"Remembering....................."

In the last two days, I have attended three different two-hour classes, all designed to broaden one’s “bag of tricks” in working with school children, ideas to make lessons more than just a boring lecture, ways to make learning interesting and fun. Tomorrow’s six-hour CPR class is not one required of me, but could come in handy and leaves me just short of fulfilling such as they do ask of me in the way of gaining occupational education. Truthfully, though, working in this Special-Ed unit mostly demands love, patience, and an understanding of Autism. Our attempt to teach may involve mathematics to some degree, language to the extent of gaining a bank of vocabulary words, and anything more than that can be labeled under “Social Skills”. We’re dealing with possible vocational abilities, manners around others, and temper issues. It’s an arena where runny noses, sneezes, congested coughing, and an occasional foul smell that could peel the paint off the wall are normal encounters. Hand sanitizer and air-freshener are necessities. I always thought that, at this point in my life, I’d be volunteering for odd jobs at the church and visiting the sick in the hospitals. God had other plans, I guess. A small board is attached to the back of my computer desk with pictures pinned to it of all the kids I’ve taught in the past nine years. No regrets. None at all……