July 6, 2010

This is new. I haven't blogged before and the idea of my words being out there for all to see is intimidating. Even trying to get set up has been interesting. However, all that is behind me and here I go...

We saw a movie about Susie Ruben yesterday. I was impressed throughout the movie with the need for people to communicate. Susan was a highly intelligent individual who was trapped in her own mind. Because of her inability to communicate, she lived in what she described as a fog for the first 13 years of her life. Humans are social and need to communicate. What would it be like to be her, lost in only my own thinking ? I feel like I live to much in my head already but that's nothing compared to Susie's experience.

It also made me think about the non-verbal children I have taught. I often made an effort to include them in conversation and in classroom life but I remember times when their teaching assistants and I would talk to each other and unintentionally leave the student out. What must that have felt like? Of course we needed to communicate with each other too, however was it done in a way that was respectful of the student about whom we were speaking? I hope so but I know there were days when I was tired and maybe not as careful of everyone's feelings as I should have been. The movie forced me to relive those moments and consider all my unintentional acts and how they would impact a person who can't tell me to include them. This didn't always feel comfortable but it was a necessary wake up call. Susie was someone who would be easy to ignore assuming she wouldn't understand. That couldn't be more wrong. While on some level I know you cannot judge a book by it's cover, do I always practice it?

In order to have effective communication we need to have a common language, someone to communicate with and both parties engaged in the process. Communication is a back and forth action, a two way street. It is how we make sense of our world, both by receiving and expressing information.

As a teacher I often feel the frustration of one way communication or I'm speaking (showing, demonstrating etc.), but you're not listening (watching, thinking about). We have activities to enhance listening skills, we try different methods to get our message across but the reality is, some people are simply not going to attend to what is being taught. It's frustrating but it also provides an opportunity to look deeper into the needs and learning styles of our students as well as our methods of teaching.

I lived in France for a year. I was not a master of the language and was frequently unaware of what was being said around me. This could be scary at times, knowing in an emergency I may not be able to get my message across. I became good a charades and at cobbling together parts of the language to communicate. I cringe to think what I might have said at times. A common language and the ability to communicate is freedom. Freedom from fear and anxiety. Freedom to say exactly what you mean and be understood. Freedom from the pitying attitude or hostility of those who cannot communicate with you.