An Art Class Made The Difference
My journey as an educator has been nothing short of joyous. Throughout life, we face many choices, some much tougher than others, and those choices can lead us to defining moments in our lives. When I think about the moments that guided me into the world of education, I think back to an art class I took during my senior year in high school. If it wasn’t for this class, I may not be where I am today in my career.
There was a boy in my class who had a paraprofessional with him. He sat in the seat next to me at the end of the row, closest to the door. He did not interact with anyone in the class. He was easily overstimulated, and there were many times when he would have to leave the room. He would recite lines from movies and TV shows and would sing songs. I learned later that this was called scripting. I silently observed him for a week, watching him draw and sing.
One day, I went into class and decided that I was going to draw with him. I wanted to get to know him and help him feel comfortable in class. I was hoping that if I could engage with him, it would make his day a little better.
Drawing Together
I walked into class and I sat in the chair directly next to him, noticing that he already had paper and colored pencils. I introduced myself and started drawing on a piece of paper. He loved to draw Alvin and the Chipmunks, so that’s what I started drawing too. He kept looking over at my paper as he worked on his own drawing and all the while he was scripting lines from the show. I sat with him every day in class that week, and we drew whatever he was thinking about that day.
There was no dialogue between us, but at the end of the week, I walked into class, and he looked up at me and said “Hi.”
Focus On A Child’s Abilities
His aide was shocked. She told me that he never verbally communicated with someone on his own. At the end of class, his aide invited me to come to his classroom to meet his teacher and the other students in the class. Walking into that classroom changed my life forever. I met the high school special education teacher and the other students in the Life Skills Support classroom. All the students had varying diagnoses with a wide range of abilities. This teacher taught me to focus on a child’s abilities rather than their disabilities. I have carried that advice with me. I spent an entire school year with this incredible mentor who, to this day, has taught me more than anyone I have crossed paths with.
Working with individuals with significant needs taught me to educate with grace and always practice patience. This holds true when working with young children as well. I interact with them how I would want an educator to interact with my children. I believe that in my current role, modeling these types of interactions for new teachers is critical to ensuring their success as educators and giving our children a positive learning experience at an early age.
Early education establishes the building blocks of a child’s educational career. Early educators prepare children for school-aged programs and support them and their families throughout the process. This critical time in a child’s life paves the way to success later in life. As adults, it should be our goal to ensure that the children of today’s world are receiving a nurturing educational foundation. This involves working with children and meeting them at their level, individualizing the approach for each and every child so that progress is made at a speed that is comfortable for them.
You Could Be The Change
I encourage anyone on the fence about entering this field to give it a chance. There are many hard days, but those hard days are followed by rewarding days and memories that you will carry with you throughout your career. The imprint that an educator leaves on a child will stick with them for the rest of their life. You could be the change, providing the inspiration and encouragement a child needs to succeed.