We were preparing for Thanksgiving last year, and had discussed the concept of "thankful." I had given each student three "turkey" feathers to write on. They were to think of three things they were thankful for...not an easy task for kids with such limited language. I was out in the hallway, putting the finished turkey feathers on our now not-so-naked turkey, when one of other adults brought me a feather from one of the students. He was clearly quite concerned. Curious, I took the feather. There, above the 3rd grader's name, boldly written in the fanciest letters he could muster, was the word "Playboy."
Ever the calm and wise educator (right....), I suggested we ask the student to read us his turkey feathers and tell us what he was thankful for. I walked back in the room to see the student looking up naively at the adult and signing "play dog."
Of course he was thankful for being able to play with his dog.
Amazing what a difference a couple of inverted or malformed letters can make!
Say what?
With their lack of exposure to language and sound, many deaf and hard of hearing students misuse, mispronounce, and misunderstand some common English words...leading to some interesting revelations!
Leave it to a calm educator like you to realize just how much your child enjoys his dog! keep them going!
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