So i got this new teaching/ tutoring job for students with learning/mental disabilities. I guess it's a special ed academy. i mainly teach math, but also teach devotion time, some english and PE. Eventually after training ill teach english phonics / and maybe science.. Jus when i thought i finally got away from school..
It's actually pretty neat to see students learn. You can see them learning new material and understanding it. Teaching kids to read is harder than i thought. But for math u can see them start to get how to count by 2's, 3's, add, multiply, and do fractions.
it can get pretty chaotic. i try to stay out of it all. i think there's something in me that longs to take care of people. Perhaps because i know what it's like when no one seems to care. We've all been there. Maybe i jus want to make a difference.
In regular schools, these kids just can't survive. high school is tough. there's high expectations and annoying social pressures to fit in. no. u can be who God designed you to be, and embrace even your imperfect weakness. Everyone has weaknesses. but God can strengthen us where we fail.
i was teaching math and i asked this boy, "Why is it important that we learn math?" And his answer was so funny. He said, "because we can learn to count money.. so we can pay for our date. And so we can also tell what time it is.. so we know when to pick up our date." LOL i tried to contain myself. and then in English, this boy was trying to figure out what the word "buoyancy" meant. And was like.. "does it have to do with balancing something? does it have to do with boys? does it have to do with balancing boys?!"
most of the students are high school. some jr. high. they're like big little kids. but there's one 1st grade, 5yr old i get to work with. oh man. everything this little kid does is adorable. he's seriously like a little puppy.
one student gave a really good impromptu speech. his humor is genius. i made a joke in the kitchen, and this girl seriously could not stop laughing. it's good to be around those who find humor even in the small things. One tutor was telling everyone to pay attention and be quiet, and then he walked into the board.. it was hard not to laugh. laughter is such a good medicine.
One thing i learned so far is that each student is very unique. perfect in their own way. like u really begin to see how creative God made each person. I like the fact that the students are somewhat excited to learn. one kid said, "Sometimes when i think about life, I think wow, isn't it weird how we're living?"
some students have autism, ADHD, anxiety, retardation, other challenging disorders, and trouble with some social skills, but that doesnt take away an ounce of their beauty. I know we all knew at least one person who was in our school or class before that had trouble interacting with others and keeping up with school work. I think they often get undermined, ignored, treated somewhat as an outcast, get teased, or don't get as easily accepted with everyone else.
We usually don't worry or care too much about others since we're usually caught up in our own little worlds. But sometimes do u ever think how hard it must be from their perspective? How hard life could be if we picked up learning at a slower pace? or if we we're unable to express, connect, and communicate with others? Imagine not being able to read, write, spell, speak, add, or understand others. yeah we all have the ability to be irritating sometimes, but i think everyone can also be a good friend too given the chance. we could all be a little more understanding of others.
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