Silent Class--was

Last week has been hectic...well not as I expected...its just that there's a lot to think of..even while sleeping...I'm having all those nightmares related to my new classroom..

First shock: NO STUDENTS IN CLASS. Emm except for one out of the 5 expected number. Reem. She's a very silent student...the 'ghost' kind of students. At the beginning ofcourse. I barely saw her face that was hiding under her hands. I barely heard any voices coz she's got a severe speech delay. And I seriously felt like a clown performing infront of her dieing for some attention! I guess I kinda forgot what a special ed. classroom looks like. Do NOT expect much out of students.

My second student showed up on the 3rd day. Hamda. Petitte and always smiling. Horrible when she cries. Hard to find activities for her.

Now the third student. Ahmed. When I got to meet him, I thanked God for not having the three of them together right from the beginning. Although he's supposedly on a wheelchair, he's VERY HYPER. I later discovered that he just did an operation and got to walk for the first time! He moved around the classroom in circles, he spit all over, he hit Reem with the toys on the table and I nearly went CRAZY. I actually kept him out for a while so that I could astaw3eb elmaw'6oo3. I was this close to CRYING ='( Although I really feel bad for keeping him out for 2 days, but I just couldnt let him in before I can think of some behavior management plan to keep him IN THE CLASSROOM, and to make sure that he's "clean" all the time. I just couldnt.

Observations, lot of readings, books, and meeting ppl around. Thats what I've been doing last week! Thursday was the sleeping day. Friday is the thinking day. And Saturday will be the planning day.

By the end of the week, I started realizing how difficult my job will be. I'll have to get all the patience in the world, and I need to remind myself ALL THE TIME of the reasons why I chose this job.

More adventures to come!!