One of the most exciting experiences this week was playing basketball with one of the students, Shubhendu. I had seen him playing basketball from a distance a while back during one of my passing periods to class, but honestly as soon as he got a hold of the basketball he impressed me with his moves on the court. He could dribble in and out of his legs and could shoot pretty well too. One of the things I found interesting about shubhendu was his repeated phrase "six in a row." To him this meant that he had once gotten six baskets in a row and he was attempting of doing it again. Even when he missed a basket, Shubhendu always managed to say "six in a row." Because of Shubhendu I felt that I had learned a valuable lesson, which was that even when you may miss a goal (a basket in this case) , you can always manage to try again. And that's exactly what he did.
Something that I observed while interacting with some of the students was that they were all very well mannered. Alex, one of the students had stunned me with his politeness and great sportsmanship when playing basketball. Jessie Nyugen and I had made teams for basketball, it was Alex and I against shubhendu and jessie. As the game went along, I saw Alex being a team player allowing him and I to take turns back and forth shooting, as well as dribbling the ball . I could tell that he was such a genuine role model for many of the other students because he was always looking out for others making sure they were making right and fair choices. For example, Alex would yell out " Hey Shubhendu, Jessie's open pass to her!" Hearing this made me learn that these students were more than classmates to each other, they were family because they watched out for each other.
Not only did I learn valuable lessons out of these fun experience when working with these students, but I also gained friends, which is always a great feeling. I enjoy hearing my name called out through the hallways or during passing periods by some of the special Ed students it makes me feel noticed and remembered. Which is something, I think everybody enjoys feeling.
Maria shooting!
Shubhendu and Me!
Jessie shooting!
Jessie!
Alex! 
Shubhendu dribbling!
Alex shooting! 
My New friends! 
Cosmo!
Marjan!
2 comments:
I love your idea of spending time and volunteering with the special ed kids. It's important for them to feel like they're also a big part of our school and the fact that you guys spent your time to play and hang out with them does a lot! Many people at school don't really take the time to hang out with the special ed kids, so it was really nice that you guys did that :)
It is nice to see and read about something that most of us don’t know. When we hear "special ed kids" most people think they are kids who are not capable to do things that regular kids do. I think you perfectly showed that the special ed kids are not any different than us. They may not be able to think and act exactly like us but they do form the same relationships and enjoy the same activities and company as we do. This is similar to what I learned with the elders that I met at a nursing home. Usually we think elders are too old to enjoy or want anything that young people enjoy today. However, volunteering made me realize that they don’t differ. They love meeting new people to talk to and be active, like by exercising and singing. Lastly, I got the chance to have the same experience as you by making new friends with a crowd that we do not usually see as people we can just hang out with and talk to. Keep up the good work(=
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