Careys Journal

I am Carey, a fifth-grade student at a school in our neighborhood. I really enjoy going to school because it gives me an opportunity to play and interact with my peers. We are in a special education class of students who are deaf and hard of hearing. Our teachers are usually very good though I wish we could be given more time to play. Since teachers dont allow us to play in class, I find some of the classes boring.

My typical school today begins at around 7:00 am as I wake and prepare to go to class. I dont like having to wake up this early as I love my sleep. Actually, I dont wake up this early on weekends. The first thing after I wake up is taking a warm shower. After taking a shower, I dress up for school, have breakfast, and leave. I normally take around 35-45 minutes to prepare myself before going to school. Since I live nearby, I usually walk to school for about 5-7 minutes. While the walk is usually enjoyable, its sometimes difficult for me, especially during winter or when it rains. On this day, I woke up at 6:00 am, prepared myself, and got to school at 7:50 am ready for the first class, which started at 8:00 am.

For the first period, I had Language Arts. In this class, the lesson focused on identifying main ideas and supporting details in a text or passage. One of the lesson objectives was to summarize what we have read through writing. The teacher employed sign language as part of classroom management strategy as well as for teaching. She used sign language to communicate with us from the beginning to the end of the lesson. We were given two pieces of literature to read. The teacher ensured that we could see the book and sat in a position where we could see her face and signs simultaneously. Using the American Sign Language (ASL), she read the story several times and used props, eye gaze, and facial expressions to communicate. The lesson lasted for a period of 30 minutes. While I found it interesting at the beginning, I got bored after about 15 minutes. I think the class would have been more engaging and enjoyable if the teacher incorporated visual elements or presentations. The two pieces of literature in the book had no pictures, which made it relatively difficult for me to enjoy and concentrate throughout.

After the first session, we had a 15-minute break before the beginning of the next lesson. During the break as well as other transition times, I enjoy playing with my peers. The transition times and lunch break gave us opportunities for peer social interactions and social play. Our social playtimes took place at the playground and in the presence of one of our teachers. We played in groups of six students and used sign language to communicate. However, some of my peers lost interest in the games and opted to be alone. The teacher did not interfere with our play unless a student engaged in inappropriate behavior such as being aggressive. For example, one of the students became aggressive and started fighting another because of a disagreement during the play. Her friend was mimicking her walking style, which really angered her. The teacher stopped them from fighting and took some time talking to them about what is expected of them.

The next two classes after Language Arts were Mathematics and Science. For these classes, we had three teachers each. They were in different locations in the class and provided support to each...

…last for around an hour. I took my lunch and found my friend who we spent time chatting away. I enjoy one-on-one social situations and conversations with my friend. Both of us can hear most of what is said, which makes it easier to communicate. We looked for a place that was quiet enough for us and spent most of the time chatting away and laughing. I could hear at least 70 percent of what she said and lip-read to fill in the rest. When socializing with my friends, we hardly use sign language since we can hear most of what is said. We discussed several things including how the classes were, our lives at home, and general feelings and thoughts about the school.

After this, we headed back to the final class of the day, which was a physical education class. I enjoyed this class as it gave me an opportunity to learn while engaging in playing some fun games. The teacher started the class by presenting a skill chart containing different images of activities we would participate in to enhance our motor skills and movement patterns. He used a combination of visual representation, sign language, and cued speech during the entire lesson. While I usually enjoy physical education, exhaustion started taking its toll on me. I felt exhausted by some of the learning activities. We spent time playing Twister and dancing in the classroom. I found dancing to be a vigorous activity. I think the teacher could have improved our overall participation in the class by allowing us to go play outside for this class. However, visual representations like the dancing video really helped me follow through with the dance styles. I found it difficult to make connections between the activities and any concepts because I was already exhausted at…