Peter Pan and Taylor Swift

Hmm, made me think!!!!

It is our last day at Rochester School for the Deaf and boy, a lot of things happened. I will never forget this experience.

First of all, Mrs. Kipp decided to ask a question that sort of stumped me.

How did Peter Pan and Captain Hook first meet???????

The students had a great time inventing stories, I bet. It was not read aloud 

during class (too bad!!! because of the time) but Mrs. Kipp told them about

a book that told the story about how they first met. (I need to find this book!!)

It was called "Peter and the Starcatchers", which is now actually a broadway play. Written by two guys named Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Before this activity, the class read the classic novel written by James Barrie. 

I observed that Mrs. Kipp tried to have one-on-one with the students and seeing if their reading skills would improve. Since there were only 4 students in her class, she grouped them by 2. Two of the students would sit with me, working on their vocabulary cards while the other two sat with Mrs. Kipp and read two articles about the story, Peter and the Starcatchers. This kept the class from getting bored and also had them working independently. By having two students read with her, she was also able to see if they really understood the story. I think this was a good idea.

The Fire Drill!!

This kind of exercises stimulates creativity and instills a reading readiness to students. There was a fire drill at the middle of the lesson, while Mrs. Kipp was reading a chapter from the book. I wanted to learn more about the story but we had to go out and do the fire drill. I was asked if we also have fire drills in the Philippines and as well as earthquake drills. I replied that there was. It is great to be able to exchange culture stories with others.

A highlight of the day was when the class went to the library and joined other schools in a webcast with none other than... Taylor Swift!!!!

Apparently, Taylor Swift has this reading program that is encouraging other children to learn to become readers like her. She shared her favorite books, such as Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli and others. I guess a famous star like her can use her influence to encourage students to become readers. A good strategy and also makes Taylor Swift a role model for the youth. I wonder if there are some actors and actresses who can use their influence to encourage Deaf students to become readers?????? Just a thought.

After the webcast, we were treated to a Bilingualism seminar by Susan Lane-Outlaw who gave an amazing and inspiring lecture on the use of Bilingualism in the classroom. I am hoping we can invite her to give a lecture in the Philippines. She was able to captivate an entire auditorium of teachers! We were also given tokens by Rochester School for the Deaf.

I want to learn more on how exactly they use ASL or FSL to teach English and Reading. I hope to see more demonstrations, lectures, seminars in the future. I know it will take some time before DLS-CSB would be in the same level as say, NTID-RIT or RSD but in the end, it will be worth it. I want to encourage my students to become readers... not only my students but also my Deaf peers. I know that they need a push in the right direction. We could be the push that they need.

I will always treasure my RSD experience because it helped rekindle the passion I have for teaching. It reminded me of why I became a teacher in the first place. It gave me hope that one day the students I will teach will be like the students that I have met along my trip. I am excited to make this journey - this step - with other teachers who are also passionate about Deaf education. I know we are at the beginning of a long, hard journey. I also know it's worth all the long nights trying to stay up and do a blog, preparing for a teaching demo and trying to capture everything about America at the same time.

Thank you, RSD, for welcoming all of us with wonderful arms. I hope to be back!