A few of my experiences working/volunteering and most importantly connecting with children and youth with exceptionalities have shaped the person I am becoming and will continue to inform myself as an educator and citizen in this world. I wanted to share some of my major take aways in the experiences I have had thus far working with some truly exceptional children and youth. These humans have inspired me and continue to do so dailyâŚ
Prior to enrolling in the UNBC education program I lived in Calgary Alberta where I completed my Undergrad degree and was lucky enough to work at one of the special education schools in the area as a Therapeutic/Teaching assistant in one of the classrooms. Providence was the name of the school, and it was run as an integration school in hopes to take children with various exceptionalities or diagnosis and prepare them to be integrated into the public school system, or other programs if required. The experience I gained working at this school was insurmountable, I will take skills and wisdom I learned teaching here into my future classrooms without question. Almost all the students in my class had a speech delay to some degree and because of this there were different tools we used to converse with the students. The teacher in my classroom was very calm natured, she was also very expressive and concise in her words. She spoke with complete letters and words, slowly, and she utilized some sign language which over time I was able to pick up. I found the sign very simple and effective with all the students. We had some really big behaviours in the class, and due to this being an integration school we got kids that were looking to head into kindergarten or Grade 1. It is hard to diagnose students this young, and it is recommended against to diagnoses kids under the age or 8. Therefore it was a lot of teamwork required to create the most effective plans and goals for all these kids. I think this was what I leaned most being and working at this school. That old saying it takes a village to raise a child, its true. It was important to the teacher in my room to speak with pediatricians, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, parents, guardians, support workers⌠Anyone involved in this childâs life was a factor and had influence rightly so over the plan we developed for the child moving forward. It is such an important thing to take away as a future teacher, that open lines of communication with the people in the students/childâs life will be an imperative factor in finding success for the child.
Another one of my experiences that will forever stick with me and be cherished was when I got to volunteer coach the SuperHEROS hockey program in Calgary. This program took place every Sunday morning for children and youth with exceptionalities, this was a league for them to participate in. I absolutely loved this program, most people wouldnât love getting up early on a Sunday morning, I looked forward to it every weekend. To say this experience is rewarding would be an understatement. I personally have played hockey my whole life. I moved to Calgary to play hockey for the University of Calgary, and I got this opportunity through this. When you play a sport like hockey as long as I have you can sometimes loose your love for it. This program helped me re-find my love of hockey, it made me realize how lucky and how grateful I have been to play the sport I love my whole life with no questions asked, and never any worries that I wouldnât be able to play. Working with these kids was amazing, it was unorganized chaos for the most part of the hour with the younger players, but even with this there was so much learning at the same time. This experience taught me more then anything the importance of focusing on a childâs strength rather then their stretches. I had one little player who for the first half of the ice times just wanted to sit on his butt the whole ice time. I decided to plop him right in front of the net because he loved to score goals. By the last few sessions, he was skating around way more, and he was scoring a ton of goals. It showed me that finding what he was good at and capitalizing on it helped him work on his stretches all on his own. In the older age group, the skill was truly amazing. The biggest challenge with this group honestly was getting them off the ice at the end of the session. We were able to run a standard hockey practice with this group, and to see the development in these players over the hockey season was an amazing thing to witness. It really shows you that despite children and youth having an exceptionality or something that makes them a little âdifferentâ, this does not need to hold them back from anything. Might they need a bit of additional attention? Sometimes yes, but that is any kid. All that is really needed is someone who cares. The parents of the group cared and brought them every Sunday morning, the coaches on the ice cared and volunteered their time every Sunday morning. It matters, and kids know if you care about them, and it makes a difference in what you can get out of them. These lessons coaching in this hockey program again are ones I will take into my life and my classroom.
Overall lessons from these experiences are that it takes a village, and it takes a village that simply cares. Every person on this planet has strengths in some areas. It is our job as educators and adults to uncover and or capitalize on these strengths as they can carry children and youth onto amazing paths and successes.
