Two weeks before I was to return to work in August of 2009 I received a phone call from my principal. Due to budget cuts I was being transferred to another elementary school. This is not a phone call any teacher wants to receive. It means huge changes. All new staff, new families, new protocol, and goodbyes to people and routines that are both familiar and comforting.
But for me it meant so much more than that. It meant that the work I had done in preparing Grace for kindergarten, choosing her teacher, and getting her 504 in place at her school had been for nothing. In fact, I had gotten her accustomed to a teacher and a classroom that would now NOT be hers. Not only would this be difficult for Grace, but my older daughter would also need to move schools. This would be her third school since kindergarten. I was feeling miserable, guilty and nervous.
I had no idea how Grace would react in this new school. I had no history with any of the other kindergarten teachers and did not know if they would be open to her needs or to the specifics of her 504 plan the way it had been written out at her previous school. To further complicate matters, I didn’t want to come across like an “over the top” parent since I was going to need to be working with them all. I was in, what I considered, a very difficult situation.
That’s when my new principal came up to me and asked me a simple question. He asked if I wanted to have Grace in my kindergarten class. My first reaction was no. But he smiled and told me to think about it some more. So I did. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that it was the right choice. I knew Grace. I could meet her needs better than anyone else. Why not? I was a good kindergarten teacher. If anyone could teach a child like Grace it was me. So Grace Hoiness’ name appeared on my class list.
I told Grace that she was going to go to a different school and that I was going to be her teacher. She never even batted an eye. She was thrilled. My only concern was the other families and being that I was a new teacher at the school I didn’t have my reputation to back me up. I decided the only way to make this work was to make it a non issue. I didn’t mention to anyone that she was my daughter and I treated her exactly the same as the other children. As families realized she was my child it was already established that she was just one of the class and thus there were no issues. Aside from the occasional “MOM!” that she would call out when she needed help she acted just like any one of my other students. Grace was an official kindergartner. Even better, she was one of MY kindergartners.
Grace’s kindergarten year was even better than I ever could have hoped for. I was careful to focus my attention on the other children as to never appear to favor my own child. In doing so, I often ignored Grace. This turned out to be an excellent strategy for her. Instead of overanalyzing her every action, I ended up leaving her to her own devices and giving her plenty of opportunities to solve her own problems. Grace rose to the occasion. She made friends. She laughed, and smiled and worked hard in class. She followed the rules. And aside from her occasional loud, bellowing voice, was a delightful student. I was able to anticipate the situations where I knew she might have difficulty. These situations, such as choppy transitions and abrupt changes in routine, are minimized in my classroom due to the nature of the way I teach.
As the year went on Grace and I became close friends with the students and families in my class. Not only was I their teacher, I was Grace’s mom. I went to their birthday parties, and they all came to Grace’s. We had them over to our house for play dates. Toward the end of the year I shared with several of the mothers some of the struggles that Grace has gone through. They have been a great support to me and their friendship has meant a great deal. In the end, I couldn’t have asked for a better group of children or parents to be there for Grace and I. They all hold a special place in my heart.
Grace was totally comfortable in kindergarten. From the minute she walked in the door the first day until the very last day of school she was happy, comfortable and joyful. It was one of the best years of our lives together thus far.
No comments:
Post a Comment