Saturday, September 2, 2017

COUNTING ON HER FINGERS. Pt. 3

Pt. 3

I turned my head towards Jenny and said, “Let’s begin.”

“Jenny, can you tell me what 7+6 is?” (I purposely reversed the numbers, not to throw her off, but to see if she would notice, and whether she would realize that 6+7 and 7+6 were one and the same thing.

She smiled a crooked smile, and spoke.

“Uhmmm. Mr. Donald, I don’t do real good with add and subtract. I’m really better at PE.”

(I almost laughed out loud).

Jenny looked bored, and like she’d rather be sitting in a dentist chair, than next to yours truly doing single digit equations.

And then an idea popped into my head.

“Jen, give me a minute. I need to talk to the teacher.”

Stepping up to Mrs. Watson’s desk, I spoke just above a whisper.

“Mrs. Watson, I’d like to try something with Jenny, but I don’t want to do it without your approval.”

Ms. W. was all ears.

“Would it be alright if I took Jenny’s hands in my hands, and showed her how to add and subtract using her fingers?”

I had long since understood that a teacher who unnecessarily or improperly touches a student places himself under suspicion and in legal jeopardy, and God knows every school district in this country experiences multiple reports of this nature on a yearly basis.

Mrs. Watson paused, and finally spoke.

“While I would generally discourage using one’s hands to add and subtract, at this point I don’t think we have anything to lose. That girl just doesn’t seem to be able to make it happen.”

(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary. Vol. 66. By William McDonald, PhD. Copyright pending. 

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