Not An Excuse

January started out pretty tough, and it's still a struggle at points, but then again, that's kind of how life goes, isn't it.

The last three weeks I have not been myself.  I have a 5 year old student that has been in the Children's Hospital and has since been sent home under the care of Hospice.  What a blow.  And the worst part was that the majority of these phone calls happened at 8am.  Not the ideal start to the morning.  My husband's goal at night was just to make me laugh, after holding me while I bawled my eyes out and cried my throat practically hoarse.

Please do not get me wrong.  I love my job.  I just wish that I didn't have to do it.  What I mean is simply every parent's wish for their child.  I wish that my students were able to lead healthy lives.  I wish that all my parents didn't have to worry about things like Hospice, or teachers contacting their doctors for input.  I wish my students were able to tell us why they get angry, frustrated, or when they just want/need to be alone.  I wish my students were able to tell their parents they are sick of the fish sticks that get sent nearly every day...and that they are yucky (and that the teachers hate the smell of them...).  I wish my students could tell us they don't feel good, or are tired, or miss their absent parent.

With all this being said, I don't let these things become an excuse for my students.  We push our kiddos.  We push them just enough that is challenging.  We want them to use their communication devices, because they can't outright say, "I'm sick of these stupid fish sticks!"  We give them so many opportunities to work hard and be pushed, but we also have so many moments of fun.

With one of our girls, a fellow classmate kept saying my student wasn't able to do what the rest of the group was doing.  It has been our goal all year to keep showing this girl that our students are able to do the same thing, even if they have a different way of doing it. 

My students can still do so many of the things that gen. ed. kiddos can do.  They just do it differently.  None of us let our students get by with much.  We keep the high expectations in the room and the excuses at the door, no matter what my students are labeled as.