Coeds find frustrations, joy and rewards in working with disadvantaged children
By CAROLYN BOWERS Kansan Staff Writer
Editor's note: Because of the circumstances involving these students and the fact that they taught in schools close to Lawrence, their full names were not used.
One 10-year-old area boy is anticipating Christmas for a reason most children don't have.
At Christmas his father will be home from prison for a short visit.
This child, who is capable of doing first grade work, was one of 13 students Carol worked with
KANSAN
during her student teaching in special education which involves teaching children who are slow learners but not necessarily mentally retarded.
Carol and Joyce, who recently finished teaching special education classes, saw an aspect of teaching that most student teachers do not have the chance to see: Both taught in disadvantaged poverty-level grade schools after first teaching children from middle and high income backgrounds.
"It's such a switch to come from a school where all the girls dress like 'Barbi' dolls to this," said Carol who had never before worked closely with disadvantaged children.
"When I asked one of the boys where he got his shirt, he said that he and his father had found
14 KANSAN Dec. 18 1969
it in a town dump—I don't think he was kidding either."
In dealing with her 13 pupils ranging from 9 to 13 years old, Joyce found keeping classroom order to be her biggest problem.
"The kids had to be strictly disciplined because they didn't receive it at home," she said.
The type of behavior displayed by the children was more disruptive than shown at her previous school. The children not only kicked and hit each other more often, but also attacked the teacher, she said.
Carol described similar behavior problems in her classes. She found that she often had to make quick decisions when disciplining a child.
"The problem was in knowing when to use what kind of discipline and hoping it worked." Carol said. She said she believed most behavior problems stemmed from the children's own emotional problems, resulting from unstable environments. Of Carol's 13 students, 11 came from homes broken by divorces, some of which were settled in messy court cases.
"If you find a retarded child from a high income group, he is probably a victim of brain damage." Joyce said.
Joyce, who thought her students' abilities for mental growth were good, attributed some of their education problems to the fact that many of the parents were also slow learners.
Carol found that cultural depravation and a lack of motivation in the home were also determining factors.
"The parents of my first students took them to see things like planetariums which motivated them to ask questions and learn about different things," she said. "These other kids just don't get to do this."
"It was so different to begin
teaching kids with no stimulus to learn and practically no facilities to teach them with," Carol said.
Neither teacher said she missed the mechanical teaching aids. In many cases Carol had to rely on her own ingenuity to teach the children about such simple things as the seasons. By taking them outside and letting them learn through explaining things they could touch and see, Carol made up for the lack of classroom aids.
"Actually this was a better method for the special class children than using a machine," she said, "because they need more concrete aids from which to learn."
The young teachers found their experiences frustrating as well as rewarding.
"Sometimes they would just walk away," Carol said, "but
Women's group
(Continued from page 5)
mittee sponsors the annual Honors night and this year is in the process of creating a Women's Hall of Fame at KU.
A committee for Job Placement helps KU women to find part time employment and a Career Selection Committee aids women in finding what they would like to do after graduation.
A survey committee on the status of women works to find areas of discrimination against women and will sponsor a Spring Conference on Women.
when you see that a child wants to do something and you've helped him want it, you can really feel it."
"These committees are open to anyone who would like to participate," asid Miss Oneill "and we hope that more girls will join in the planning."
"Sometimes you must either laugh or be frustrated to a nervous breakdown," Joyce said. "The greatest thing I learned was to have a sense of humor to cope with some of their antics."
Weddings
Thirteen weddings in ten days,
Dec. 19-28, is the Christmas
schedule for Danforth Chapel at
the University of Kansas.
No one has kept count, but the total of student weddings must be well beyond the 1,500-mark.
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