I had quite a surprise before school started this morning. I was supposed to be getting a new student (a Hispanic boy), but the resource teacher showed up & informed me I’d be getting a girl who had suffered mild hearing loss & had hearing aids in both ears. I was a little thrown off guard, especially when her grandmother started asking me questions, & informed me that her mom would like to meet with me tomorrow. The resource teacher went over some basic accommodations for this student in my classroom & then flew out of my room to make a copy of her plan. (One major aspect of that plan is that I will start teaching with a microphone/headset so that she can hear me even more effectively. I reminded the resource teacher that I have a loud clear voice, usually, but it's part of my student's accommodation plan, so....this will be interesting!)
I got really nervous at first & was somewhat confused as well, but kept trying to smile at her as I discussed her circumstances with those ladies & inquired as to whether or not she signs. I said a silent prayer in my heart after that, that I would be able to meet her needs, whatever it took, especially since I placed her up front by me, with her good ear facing me during instruction. She seems like a really sweet girl. The only problems we had today, were the boys complaining that the Hispanic boy originally assigned to my classroom was now in the other 4th grade class instead of ours, & probably wouldn't play soccer with them now....or increase the ratio of boys to girls in the room. But for the most part, classmates took her under their wing, & even made special efforts to play with her at recess (with a little prodding from the teacher.)
I think the funniest thing that happened today was when I announced that we were going on a walking field trip to discover evidences of erosion around the school, & my student Luis raised his hand & asked if they could invite their parents to come along. I looked at him carefully, & then said, “You’re not going to have time to invite them to come with us right now.” He looked confused, and then said, “I thought we were talking about the field trip later this month.: To which I replied, “Ummm...we’re in the middle of science right now. Why would I be talking about our field trip in a couple of weeks?”