So, What is Special Ed?

What happens when three fourth graders have a chance to wind down after a tough lesson and enjoy birthday cupcakes courtesy of one of their mothers? Very entertaining conversation! We helped them begin the conversation by asking if they had enjoyed the previous evening with their families. One of the boys proceeded to tell us that his brother is in special 'aide' (not special ed, mind you - special aide.) Looking at one another, the teacher and I prodded him to explain to us what special aide is - to which he replied he did not know. Mrs. Fleming explained that it is a class where some students can go during the day to get extra help (since we know what type of special services his brother receives) on school work if they need it. He remained confused by this so one of the girls decided to help by blurting out - "Duh, you're in a class like that right now!" Definitely one of those "you had to be there moments," but if you knew and loved these kids like Mary and I do, you would have joined us behind the bookshelves turning purple while trying to maintain some composure and not laugh at them trying to define "special aide."

In other news, one of our boys is getting ASL (American Sign Language) instruction for 30 mins, twice a week, and I got to join him in his first lesson - which means I get to learn as well. The two young ladies teaching are both deaf themselves and come with an interpreter, but were so sweet as I mangled my way through finger spelling and demonstrating the few signs our student knows and the ones we think would be relevant to helping us teach and assess him. I can't wait to learn more! Today we worked on letters, numbers, colors, and his personal favorite: train. (He LOVES Thomas the Tank Engine.) So fun! I hope once I get a job and an income that I can enroll in some ASL classes myself. I think it's something that I'd really benefit from knowing!