BEAUTIFUL CHILD. BY TOREY ... Special needs teacher Torey Hayden
describes her encounter ... boyfriend was abusive, and every one of her siblings
had ...
BEAUTIFUL CHILD BY TOREY HAYDEN Cara Weston
SUMMARY Special needs teacher Torey Hayden describes her encounter with working with a 7 year old girl named Venus Fox who was completely “mute” and “hopeless”, well that was what everyone said about her anyways. Venus came from a broken home. Her family was poor, her Mother in and out of jail, her Mother’s boyfriend was abusive, and every one of her siblings had some sort of a mental disability.
SUMMARY
Venus never spoke a word, never listened, never even acknowledged that she was around others at all. Torey had her hands full with a classroom of boys with behavior problems who always seemed to fight with each other during class. Torey knew that during class time she could not give her full attention to help Venus out, so instead she gave up her own breaks to spend time with Venus during recess.
SUMMARY What seemed hopeless to everyone else seemed possible to Torey and she was determined to stimulate Venus into talking. During recess Torey would simply read to her while she was sitting on her lap in order to gain a relationship with her. Nothing changed with Venus until close to the end of the school year. She progressed by simply nodding yes or no, acknowledging Torey’s presence, or sometimes answering simple questions.
SUMMARY Venus was sent to the hospital due to child abuse and was taken into foster care. Torey though earned her trust throughout the school year enough that when Venus came back to school she slowly started talking in full sentences on her own. Soon enough she was talking to her classmates as well.
SUMMARY
Torey was able to maintain peace in her classroom, bring the boys together to be friends, and was patient enough to believe in Venus when no one else did. She changed the life of Venus and improved the behavior and academic skills of her other students all at the same time.
EDUCATION THEME
As a teacher you are always going to run into problems whether it be your boss, co-workers, or parents. Torey had problems with all three yet she still never gave up on her students even when others told her what she was doing was wrong or wouldn’t work. Torey stayed passionate as a teacher to help her students become well behaved and to help Venus overcome her silence. The main theme was that no matter what obstacles come in your way as a teacher if you stay passionate and dedicated you can really change the lives of your students.
PERSONAL RESPONSE
I didn’t even feel like I was reading a book for a class. I was so interested in how Torey handled situations and never gave up on any of the students in her class. Working with special needs children is so difficult and I saw some of those difficulties arise in her book but I loved how she was able to bring out the best in each of her students. This book made me reflect on my own ways of handling situations and I hope to at least one day make a difference in a student’s life just like she did.
