What surprised you?
I think the main thing that surprised me about Barb is her
sense of humor. I know that is a silly thing to be surprised by, but listening
to her crack jokes and even her use of sarcasm was something that I did not
expect at all. I really enjoyed watching Lois and Barb work together and felt
really inspired. Just the thought of Barb taking the time to communicate and
share her gift with us was really wonderful. Although I have heard about FC
plenty of times in class and have seen a few examples, watching Barb use the
iPad and the printed keyboard (at least I think it was a printed keyboard) was
really eye-opening. I cannot imagine the patience it must require to
communicate a simple thought, much less an entire book. I have been in
classrooms with students who were non-verbal but have yet to be in a class
where a student uses FC for full trains of thoughts.
What did you find beneficial to apply to your
own teaching context?
The entire concept of ‘neurodiversity’ Barb
discussed really stuck with me. Not only just neurodiversity but diversity in general.
I know I will encounter all different types of children and Barb reminded us
that it is important to appreciate those different from us. Barb’s reminder of
our potential to be ‘the one’ for students really stuck with me as well. I kept
thinking about how different her experience with school would have been had she
just been introduced to ‘that one’ teacher much earlier in life.
What
concerned you or contradicted your assumptions?
As I said before, Barb’s humor was not
something that I expected. I know it sounds silly, but it just reminded me that
she is just like anyone else. She has her own sense of humor, her own goals,
aspirations, and her own challenges.
No comments:
Post a Comment