Peachy Carabeo is a mom to one of our students at Candent. Below is an excerpt from an article she wrote for her Parish Lectors’ group about what she has learned during this pandemic.
Come August, my daughter went “back to school.” Her bedroom, our dining room and the kitchen served as her “virtual” classrooms as she received instruction online. My daughter has Down Syndrome and I had always relied on her Special Ed teachers for her education. Professionally trained, they had the patience, dedication and proper disposition required for the job. Every day she had Literacy and Numeracy exercises, as well as simple Arts & Crafts projects. On Saturdays she had Computer and Cooking lessons: skills she would need to live independently later on.
Before what we now know as the “New Normal,” I had hardly given much thought to what her teachers had to do in the classrooms to keep all their special wards in line and attentive. This time, I had first-hand experience on what it took to teach a child with special needs; because while the teachers were there virtually, they were not there in person. I had to stay by my daughter’s side, made sure she understood what was expected of her and assisted her in the work required. To say that the whole process was frustrating for me would be an understatement! Something as simple as inserting a table of 4 rows and 5 columns into a Word file took my daughter several minutes to do. Many times, I wanted to push her hand away from her laptop’s trackpad and do the task myself just to finish it and move on. Sometimes, I stopped myself, other times I didn’t – especially when she was taking too long on just one task. She had to learn how to “point and click,” “point and drag” – things which were already second nature for most kids much younger than she was. After just an hour and a half of her Computer class, we both felt drained. Cooking class was an altogether different challenge. Chopping, dicing, mincing, measuring dry and wet ingredients, frying, flipping an omelet … I was always afraid she would make a mess of things or worse, cut or burn herself in the process.
For the first time, I greatly appreciated the efforts her teachers exerted in helping her learn all these necessary skills. I realized that I was not doing her any favors when I did most things for her. She needed to learn by doing things on her own. It was very slow going, but with persistence, she’s had some progress.
For the first time, I greatly appreciated the efforts her teachers exerted in helping her learn all these necessary skills. I realized that I was not doing her any favors when I did most things for her. She needed to learn by doing things on her own. It was very slow going, but with persistence, she’s had some progress.
She now knows how to cook eggs: fried, scrambled, and boiled. Her omelets have become a hit in the family. With assistance, she can cook adobo and sinigang as well as bake Chocolate Chip cookies. The pride in her voice when she asks: “Do you like it?” every time anyone takes a bite of the food she helped prepare is priceless in itself!
My eyes had been opened to the value of our children’s teachers, especially those dealing with special kids. I have newfound respect for everything they do to make our kids become productive members of the family and the community. May our Lord continue to bless them for their extreme patience, devotion and perseverance.