"SHABOO" TEACHES A LESSON TO THE SCHOOL
I was presented with a child who school officials had considered for the possibility of learning support, though this fortunately did not come about, however their perceptions of this child continued to be negative and were convinced he could plainly not perform in certain academic functions. I was not convinced. So- I gave the child a math problem and wrote as a simple mathematical sentence for him to solve. I chose a problem that I knew was advanced and did this intentionally to see how he would handle the task and what furstration would show. He became tense and said it was just too difficult. I gave him some reassurance, but still he experienced difficulty. So, then I presented the exact same problem, this time presented as a word problem in which I devised some amusing fictional characters, one of whom was "Sammy Shaboo". The child was immensely amused and interested, was not tense, and solved the problem. I gave him immediate praise. It took Sammy Shaboo to teach a lesson to the school that this child has no learning deficency and can complete at an adequate level and that maybe it is time for them to look at just how they present learning to this child.


Responses to "Shaboo":

From scarley@home.com

Rev. Edmunds, That is great! I used to teach in a private school and that is what I tried to convey to the other teachers. Unfortunately, most of them didn't care enough or "didn't have the time" to meet the needs of each special student. It is a challenge sometimes to find what works for a child, but if you find what works, it sure is fun watching the lightbulbs going on over their heads, isn't it? If only all teachers were in the business to teach rather than baby sit. Just a 'by the way' thought. I have a teacher who was my English teacher in High School in the late 70's. She is retiring now, not because she is too old to teach, but because it is so hard to teach. She said she cannot believe the difference in kids today vs. kids when I was in high school. Her position was that most of the kids coming through her classroom really didn't care if they learn or not. They are rude, beligerent, and lazy. While this is a sad commentary on our world, and while it breaks my heart that someone I have had as a role model would be giving up after all this time, I still think that if a teacher really cares and really tries, they can teach/reach almost any/everyone. Well, there's my spouting off for today!