Meet Kyla

I wanted to share a little more about one of my students: Kyla.

She is in the Standard IV class (grade 6) at Isla Bonita, and I pull her out a few times each day to work with her on communication skills. Kyla has Down syndrome and is completely nonverbal. As I wrote yesterday, I decided that my focus for Kyla will be learning sign language. I've only worked with her two days, and I have to say that she's one of the best students I've ever had (in my two-year career as a student teacher).

She has the sweetest smile and genuinely loves to learn. I believe this is because she's practicing a method of communicating effectively--something she's never experienced before. After two days of working with Kyla, she is able to sign door, window, tree, flowers, bike, walk, chair, sit, stairs, numbers 1-10, her name, soda, water, juice, bathroom, pencil, paper, hello, goodbye, bag, shoes, shoelaces, and beautiful. We take walks around the school, and I point to something (e.g., door) and say/sign, "What's that?" She has picked up these words so quickly and generalizes with ease. In other words, no matter which window or tree I point to, she will use the appropriate sign. Her ability to generalize has huge implications on what's going on inside that beautiful mind of hers.

Imagine going a decade understanding what people are saying to you and not being able to say anything back. Imagine being around peers who think you have no clue what's happening, when you really do. I believe this occurs all the time (all around the world, U.S. included), and I believe this is Kyla.

Kyla's signing ability is impeccable. But it has no value if no one understands her, right? This is the exactly the thought process of Kyla's classmates, and through collaboration between their Belizean teacher, American teacher (thanks, Liz!), and me, we set up a time during the school day for me to teach the entire class some sign language. How thoughtful are those students, really!

On a lighter note, it "rained" (like, three sprinkles) today during lunch, and all of us American teachers rushed into the courtyard to feel the coolness of it. We looked like a bunch of goofs who've never seen rain in our lives, and I couldn't help but think of this scene from Holes.