Today

2010-04-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

I have been substitute teaching since January and loving it. Most of my teaching is at the elementary schools. What a great place to be! To me, children are special gifts. They warm your heart, make you smile and feel loved.

On Friday, I was asked to help in one of the ESE Classes. I have worked in the ESE classes before, but this time was different. It was truly a humbling experience.

The classroom is setup so each child has his or her own teacher/assistant working with the student at all times.

I was blessed to work with an adorable little boy with a winning smile, who can not talk. He communicates using a message boar. He will point to an illustration to indicate what he needs or he will sign. He never got frustrated with me, which is very surprising, as a couple of times it took me quite awhile to figure out what he needed. He would not give up until I was able to understand, and then he would simply smile and take my hand.

I also worked with other little boy, who is smart as a whip. He is very close to one assistant; who understands him and they have developed a special bond. They communicate through pictures, written words and non-verbal communication.

The rest of the children require very special skilled-care. They have special seats to help with mobility and posture. They can not feed themselves; therefore, they must be fed through feeding tubes. Their feeding is a very detailed and precise responsibility. It is administered with kindness and love. What stands out most from my time in the ESE class is the unselfish care, love and education the teachers and aides give these children. The teachers/assistants share the excitement with all when the child points to a correct number, symbol, picks a special song from a message board or communicates in a small way what they need.

I believe to each child in this class, the teachers/assistants are ANGELS in every sense of the word. They give simply because they care and want to improve the lives of these children. The world needs to be filled with more angels.

Today, I ask my sisters and brothers, who will read this, to take a moment to say a "special prayer for all the children in our families" who are healthy and loved by so many of us. We are blessed.

Please take an extra minute to say a heartfelt prayer of thank you for the teachers and assistants who give so much to our children.

Love to my family.

Chris and Den

Today