Guest guest Posted May 24, 2007 Report Share Posted May 24, 2007 http://www.oanow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=OAN/MGArticle/OAN_BasicArticle & c=MGArticle & cid=1173350971309 & path=!news Student project teaches understanding Field Opelika-Auburn (AL) News Friday, April 27, 2007 What most eighth-graders said started out as nervous experience for them has opened their eyes to a whole new world of opportunities for not only themselves, but the special needs students they see each day in the hallways. Ruth Meadows and Kate Everett-Gholston from the eighth-grade team at Opelika Middle School have initiated a yearlong research project for the students in their classes. They adopted Heyward’s severe and profound needs class and throughout the school year the students are learning about the hardships, struggles and amount of love needed in order to work with anyone who has a disability. " It’s been something that I was a little apprehensive about at first, but I think now that our kids are getting more out of it than the special needs children, " Everett-Gholston said. " It’s just been really great to see them flourish. You never know if something is going to work, but it’s been an eye-opening experience for us all. " " I’ve learned that they aren’t any different than us, " eighth-grader Bright said. " They want to be with their friends and come hang out, just like us. Until we adopted the class, I never even really knew there was a class. " " My students are learning so much, but they don’t even realize it, " Heyward said with a huge smile on her face. " This experience has been stress-free and I’m just loving what I do. " " For some of the kids this is the only interaction they have, " Heyward continued. " To see them excel in just the smallest things, is just awesome. In the past the students didn’t really interact with my kids and they used to call them the ‘big kids,’ but the whole school’s just taken them all in. " " They really are like us in certain ways, but with a lot more energy, " Madison Popwell added. " They love the older kids like us, too. " " They really do have the will to do so much more stuff than we thought they do, " said Carson . " They want to do just as much as we do, and they’re so enthusiastic about it. " LaDarius Chatmon, who said he’d like to become a professional football player someday, said that after working with Heyward’s class this year he doesn’t plan to change his career path, but would like to possibly start a foundation one day that could benefit individuals with special needs. The parents of two special needs children spoke to OMS eighth-graders Thursday morning about raising and working with individuals with disabilities. Mike Everett, Everett-Gholston’s father, has a daughter, Alyne with autism. Katy Leonard, an Opelika City Schools Board of Education member, told the students about her 10-year-old daughter Kathleen who has Down’s syndrome. " It took us completely by surprise, " Leonard told the students about the day she and her husband learned that their child would be born with Down Syndrome. " But we were glad that we knew ahead of time so that I could learn everything I would need to know about Downs and raising Kathleen. " Leonard added that she was sometimes nervous about how friendly her child is with others, but realizes that she has the biggest heart of anyone and just wants to love others. " You’ll now have a better understanding of what these kids are going through. They don’t like being ridiculed just like me and you, " Everett said. " Today they are mainstreamed into the schools. They can learn a lot from you, but you guys can also learn a lot from them, too. Working with them will definitely make an impression on you. Just continue to accept them for who and what they are. " Dr. Phil Raley, former superintendent of Opelika schools and current director of the Opelika Achievement Center/Easter Seals also spoke to the students, reminding them to, " never put the disability in front of the adult. They are adults with disabilities, not handicapped. " Heyward plans to implement the " adoption " program each year, from now on out, continuing to help the students she works with day in and day out. ,_._,___ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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