Special Education, A Design Perspective of the Momsey

As we begin to discuss, evaluate, decide then enact certain criteria for the best way to educate our most vulnerable children, we realize that  shaping their environment can be  the building blocks of an incredible mind in a room that literally grows with the child. ... Translating the qualities of human learning into a workable doctrine should be the mandate in education. Simple, easy, low cost approaches are there. (Clues are everywhere). ...  We need only to watch our children play!  Costly and complex strategies exist, long term, only when there is a constant flow of dollars. (Embracing the techniques and practices of other trained professionals for helping us teach society’s most vulnerable children is not always possible, as the budgets in each jurisdiction, province or state vary.).  

We complicate matters when we think we know what we are doing when, maybe, we do not. Children are not complicated people.  In (Special Education, 5 senses, Engagement 4/2012), (Bullying and Inviting the Bully to Tea-4/2012) (Imagine,5/2012),(The Life and Times of a Preemie 8/2012), and (School in the Modern Age 10/2012), I write about the critical importance of the softer offerings in the educational curriculum, especially, for at-risk children. When we pay close attention to these critical subjects first, they become a magnet for other 'challenging  educational' pursuits, later.

Momsey’s design perspective of a primary special education classroom follows a very basic format based upon the above mentioned criteria of easy, simple, budget friendly. ... (As we all know, a baby cannot learn if it is not having fun. The same can be said of an at-risk child). ... The Spec. Ed. room for the youngest and most vulnerable should be an inviting, unadorned, academically 'safe' place- (homelike atmosphere)- where fun happens and learning results.. Before letters and numbers  come speaking, listening, discussion, doing, engagement, laughing. ..1.) Room colours for the walls, curtains, blinds, and carpeting should be chosen and painted by the students, colours that calm both the growing brain and the five senses of the child.   2.) There would be a movable staging area-for show and tell, speeches. A raised platform could showcase the talents and confidence of the students. ...3) A permanent area of the room would include a stove, small fridge, freezer and sink for baking the simple, the complicated and the ridiculous while experimenting with ingredients: spices, herbs, grains and recipes.  (All five senses of the developing dense brain would be stimulated in all ways.)  

Dough with/without yeast could be the focus of many experiments. (Fresh fruit, water, organic Chinese/African teas and a juicer would be available throughout the day). 4) Another area of the room for self discovery. Charts could feature daily assignments of each student.  Musical selections would vary (classical, country, rock, 50’s big band) for  daily listening pleasure. ... Instructive group dancing,-(A Hat, A Mat and  Music-5/2012) baking,-(We're Smarter Than Adults-9/2012) 'soft' sports' and the creative arts would be the curriculum- not a part of it. 

The Arts are critical components to healthy living and learning. (Somewhere in the room, there would be a counter,  a desk or two for 'school work') Creating the right environment for a special needs child enhances student creativity and problem solving on a daily basis. This 'enclosure' engages the whole child not parts of him/her.  It is a road map for the most vulnerable and helps to level the playing field for him, making it possible for algebra, calculus, physics, geometry, music and literature to gain entrance and acceptance into their world - as it did for our oldest and his younger brothers, many years ago. ... Let us not underestimate the significance of environment.  In Momsey’s world, it is everything!  

My 'Camping' Wedding Dress

The school year had ended. Our tiny rental cottage, in vacation country, was now being reclaimed by its owners once again and we were officially homeless. (The rents skyrocketed during the summer months so it made sense to just leave and begin anew in September). ...   The nomadic life seemed the only alternative, at this point, so we continued with the theme and travelled out west to visit my fiance’s family and friends. This trip would help fill in the two-month summer hiatus.  Deciding to get married at the end of the summer made sense.  Making my wedding dress while camping did not!

The journey across Canada with our recently rescued and adopted ‘daughter’ was a new experience for me. ... (Free Kittens, Puppies For Sale-6/2012)  Making a wedding dress while camping, was an even newer, almost comical experience.  There seemed no other way to be ready to get married later that summer than to have the dress made by the time we returned to Toronto, where I was born and raised, where family lived and where we had met- the previous year- in a bar, my former workplace. (It was a good decision, albeit a hasty one.)

The fabric had been chosen before we left for the cross country trip. Hopefully, I would be able to understand the pattern directions for making my wedding dress, a simple frock with a hood and lacy trim.  Looking back, I am stunned that I thought making a wedding dress while camping was a wise decision. But it was. In hindsight, it still was!    

Today’s vast array of reality shows about “The Dress” gives me pause.  I have never known such thoughts about ‘the dress’. ....  I worried about other things more attuned to who I was: finishing my education, starting my teaching career and simply living life.  My ‘homemade’ dress was not even close to being ‘The Dress’. It was not elegant. It was plain, a shortened version, in length, unadorned and boring. But it fit. I was satisfied. It was an accessory, a garment to wear on a special day uniting two people.   

What was I thinking back in 1972?  With very little money but much time on my hands as we drove out west, I could make my wedding dress, I realized. The pattern pieces were cut when we camped and had sunlight.  Basting the pieces together could be done anytime, in the car, by hand. (The dress was lined so everything had to be cut twice). ... I had already made the most important decision in my life: the best life of my life partner who thought the world of me. Could I ask for more?

The wedding rings were purchased, in quick fashion, from the jewellery store whose discount card I had been given years earlier as a student of Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, now university. As my fiancé waited in the car- in a no parking zone, on Yonge Street, the longest street in Canada, I walked into the store, bought two wedding bands and walked out with the salesman, in tow. He followed me into the car to measure the ring size of the man behind the wheel.   A straightforward transaction had been completed.

