Brainwaves

One of the things I like about my retirement job is that every year it turns into something different. More than that, it evolves as it goes. Not only do work schedules change to let teachers adjust to three and four-day weeks, but one also never knows when the students, themselves, may relocate in or out of our location’s area of responsibility. Here we are nearly halfway through this school year and two more kids were added to our work-load last Thursday. Brother and sister. Both stricken with cerebral palsy. He’s Fifth Grade and pretty well restricted to a wheelchair. She’s in Third and struggles with a walker. There’s no real problem communicating, but how to now divide four instructors in such a way as to cover our entire roster is another matter. I’m continually being pulled from my original assignment to meet other needs as they arise. Flexibility is a must…………

The IN-ability to maintain a more concrete pattern of just what it is I’m trying to achieve in the execution of my job doesn’t bother me. They pay me for six and work me closer to seven. I knew, going in, however, that this was no union position; and five years into it, I am yet convinced this was a good choice for me. The autistic lad is ten and gives no real evidence of caring whether he ever conquers toilet training. To him, everything is just a game. The younger fellow in Third who consistently requires my attention when he opts to throw a temper tantrum rather than work, has, no doubt, just never heard of the word “discipline”. Both, though, can look at me afterwards and melt my heart with their smile. I get a little perplexed sometimes in the middle of trying to teach something and nothing is making a connection; but, over all, this is a gift from God………….

Upstairs. Downstairs. From one end of the building to the other. Who needs a treadmill? I sat in an Art class today and played Bingo. The teacher had ingeniously fashioned her own cards that allowed students to cover answers to definitions she gave. With but twenty or so minutes before dismissal, I helped two of my charges construct a Social Studies mobile out of construction paper, some red twine, and a coat hanger. Math, a bit earlier, had me trying to explain the phenomenon of being able to arrange coins a number of ways and yet always have them total two dollars. No two days are the same and you’d be amazed what you can learn, yourself, when you keep repeating the same grade over and over after more than five decades. If they’ll have me back and the good Lord doesn’t mind, I think I’ll give it a go again next time around………….