BUSTED !!

I arrived on Monday June 7th to feverish activity in my classroom-the older girls had washed it down; Timothy (head of the Special Unit) had remodeled: all the rectangular tables that are stored in my room had been arranged as if I was teaching a dozen kids in a theater configuration (I have 3 kids grouped around an oval table). From a secret stash, Timothy brought out a clock, a puzzle, an abacus, a north-south-east-west vane, a doll, and a wheelchair. I asked "What's up?"

"We are having a visitor from the District!" The bed in my room which is used for sick kids had a new mattress, a new rubber sheet, and a new floral sheet atop it. The room never looked so good.

So I put my best teaching foot forward, but by day's end, we had no visitor.

I spruced myself up for Tuesday only to find out that the visitor came on Monday, but only to the Headmaster's Office. The District found out that I was the only teacher in the Special Unit. The Township School teachers that are trained for teaching in the Special Unit had in fact never come to my room during Term 1. Here it is, almost halfway through Term 2,and no Township Special Unit staff on the horizon. The District came to deliver a message: Unacceptable.

So on Tuesday Timothy frantically put together a timetable for 3 Special Unit teachers to come to my classroom to do Adaptive P.E., Communication Skills, Numbers, and Social Skills. I was designated to 2 Reading lessons/day, or about 1 hour and 10 minutes of teaching daily. I was desolee-not only had I taught from 8:20am until 12:40pm every day since I came in January, but I was afraid those teachers would punt and my kids would suffer.

By Wednesday I saw the timetable posted in the Staff Room, so jotted down my assigned times. I decided I couldn't depend on the new timetable as there has been a similar timetable in my room since January that no one has honored. I came on Thursday and you guessed it: I taught from 8:20am to 12:40pm! The Adaptive P.E. teacher had assured me she would be in my room First Period on Thursday, but apparently she had other plans.

I will continue to go to the Special Unit because it is what I was assigned and otherwise there would be nothing for my 3 kids. I refer to Bery, Lilian, and Paul as my kids-and that is why I am here. They are learning, they are full of life and there are few options for 3 kids who are not ready to go into classes of 40-50++ students. At the end of Term 1,I had asked for help with Kiswahili in my room; I was turned down due to a shortage of teachers. The doll and the puzzle, the clock and the wheelchair are back in Timothy's office; I will continue to speak up for these kids as I may be the only one who can or will.......