She bursts into the dance studio and sings at the top of her lungs, "Hi, Miss Teresa!" She only hears Miss Teresa's words, "Hi, Kate. Put your bag down and get in line." What she doesn't hear is the less-than-enthused tone of the reply, the annoyance in her voice.
But I do.
She needs to be reminded several times to pay attention, follow directions, stay with the group. She doesn't see the exasperated look on the teacher's face.
But I do.
She shows a coveted toy to the group during sharing time. Her words come out disjointed, fragmented. The teacher feigns interest and asks her a question she does not know how to answer. She doesn't see the look of disdain on the teacher's face.
But I do.
She patiently waits her turn to try a new step across the floor. She does it wrong, the entire way. She doesn't notice that the teacher doesn't bother to help her.
But I do.
She is the last one to emerge from the room, no doubt because the contents of her bag must be arranged in a particular order. She doesn't see the impatience in the teacher's hurried movements as she quickly brushes past her.
But I do.
And I wish I didn't.
11 comments:
This makes my heart sad for you. I am also sad that Miss Theresa can't love Kate on her own terms.
This makes me sad for you and Kate but ANGRY at Miss Theresa. No matter what, she is the teacher and should try to make a place for ALL her students.
Oh, my heart is aching for you and Kate! The world, and many people in it, can be so unkind. This is where you wonder if you should say something about Kate's issues even though she enjoys the class and doesn't see how poorly the teacher is treating her.
This breaks my heart. For both of you. And so I'm sending you a hug. A couple of hugs.
Miss Theresa sounds like a terrible teacher. We have had similar experiences to this and I would get home...hide in my room and just cry. I wish I could say it got better but I finally just gave up on these types of activities for M. They became too painful for her and me. Eventually she did notice the others and the looks. We were very fortunate to have her in a dance class once with an amazing teacher but once she was older the other kids were a problem.
My heart breaks reading this. I would encourage you to observe some other teachers and look for a new class. There has to be a better teacher out there. Another idea that we did once was pay a teenager to follow along M during the class, like an aide. It was expensive but it helped.
Hugs. This was a beautiful way to write about this experience.
Thanks for your kind words, everyone. Being a mom is really tough!
oh, i know this woman. we must fire her. she's not helpful. why oh why is she working with kids when she doesn't like them?
she doesn't feel the disdain i feel in my heart for her.
but you do.
Kyra- You rock.
Such a sad and powerful post ... Too bad Miss Teresa can't see all the things Kate IS doing that don't come naturally to her like they do for the other kids.
I know how painful this must be to watch. I guess the fact that Kate doesn't pick up on Miss Teresa's disdain is a good thing. But I fear the day when our kids DO notice the looks from teachers as well as students.
I'm sending hugs.
I just found yur blog yesterday and want to tell you how much I enjoy reading your words. I have been there...my son is now 14, but the memories are still fresh.
Thank you.
Tulipmom- I think the day she does notice those looks and understands what they mean will be a very dark day for her and for me.
Osh- Welcome and thanks for reading!
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