I am Ting

A Jim Carrey, Possible

November 12th, 2005

When you are a teacher, people get bored with your constant talking about the kids. But, it is just enjoyable to be so close to these little minds with free imaginations.

“You know what I am drawing? This is a Wild Dog and that is a Not Wild Cat.” I nodded my head when this too-much-alike Jim Carrey boy was putting down three dollar signs above the Not Wild Cat and crossing out the dollar signs with the Wild Dog. It is interesting to see dollar signs on kid’s drawings. I doubted, “Why is there no dollar sign for the Wild Dog?” “The dog is too wild. So, he cannot get the money,” he answered with an exaggerated smile. It seemed like he enjoyed taking the dog’s money away. Even though I still don’t know how the wild kid got the connection between wildness and money making, I pretty like the story he told through the picture.

This kid is wild because of the constant medication influence. He was in and out the Children’s Hospital and of course the school. There are many wild things he does or can get into which are not allowed in school. Screaming is one and smashing himself on the floor is another. Whenever there is some trouble, he either has an exaggerated slow-motion crying or runs away backwards in slow motion. In some way he is a star but he has not too much of the audience since the movie is not a hit in school.

The little star is definitely lonely. He desires for more friends and more understanding of his difference. It is very difficult to portrait an ideal world for children with special needs. It is even harder to truly understand how their minds operate. As a teacher, should we keep telling these kids how they can just be like others? Or, should we or can we stop asking them to be just like others and instead preserve their uniqueness inside them?

Many of the children with special needs I know have the substantial capability to elaborate themselves through art. The creativity I have seen is very unique and incredible. If the education we provide is to help them to be in the main stream, how and when their true abilities can be taken care of? But if these kids cannot even be accepted in the main stream, how can they have a chance to further develop the abilities? The contradiction is discussed in the special education field for years without a real answer. But we all know the ground rule is that taking care of the minds comes before taking care of the abilities.

Maybe the wild kid I know will be a real star like Jim Carrey after certain years. But for now, he probably needs to learn why he can only have a show on a stage but not everywhere.

Entry Filed under: 狠角色 Quite A Character, 向婷，About Me, 西雅圖，Seattle