With Mite's teacher going through chemo, there have been several subs for his class.
Yesterday I arrived after school to find the classroom door shut and lights out. So I sat in the foyer of the 3rd grade pod to wait for the class, thinking they were out of the room or watching a movie or some such thing. After several minutes, a janitor came and opened the door.
There crowded at the door was the sub and most of the kids lined up to leave. I could hear the sub calling Mite saying, "Mite you are the one holding us up."
Turns out she had the lights out for nearly 10 minutes and the kids who were quick to organize their things could line up at the door before the lights were out. The kids who weren't had to get their things from their desks in the dark and traverse the room and wander through the other "disorganized kids" to get in line.
Mite had dropped his thing several times, tripped over someone's foot and fell, and knocked someone else in the head who was bending over to pick up a pencil. When I found him at the back of the line he was standing there, his eyes open wider than wide, with his books and belongings spilling through his arms. He looked terrified.
Mite has several problems, but the primary one is dyspraxia. Dyspraxics have difficulty with motor planning, attention and organization.
Why was he put in that situation? I was soooooooo sorry for him. He explained over and over to me that he wasn't trying to hold up the line. He was trying to hurry.
I've zipped off a letter to the principal, sped teacher and teacher. I want to know why the sub didn't know of his accomodation needs. I want to know why ANYONE would leave children in the dark to find their things and line up. That's just inappropriate for all of them, let alone a little guy who doesn't know where he is in space in the best of times.
ok....deep breath.....we can educate mite...we can educate mite...we can....