The engagement ring never happened. No thoughts about it. No money for it. Ten years later during a particularly cold Canadian winter week, with snow falling all day, every day, my husband returned  after 5 days from a business trip. He presented me with a token of his appreciation: a ring for all my work, tending to the flock: our boys, three and under, our two retrievers and shovelling snow, several times a day, for five days.  We looked at this special ring and called it my engagement ring. Considering the week that had just unfolded, it truly was.    

Driving and The Cabbage Test!!

The time had come. With driving lessons completed and the driver’s test passed, our oldest, at 16 years of age, was now a licensed driver.  He had learned from the best in Canada, Young Drivers of Canada, and was now ready to take to the road in the professional manner in which he was taught. His road skill and knowledge would now be implemented in this next and final chapter: my ultimate cabbage test.  He needed to keep up the momentum of this newly acquired life skill by going out by himself for the very first time, immediately. ...

That first time alone in the car is a pivotal moment in our lives, somewhat euphoric for some.  It was critical that our son’s solitary trip take him through a series of road challenges while fully understanding the scope and magnitude of this awesome power that had just been granted by the government of Ontario and his parents!! ...  

This new piece of movable machinery called a car was now in his power. It could be a mode of transportation or a weapon. To send him on his way for that very first time was an important step for him and his parents. Where could we send him? What would be the proof?  I thought for a moment then decided - the grocery store, the farthest one from our house- would be his destination for that first taste of freedom as a licensed driver. What could he buy?  A small cabbage, of course.  A receipt from the store would be the proof he had purchased from that location, on that date and had followed a particular driving course, challenging him in his status as a new driver. He would buy me the cabbage - a small one- something rarely available when I needed it. ...(Small ones were perfect for cabbage rolls.)

On this first solo trip to the grocery store, our son would encounter merging lanes, intersections, some with lights, some without and stop signs. Right turns, left turns and parking were all a part of his  planned ‘flight path’. This solo test drive would give him a big boost of confidence for that first-time experience behind the wheel.  In the process, I would get that much coveted small green cabbage so desired when wanting to make cabbage rolls. (If he arrived home with a large cabbage, soup and coleslaw would be on the menu.)

The cabbage test became the final step in license acquisition, an expected rite of passage for each of our sons. They would remember the test mom devised to add a dimension to their first drive alone-no one on board- experience. ... They were privileged to be driving. ... Aren’t we all?  Their solitary drive that first time was always a resounding success when a small cabbage came home with them. It was a creative, comical approach to test their newly acquired life skill that first time out alone, after passing the driver’s test. I would benefit, too. Why not, I thought? ...  They were going to the grocery store, anyway and I wanted a cabbage. 

    

Doughnuts for Dinner

It was the end of another busy day with the boys, nine, eight, and six years of age.  Dad was away on business.  I was off the hook-for now. Dinner could be anything.  Hot dogs could always be offered but that was cheating, a lazy decision on my part and not necessarily a healthy choice. Doughnuts for dinner, why not! ... Though the choice of doughnuts was overwhelmingly hailed as a great idea, it was not something I normally thought of as a suitable choice for dinner. But my gut told me otherwise that day.

I had no interest in cooking a meal that day and thought a change of pace was in order considering the circumstances. Tonight, it was cool mom in the kitchen. The doughnuts were home-made, otherwise, what's the point? Our boys loved homemade doughnuts, cruellers and beaver tails, especially, when they were covered in cinnamon with a bit of sugar. (Every so often, it made sense to eat just what you liked as long as other healthy fare made it to the table that day. Grazing can be a healthy departure from the 3 meals a day standard.) 

The dough was made with warm water, yeast, milk, eggs, a bit of sugar, oil and other ingredients to create the wholesome bakery classic. A glass of milk was served alongside. The best part of eating them was toasting them later with toppings available. Sugar was kept to an absolute minimum.  The delicious goodies could be fried and frozen for another time.  Even the kind of oil used was carefully considered. Toasted leftover doughnuts would be a yummy treat for breakfast or snack time.

On yet another day, far into the future, after our sons had left home, I discovered the cupboard was somewhat bare. I began to search for ideas and suddenly, without warning, saw the box. ...  Kraft dinner looked suspiciously like dinner that evening. With my husband soon to arrive, I began to envision an interesting meal using this time-honoured favourite of university students and children alike.

I cooked the pasta al dente and near the end of its cooking time, added frozen peas, a family favourite of many meals. ...  Peas, an upgrade to the dish, contain protein and other nutrients adding to the nutritional status of the meal. The salad was made, yet, something was still missing.  .....Then, I saw the tin.  ... Sardines - Kraft Dinner - peas became an unusual meal combination that evening, not a typical selection for someone who cooks from scratch-most of  the time. But the sardines? Really? Yes, really.It was a favourite of my dad's something I would never have considered, ever. But he did and I'm glad he had.... (Lemon juice and thinly sliced onions were added to the sardines canned in water, complementing the remainder of the meal.)   

Doughnuts for dinner or sardines, Kraft dinner and peas are not obvious choices for a change of pace for the evening meal.  But unleashing the creativity of the mind, we can see the benefits of an about face for the ritual of dinner. Where children are concerned, it shows them that you are flexible in your thinking, that you are cool mom or cool dad. They see compromise in your management style.

Down the road as our children begin to grapple with the many life decisions awaiting them, they just might remember these unusual dining departures of the past and consider our views and opinions worthy of their consideration.   Though food serves to nourish the body, mind and soul, it can also help bridge the generation gap that sometimes divides adults and children within a family unit. If we risk serving doughnuts for dinner or sardines, Kraft dinner and peas, then we must be thinking outside the ‘box’. That must  be a good thing all around.

 Coming soon: The Cabbage Test, Cabbage Soup and Holubtsi (cabbage Rolls)