Scott Nannen #14

Educating Students with Mild Disabilities - 5326

Dr. Duchaine
June 21st, 2017

Reflection 2 - Blake Academy and the Green Arrow

This essay struck me on an emotional level a lot more than the previous essay.

As I read Oliver Queens reflections on, I couldnt help but see so much of my oldest

son in Oliver. My son is on the Autism Spectrum, but so much of what Oliver was

articulating about his own struggles, and how he perceived the landscape at Blake

Academy socially, reminded me of things my John has talked about in his own life at he

has transitioned to high school this year. The part of the essay that struck me the most

was Olivers description of his meltdown with his mom that led to his loss of his own

emotional center and his view of his mother as his emotional constant snapping. His

wrote these words, She seemed unscathed by all of the pain life had inflicted, and

shed been the emotional grounding in my life. As a father to my son, this whole

paragraph in his essay unnerved me. Being a parent of a special needs child has been

difficult on so many levels. Yet, I have strived to be steady and constant in my own

sons life. What I read in this chapter was a vivid description of what I think would

happen in my son life if I snapped in a way similar to his mother. I am not saying I

would be physical like she was, but regardless of whether it was verbal or emotional,

the effect on my son would be the same. That scares me and was an unnerving part of

his essay to read.

As a teacher, I see a very similar role we play in the lives of our students with

learning disabilities. Regardless of what individual disability is at play, so many of my

students are wrestling with personal, emotional, relational, and social challenges much

like Oliver. As teachers, we will get the good and the bad of how those inner turmoils

spill out in our students lives. I saw first hand this past year how remaining steady and

constant in my relationship with these individual students can help them. In a sense, we,

as teachers, can be emotional constants to our students with learning disabilities. That

is a huge responsibility but also an incredible privilege.

One question I have is how do we as teachers navigate the tension between our

relationships with our students and our desire for what is best for them with the

sometimes legal and political priorities of a school or a school district? While I know

that schools and school districts have a students best interests at heart, I also know

there is often a climate where money, staffing, or the path of least responsibility

sometimes wins the day. It feels like we, as teachers, might be caught in the middle of

that with competing values and tensions. We are employees of a school district yet have

relationships with these students and their parents. How do we navigate that tension?