After a trying day of teaching 5th graders how to figure the area of a triangle, a square, and a rectangle, I'm exhausted! No matter how many ways I explained it, or how many examples, or even how many days I went over it. They still had this puzzled look on their faces. I have come to a realization that it is not my teaching it is that they automatically see it as hard, so they shut me out. It is just like life. If you leave the door open, more can come in. If only a crawl space is open then not much can even make it in. We limit ourselves by not listening, seeing, or reaching out into the world. We are not the keepers of knowledge, in order to teach we must be willing to learn. Now what have I learned.
I have learned so much in this journey. Wow I can't believe that 7 months have past since my surgery. My surgery is not only important to my choices for cochlear implants, it is also the time I decided to reach out to the Deaf Community. I needed to talk to other CI users and deaf people. I wanted to learn as much as I could about what it is like to be deaf. Even though I have been deaf for 36 years, I felt I did not know how to be deaf. So here is what I have learned not only about the Deaf Community, but my family.
*Once you identify yourself as deaf, you no longer see yourself as hard of hearing or hearing impaired. It took 36 years to view myself this way. It really is a very easy to see myself as deaf. I'm at peace with it.
*I am a hell of a lot stronger than I thought I was. Not only has my whole life changed in terms of hearing, but who I allow inside my life has changed. I found true friends. Ones who accept me. I also found a group of fantastic people online. They know my thoughts, they answer my questions, and most importantly they understand what it is like to go through what I am going through. My nightly chats with Abbie are the highlights of my day. I sometimes think we are twin because we think alike. Just wish I had the words she has.
*Families accept you. My whole life I thought I had to be better, be smarter, be wiser, be funnier. Little did I know that my family has always accepted my deafness. They accepted me with or without implants. Mom and dad love me for me. And as aways mom always knows best.
*Families part II. My husband and daughter also accept me. My daughter's favorite comment is daddy loves you for who you are not if you can hear or not. You know what even 9 years old get it right.
*Work, school, and my career are not just jobs. I found I love teaching again. I really can focus on teaching without worrying about hearing. I found I miss the interaction with students and can't wait to get to school each day. (most of the time, right now I n-e-e-d spring break only 2 days).
*Most importantly what I have learned is there are good, bad, and ugly in all groups of people. We make a choice to accept who we want into our homes, who we want to be friends with, and who we spend our time with. What I have learned it sometimes we can't keep out the bad and the ugly. We have to face it. What makes it a learning experience is how we handle it. Do we learn from it and grow, do we attack it and cause more damage, or do we allow it to hurt us? I chose to learn from it. We learn as much from a bad experience as we do a positive experience. The choice is yours and I quote our school news show. This is Val make it a good day, or not, the choice is yours.
I have learned so much in this journey. Wow I can't believe that 7 months have past since my surgery. My surgery is not only important to my choices for cochlear implants, it is also the time I decided to reach out to the Deaf Community. I needed to talk to other CI users and deaf people. I wanted to learn as much as I could about what it is like to be deaf. Even though I have been deaf for 36 years, I felt I did not know how to be deaf. So here is what I have learned not only about the Deaf Community, but my family.
*Once you identify yourself as deaf, you no longer see yourself as hard of hearing or hearing impaired. It took 36 years to view myself this way. It really is a very easy to see myself as deaf. I'm at peace with it.
*I am a hell of a lot stronger than I thought I was. Not only has my whole life changed in terms of hearing, but who I allow inside my life has changed. I found true friends. Ones who accept me. I also found a group of fantastic people online. They know my thoughts, they answer my questions, and most importantly they understand what it is like to go through what I am going through. My nightly chats with Abbie are the highlights of my day. I sometimes think we are twin because we think alike. Just wish I had the words she has.
*Families accept you. My whole life I thought I had to be better, be smarter, be wiser, be funnier. Little did I know that my family has always accepted my deafness. They accepted me with or without implants. Mom and dad love me for me. And as aways mom always knows best.
*Families part II. My husband and daughter also accept me. My daughter's favorite comment is daddy loves you for who you are not if you can hear or not. You know what even 9 years old get it right.
*Work, school, and my career are not just jobs. I found I love teaching again. I really can focus on teaching without worrying about hearing. I found I miss the interaction with students and can't wait to get to school each day. (most of the time, right now I n-e-e-d spring break only 2 days).
*Most importantly what I have learned is there are good, bad, and ugly in all groups of people. We make a choice to accept who we want into our homes, who we want to be friends with, and who we spend our time with. What I have learned it sometimes we can't keep out the bad and the ugly. We have to face it. What makes it a learning experience is how we handle it. Do we learn from it and grow, do we attack it and cause more damage, or do we allow it to hurt us? I chose to learn from it. We learn as much from a bad experience as we do a positive experience. The choice is yours and I quote our school news show. This is Val make it a good day, or not, the choice is yours.
