Giving back

For the first time in my career I was able to give back to the teaching profession. I was asked to be a cooperating teacher for a young lady in her junior year at Ohio Dominican University. I felt honored to be chosen for this. I remember my days as a student teacher and the various teachers I had the privilege to work under. I feel I learned quite a bit from them, each in a different way. Caitlin is an exceptional young lady. She shows compassion for the profession. From the first moment she stepped foot in my classroom, she had my students wrapped around her little finger and vice versa. Caitlin has an understanding for the diversity in a special needs classroom. I believe this compassion and understanding comes from her family. Her sister was born at 23 weeks and her parents were told that she wouldn't live very long. Needless to say, she beat the odds and is 23 years old now. Regardless of that though, I feel that she would still have those same characteristics. If she had been finishing up her Senior year, I feel she could of walked out of my room with a job with the county. That's how impressed everyone has been. Today was her last day with the class. Instead of our usual schedule, we took her out to brunch. We made her a scrapbook so that she can always remember us. She left me a thank you card and I almost cried. I love what I do and I know that my students are happy in my room. They are blossoming and becoming adults. It is a joy to see this take place. It is also great to have someone else take notice and thank you for allowing them to take part in the process. I wanted her to walk away from this experience feeling that I showed her what it trully meant to be a special education teacher. everyone talks about no child left behind and hold students with special needs accountable for the general education curriculum. What they don't realize is that with this population you have to look at what is more important, having them know what started World War I or what their personal information is. I hope she walks away from this experience with the skills and knowledge to help prepare young adults with cognitive delays be successful, independent participants in society.