Answers Really Do Come

I called one of my assistants last night to see how the first week of school went and she said they were going well. She asked me if I'd ever come back and I told her I wasn't sure, not anytime soon, although I do miss it. And before we got off the phone she let me know that she felt there were alot of changes taking place within self-contained special education and she attributed that to me and what I stood up for. She said that she told the new teacher she was with that I may not be there in person but my spirit was there with them. She also said that she told the new girl not to let anybody run over her or "dump" on her. (But I think they already are.) And she said she didn't think this girl would stand up, but that was ok. She told me that she saw me standing up for the children and thier education and my classroom as having guts and not everybody has guts and those that don't take other people's guts as a bad thing. But she didn't take them as a bad thing and she says that even if I don't ever want to teach again in a setting like that, I definatly made a difference for those that were left behind AND the children. That's what matters most I suppose. And I was glad to hear her say those words to me, sort of like closure I guess. I remember by this time last year I was praying to God that he would just show me why he had uprooted me from everything I'd ever know and a perfectly good teaching situation for THAT. And of course I've questioned the whole move out of education too. But I guess last night the answers did come. And I was glad to hear it.

As some background info, they have taken all the autistic kids in the school out of self-contained classrooms for mentally retarded children and set up a classroom specifically for autism. And they've set up a program specifically for behavior disorders. So the other two self-contained classroom are what they should be. And everybody is getting what they need in their own classrooms. Oh and the little boy with Down's Syndrome that I had last year is in regular ed classes most of the day. He's hard headed and he probably can't do all that work but at least he can socialize, where as before he was in a room with non-verbal children. As a side note, that liar of a principal I worked for was asked to resign or take a new position as Title I coordinator. Needless to say, she sits in an office all day now pushing paper instead of running a school. And her side kick of a superintendent resigned at the last minute a few weeks ago and we have an interem superintendent who seems to be doing a good job. Sometimes chagne isn't really all that bad!!!