
Right now, you're probably preparing for your first day of the new term, excitedly anticipating the kind of year you plan to have.
You've probably finished your scheme of work, and drafted your lesson plans and can't wait to impart knowledge on the young minds that will start your class today.
I hope more than anything though, you're well rested.
Here's a little secret: At nine o'clock this morning, I will bring my son into your class, and everything you thought you had carefully planned will more than likely be turned on its head. Here's another secret: By the end of the year, it will all have been totally worth it.
My son, in spite of and because of all of his difficulties, struggles to understand the simplest of things , yet wants to understand EVERYTHING. He will look to you for knowledge. Sometimes you will have the answers - sometimes you won't. There will be tears and tantrums. There will be meltdowns and madness. There will be times you think that it is all too much.
My son doesn't always appear to want to learn. With his limited ability to express emotion, fear, confusion, disappointment and self doubt are all often expressed as anger. His eagerness becomes interruptions, his curiosity manifests itself as naughtiness. Please don't give up on him. Please try to understand him and harness his thirst for knowledge and help me to unleash his full potential.
You'll have to modify your lessons plans and change the classroom around. If you think you already have too much paperwork, then I estimate that its about to be doubled. And you know how teachers always complain about the extra-long working hours? They're about to get longer….
Oh yes, and then there will be me. I will be there, asking for quick chats at the end of the day, handing you fistfuls of printouts on my sons conditions, and suggesting books you can read to help you modify your curriculum for my child (as if your workload wont be heavy enough). I'll be requesting your attendance at meetings and holding impromptu mini parents evenings throughout the year. It won't help you at all that I am a teacher too. But trust me, by the end of the year, it will all have been worth it. I promise you.
In between the impulsivity, anger, tantrums and meltdowns, there will be the moments when after trying to teach him something for weeks, he does it on his own. There will be the times when he gets something right and beams with pride in his own little way. There will be the moments when after struggling for your attention and approval you give him the tiniest pit of praise and you can see how proud he is of himself that the entire reason you became a teacher will be momentarily personified in him.
So thank you in advance. Thank you for all the extra work, time and effort that you will have to put in. I know it won't be easy but I know it will be worth it.
You've probably finished your scheme of work, and drafted your lesson plans and can't wait to impart knowledge on the young minds that will start your class today.
I hope more than anything though, you're well rested.
Here's a little secret: At nine o'clock this morning, I will bring my son into your class, and everything you thought you had carefully planned will more than likely be turned on its head. Here's another secret: By the end of the year, it will all have been totally worth it.
My son, in spite of and because of all of his difficulties, struggles to understand the simplest of things , yet wants to understand EVERYTHING. He will look to you for knowledge. Sometimes you will have the answers - sometimes you won't. There will be tears and tantrums. There will be meltdowns and madness. There will be times you think that it is all too much.
My son doesn't always appear to want to learn. With his limited ability to express emotion, fear, confusion, disappointment and self doubt are all often expressed as anger. His eagerness becomes interruptions, his curiosity manifests itself as naughtiness. Please don't give up on him. Please try to understand him and harness his thirst for knowledge and help me to unleash his full potential.
You'll have to modify your lessons plans and change the classroom around. If you think you already have too much paperwork, then I estimate that its about to be doubled. And you know how teachers always complain about the extra-long working hours? They're about to get longer….
Oh yes, and then there will be me. I will be there, asking for quick chats at the end of the day, handing you fistfuls of printouts on my sons conditions, and suggesting books you can read to help you modify your curriculum for my child (as if your workload wont be heavy enough). I'll be requesting your attendance at meetings and holding impromptu mini parents evenings throughout the year. It won't help you at all that I am a teacher too. But trust me, by the end of the year, it will all have been worth it. I promise you.
In between the impulsivity, anger, tantrums and meltdowns, there will be the moments when after trying to teach him something for weeks, he does it on his own. There will be the times when he gets something right and beams with pride in his own little way. There will be the moments when after struggling for your attention and approval you give him the tiniest pit of praise and you can see how proud he is of himself that the entire reason you became a teacher will be momentarily personified in him.
So thank you in advance. Thank you for all the extra work, time and effort that you will have to put in. I know it won't be easy but I know it will be worth it.