mask made in art program at sf parks and rec afterschool enrichment programin a very excited voice maya told me about this girl who had said hi to her near the jump rope area. she demonstrated how the girl had said "hiiiiiiiii!" with a huge exaggerated smile, standing on her tiptoes, with her arms up over her head kind of in a diving pose. she showed me this several times, cracking up when she said the big "hiiiiiii". i said the girl must like her a lot, kind of picturing a patronizing and slightly older kid. then maya told me that the girl was in the class "where a lot of the kids are hurt. one is even in a WHEELCHAIR!" and i realized she was talking about the primary special day class.
interesting that maya thought of this as the class where "a lot of the kids are hurt". i explained a little bit about wheelchairs, but really, only one kid is in a wheelchair, there are just a lot of kids in the class who move a little differently. and kind of awesome that maya was so amused and thrilled at the way this girl greeted her. maya thought this girl was just "SO FUNNY!"
somehow this anecdote was an antidote to the description i heard this weekend about the wondrous acres of land, knitting, high teacher student ratio, wood shop, and focus on social emotional development and creativity to be found at the private school where my friend's kid just started. i am not in denial, and know my kids will have an education constrained by budget issues, and ridiculous testing, and many other obstacles. but at least they are in a place that is open and welcoming to all.
hiiiiiiiii to all of you, too.
1 comment:
Lovely. Young children are so accepting of each other, even when someone looks a little different or moves a little differently or uses a wheelchair. I am not sure who gets more out of interactions like the one you described so beautifully -- the "typical" kid or the kid with a disability.
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