Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Camraderie Breeds Confidence

SILVER SPRING, Md. -- Mohammed "Kumail" Abbas tossed a small yellow ball onto the lawn on an eye-squintingly bright afternoon outside James Hubert Blake High School in Montgomery County. He and three other students with Down syndrome were playing bocce ball, in a lesson that offered a glimpse at a traditional form of special education that is becoming less common across the country.
"What's the name of the ball, again?" asked teacher Heather Cory.
Some special-needs students at Blake High School in Montgomery County spend their days building life skills and self-esteem — and their softball abilities.
"A pa-, pa-, pallino," Kumail said, drawing a rousing "Good job!" from his teacher. When his teammate threw a larger red ball and his opponent threw a larger blue ball, Cory led a discussion on how the relationships among the balls determined a winner.
"Which one is closer to the pallino?" she asked.
In bocce, as in special education, the discussion is often about relationship

No comments:

Post a Comment