Childhood Education And Observation

2. At my previous college, it was required that we spent at least twenty hours with diverse students, more specifically those who had specialized needs. I was placed in Mrs. M’s class in a high school located in Reno County. This is where I had the opportunity to meet Jonah, who still to this day holds a special place in my heart. Jonah came from a less than perfect upbringing, he was the youngest of four children who lived in a small rundown trailer with their single mother who worked two jobs. He and his siblings went without a lot, had experienced a few foster homes and moved a lot. The other siblings dropped out, the sister just had a new baby, brothers in and out of correctional facilities, and Jonah seemed to be the forgotten child. I was not particularly happy with how the school system handled this sweet fifteen year old boy. From

There were adjustments made for his requirements for graduation, because in this particular high school they had all freshman algebra, and English etc. Where Jonah had to be in Mrs. M’s room for a majority of the day, where his peers were learning algebra, I was teaching Jonah to count back change. Graduation wasn’t the only thing modified, we had to be cautious on how we presented the information, how long we worked on a particular task, and due to emotional baggage, we had to be extremely cautious on how we corrected him. Jonah didn’t do well with failure, and would shut down easy. At first it was a challenge for both of us, I have never had a student like that before, and I had to expect him to go out of his comfort zone and push himself, and I had to do the same. Teaching a child such as this takes some adjustments for all involved, however, it was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. Sadly, Jonah moved again, so I lost all contact, but that boy left a mark on me to last a