Thinking of you

For the past few years, I have worked with a student who has been totally blind since birth. Recently he asked me what I think about when we're not together and I think of him.  

Naturally, I think of how he looks, his bright and beautiful face and smile, his cautious gait pattern and short strides, the way he uses his cane, his brailler and notetaker. I think of how the other students treat him, how some stare at him in the cafeteria, how frequently I find him off on the sidelines while the sighted students are playing games or copying work from the overhead.  I think of his quick mind and incredible memory, his tears of fear during a camp activity in which the students were expected to swing out holding a rope and drop into a cushioned landing pit. I think of how difficult it was for him to move from living in a trailer park on the outskirts of town to an inner city apartment. I think of his potential and all the challenges he faces.  I think of the growing trust in our relationship that enables him to venture these questions about the sighted world and the sighted mind.

I struggle to answer his question.

So I turned it on him; I asked what he thinks of when he thinks of me. 

He thinks of my voice and the stories I've told him.  He thinks of my therapy bag and all the stuff I bring in the bag. He thinks of the way I laugh.

Why I Don't Like Field Trips

8 things to consider before taking a class of students with self-regulation issues on a field trip to 6 Flags.

• Raymond might have a tantrum and pull your knit top below your left breast (where it stays unbeknownst to you) while waiting in the line for the log ride.
  
• Jason might snatch a man's wallet from his back pocket and toss all the money and cards in the air while waiting in the line for the log ride. 
• Jason might snatch a stranger girl's ice cream cone right out of her hand and start eating it while waiting in the line for the log ride.
• Jose might pull out his peetoe and stick it into a drain hole in the bottom of a large trash can and pee - near the entrance to 6 Flags.
• It might get so hot that Raymond becomes so thirsty and excited when he sees you balancing that cardboard tray of drinks that he leaps aloft and knocks the cardboard tray out of your hands spilling all the drinks into the gutter.
• Two other classmates may lose control and join Raymond on their hands and knees to slurp up the icy drinks from the gutter.
• You might lose Clinton.
• Your teacher colleague may experience a medical situation and need to leave briefly to stabilize herself while waiting in the line for the log ride.