Practicum Memories

My impression of the short practicum was that it was just that. Short. I figure that must mean that I enjoyed it. ‘Time flies if you’re having fun’ as they say. I was placed at Burnaby South Secondary School, a short sky train ride from home luckily. At first I was intimidated by the sheer size of the space (by the end of the practicum I still could not find my way around without at least one ill advised turn) but thankfully, the staff and students were always willing to point me in the right direction.

Burnaby South is also home to the BC Provincial School for the Deaf and as such has a higher incidence of deaf students than most other schools. This provided me with some interesting learning experiences. In the first week of observations, I sat in on a dance class and was surprised to learn that deaf students comprised 1/3 of the students in that class! The teacher was careful to make wide arm motions to indicate time and there was an interpreter present to help with the more intricate instructions; but what was impressive was that not only were the deaf students participating in a class that up until then, seemed dependent upon sound, they were among the more attentive and hardworking of the class. It was such a fun class to watch. The dance teacher also had one down syndrome boy in the class who was not accompanied by a Ed assistant but his attention never faltered. He was by no means the most excellent dancer, but he was really enjoying himself. At one point, I was tempted to right some of his movements but the teacher stopped me. He would enjoy it more to figure it out himself, she said, and in retrospect, she was right. He eventually figured it out and I felt illogically proud for him.

I found myself spending an inordinate amount of time with the Special Education department at the school, even teaching one of the classes for half a block. The faculty was resourceful and amazing. They had organized the special education students into a “career path” class. The students set up a coffee shop for teachers in the morning, using that money to pay for the flowers that they go and haggle for at the flower auction. They then take flower arranging classes and set up the floral arrangements for sale to the whole school and take those profits to buy the coffee beans from the nearby Starbucks for their coffee store. Though the teachers help, these enterprises are mainly run by the students which builds their confidence, improves their self esteem and allows them the skills and purpose to feel like an essential part of their school environment.

I also spent some time at the after school “math clinic” that is run on Thursday afternoons. Teachers and upper level students spend about an hour there to help any students that feel they need some extra help to prepare for exams or finish homework. Generally, one or two deaf students will come in for some help with an interpreter in tow. One of the students was there for calculus help. His interpreter did not have a background in mathematics and trying to explain the solutions through her just made things more convoluted. I found myself unreasonably frustrated at her and eventually abandoned her altogether, opting to just write my explanations out on a scrap piece of paper and having him respond in turn. It was eye-opening to see how quickly we settled into this routine. I just stopped speaking completely and was silently make hand motions and jotting down snippets of thought to try to get him to comprehend various strategies to solve limits. After the dust settled, I felt I owed the interpreter an apology for being snippy but she laughed and kindly waved it off saying that what I had felt was what her students felt all the time and that she completely understood. And I felt even more ashamed.