Teacher at Work

I had the opportunity to work in a preschool with a mainstreaming program for a good seven years. To be exact, I handled classes with multi- age groupings for five years. The two years were parttime commitments due to my preoccupation with graduate school. Balancing time between school and work responsibilities can be nerve-wracking at times and at the end of the day, you'd know that you were not able to give your best in either.

Everyday teaching was no easy feat at all. As Forest Gump puts it, "life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.." So was my day to day, week after week and, yearly experience.

It was a very small class size composed of a maximum of thirteen children and every year, three children with special needs would be included in my roster. Two would be specifically diagnosed and the third one, usually an outsider, would come up with a condition I could'nt exactly pinpoint, but having had the opportunity to work with different kinds of children, veteran teachers and even the children themselves would have an inkling when a child is in need of scaffolding regular schooling alone cannot provide.

Since their condition is also marked by difficulties in speech and communication, they repeat their words. They have a hard time saying what is called for in a specific situation. Some hardly utter a word or two, or mumble with everyone around left clueless with their undecipherable messages. It would take a trained ear and constantly being around them to understand what they mean. Their gaze wander and the inability to make prolonged eye contact seems to be the norm. Some cry for no reason at all or throw tantrums when the class schedule is interrupted or completely changed. They can be sensitive to sound and afraid of just about anything. At the extreme opposite end, there are those who are still and quiet, seemingly unmindful of the goings on around them. It was always a challenge to make them come alive to take on active roles in the group.

The other children in my classroom learned to be more patient and accepting of different kinds of behavior and personalities. Many times, it would simply mean letting people be. I know they will bring this understanding of others when they go out to become part of bigger school settings and groups of people, because I did.

The mainstreamed kids in my classroom were always a mystery. They had their own way of doing things. They were amusing and fun to be with. Its been two years since I left that school but their odd ways keep me smiling to myself while I am alone in the bus sometimes. There were challenging days, yes, but those days repeatedly introduced me to myself as a teacher.