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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