Author: Patty

Outside set of eyes is sometimes essential to see… There was a friend I worked with for a number of years, and I watched her children from a distance. Her older daughter was clearly bright—like both of her parents—and socially gifted. She lit up every room. The girls in her class competed to be her […]

A First Impression That Stays With You One of the most delightful students I ever worked with was a little boy I’ll call Abernathy. I was 16, volunteering in a preschool classroom, and Abernathy quickly became unforgettable. He had been born with Down Syndrome and was expected to have significant developmental delays. And in some […]

Accidents—or God-Directed Happenings? During the “shutdown,” I was teaching online for a public school. My students were high school-aged, but their developmental levels ranged from infancy to about age six. As November approached, I worked hard to plan something meaningful for Thanksgiving. I didn’t want the lesson to be religious, but I also didn’t want […]

Warning – the timing of my leaving the community this represents leaves this story without a happy ending. I trust in God that there is one by now, but the family would not know how to find me to tell me about how God redeemed this – Reggie, meaning counsel, a fourth grade student, had […]

I met Logan when he was in high school. I didn’t get to know him deeply, but even in a short time, he and his mother left a lasting impression on me. Logan lived in a Portland suburb with his close-knit family. He had been identified as both bright and learning disabled when he was […]

(All names are pseudonyms) I began my relationship with Kimaya’s family nearly ten years before she was born. Her mother, Wendy, and I became friends through a mutual connection, and we quickly discovered how much we had in common. Over the years, we supported one another through many life transitions. I was there as Wendy […]

Teaching has changed from 1976 to today… (note – all the names used here are pseudonyms) A vantage point shaped by time and experience I began training for teaching at a time when Special Education was just becoming a defined career field. Because of my age and the length of my career, I am uniquely […]

I recently spent a morning serving as a guidance counselor in a public school building. What unfolded with one little first grader reminded me why parental attachment matters more than peer influence — especially in the early years.   I had many fun interactions with cute elementary children, but one student, who I’ll call “Ameena”, was […]

Caden once attended public school, but his parents realized it wasn’t working for him. Caden was born deaf. No one at school noticed until third grade, when a teacher finally referred him for evaluation. After a cochlear implant and recovery, he returned to the same school—but was never referred to Special Ed. He was placed […]

Mateo – unconscious assumptions bare fruit Mateo, was quite a gift from God to me. He rapidly became “my favorite student” when I took over teaching a first/second split in a private school. He was a spunky first grade guy with a quirky, nerdy sense of humor. I liked EVERY student in that class exceedingly, […]