Memorable Moment #12...Seriously?!??

What do you do when you hear yourself say to the child who is blind, "Gabby, look at me."

 Seriously?!? Did I just say that? Did that just come out of my mouth? Yep, it did!

 Let's think about how ridiculous this was......

 1) I have had countless hours of training and coursework addressing cultural differences. I am well aware that many children do not look adults in the eye.

 2) I have had countless hours of training and coursework in classroom management and social development. I am well aware that when children are being scolded they do not want to look the person doing the scolding in the eye. (....And I was giving Gabby a "what for" because she refused to work for one of my classroom assistants.)

 3) I have been working with this child for a year and a half. I am well aware that she is blind. Did I really just tell her to look at me?

Stick a fork in me, folks.....clearly, I'm done.

On a happy note, there was some good reflection that came about because of this. Sometimes when you catch yourself doing something that "just happens" that is so blatantly not best practice, it raises your level of consciousness or deliberate thinking about that very act or concept. You don't "forget that you know it" again.

I'm pretty confident that I won't be telling ANY other child to look at me when he/she is in trouble because this lovely little incident is firmly embedded in my brain.