartments, everywhere with me. I have to remember to bring certain curriculum materials for that particular student at that specific school. It’s not an easy task to do. This is a huge change for me.

Yet, one of the pleasures of this new job is driving along one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Sometimes, I take pictures if I have the camera with me and if I have time to stop and shoot. Enjoy.

The following pictures are taken from the scenic outlook at Pikeville, Kentucky. One of the pictures show the “cut-through”, which means that part of the mountain was blasted off and dug out in order to make room for roads and development. This particular “cut-through” is the largest man-made movement of rocks and dirt besides the Panama Canal. Engineers moved the river and the railroads out of downtown Pikeville to this “cut-through” to make room for development and for better roads.

City of Pikeville

“The Cut-Through”

Mountains Around Pikeville

My New Job

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.