Christine, Wondering

Random Musings of a Human Becoming

Monday, August 13, 2007

Interesting analogy

This is a paraphrased version of an analogy we were presented with in our Special Needs lecture today.

Think of your class as a bag of mixed lollies. Most of them are lollies you'll like, some are lollies you'll really love. But some will be a bit hard to chew, perhaps, or they'll be a flavour you don't like. Does that mean you're going to chuck them in the bin? They didn't choose to be that tooth-cracking caramel or the black jellybean you can't stand to taste.  And they didn't choose to be in your bag of lollies, but it's the only bag available. Whether you like them or not, you have to eat them up. And you may be surprised . . . you may just find that you like liquorice jelly beans after all.

I can't decide whether that's a stroke of inspired genius, or a bit creepy and weird, or both. But the message behind it is very important. Special Needs kids (whether their need is physical, developmental or emotional) didn't choose to be that way, and you're the only teacher they've got, so no matter how difficult it is, you have to make the best of it.

0 comments:

Post a Comment