A "Diary" Entry for a Writing Competition...

The following is a writing piece that I am submitting as part of a contest of reflection for new teachers in the DOE. The names are required to be altered to protect the privacy of myself and the student. There is a cash prize and my writing will be posted on the DOE website. I am in the works of making up a name for myself as the author...

I had no idea what to expect. In June I moved from upstate New York down to Brooklyn to pursue my master’s degree and work as a special education teacher as part of the NYC Teaching Fellows program. I had never taught before and was only vaguely familiar with special education and all that it ensued.

I would have 8 kids in a self-contained classroom. I would be responsible for teaching all 4 subjects and my own Student Enrichment Model. I was told the student’s disabilities would range from mild autism to cerebral palsy. I got used to the looks of apprehension when I told new people I had met that I’d be working in District 75. I had anxiety for a month leading up to my start date.

On the first day of teacher training, I had a veteran teacher tell me that if I made a difference in one child’s life, I will have done well at my job. This was in the back of mind for the weeks leading up to school.

The first student I met was Marvin. I greeted him on the first day with a gentle smile, introduced myself, and asked him how his summer was. He furrowed his brows, fixed his lips, and spat in my face.

Marvin is my brightest student. While his peers are working on adding numbers 1-10, he is skip counting up to 200 and doing multiplication in his head. He reads 2 grade levels above his classmates. Though he is intelligent, Marvin has difficulty keeping focused and becomes easily frustrated with problems that he doesn’t know the answer to. He spits in response to even the slightest difficulty. Marvin is severely physically disabled and has a wheelchair. He is often aggressive and hits others with his arm braces. Marvin works closely with his 1:1 paraprofessional as well as other paraprofessionals, myself, and related service providers.

Though frustrated by his disability, Marvin has a smile that lights up the whole room. He cracks jokes that have the entire classroom chuckling. He absorbs every piece of information that he hears and has an unbelievable memory. He is incredibly self-aware and is responsive to his own emotions.

I respect all of my students as individuals and as growing adolescents. I hold all of my students to high expectations and push them beyond what they think they can do. I differentiate all of my lessons into 3 levels so that all students have access to the information. I ensure that each lesson includes Marvin and is accessible despite his physical limitations.

When he says to me, “I give up” because he doesn’t want to work, I remind him that giving up isn’t an option in my classroom. I believe he respects me as his teacher and trusts that I have his best interests in mind.

Last week I was working another student when Marvin asked to speak to me. I sat down next to him and asked him how he was doing with the assignment. “Ms. Dana” he said, “You’re my biggest fan.” It is 9:45 in the morning, and I am crying tears of happiness in the middle of my classroom. Marvin in smiling while watching me bask in what was the best news I had heard all school year. 

Despite his physical disability, learning and emotional challenges, Marvin took the time to reflect on who in his life was pushing him to do his best. I am honored to be regarded in his eyes as a moving force for him to reach success.

Everyday I walk into my classroom and wonder how I got so lucky. My extra ordinary students make my ordinary life brighter everyday. I’m in the right place. I’m home.