Encouragement from an Unlikely Source

Background: My students are adorable - all of them - in strikingly different ways. Sometimes I forget that learning speech and language skills is hard. They need encouragement, which I try to remember to give generously.

Observation: Hard of Hearing students usually don't acquire language, including pragmatics (social forms), as quickly or as completely as their hearing peers. Because of this, Hard of Hearing students may be quite direct in their comments. Many times hard of hearing students have made pronouncements to me about my age, hair style, weight, clothes, make-up. Whatever they see and think, they share - uncensored. Usually, I think their observations hilarious. There's no room for thin-skin in this field.

Setting: My desk at school; the last five minutes of my fifteen minute working lunch, just prior to an IEP committee meeting for a second grade hard of hearing student's annual review. My student enters to complete one last evaluation item for the review.

ND: Hi, Mrs. Whiteside. What's that?

EW: Hi, ND. Soup! I've got one more bite of my lunch.

ND: What kind is it?

EW: Cabbage soup.
ND: Is it good?

EW: Not particularly.

ND: Why are you eating it?

EW: Oh, I'm on a diet.

ND: Me too!

EW: (Puzzled - she does not seem pudgy to me.) You ARE?

ND: Yes, and I'm doing the Wii Fit too.

EW: Really???

ND: Watch! (executes several fitness moves quite agilely)

EW: Wow! Is your mom doing Wii Fit with you?

ND: No. She's not losing weight!

EW: (big laugh) I don't know if I could do those moves either!

ND: (Surveying me up and down for several seconds.) Mrs. Whiteside, you're looking better! Know how I know? Now your pants do like this (draws parallel lines in the air with her hands), and not like this (draws parentheses)!

EW: (Big Smile) ND, you made me feel better today!

ND: I did???
EW: Oh, Yes!
ND: (Big Smile)

So, in this exchange, my Hard of Hearing student used very appropriate pragmatic language to give encouragement. What a great way to end a week of speech/language work!