Joey is a complete badass.
Although I try very hard not to swear in my steemit posts, I simply do not know any other words that can possibly do him justice. If the term "badass" wasn't coined to describe this kid, it should have been.
I couldn't find an image that showed exactly how tough Joey is. This one had to do.
Joey is a 15 year old high school freshman who enjoys golf, history, sports and joking around.
He also happens to have severe epilepsy. In addition, his dysarthria (muscle weakness), apraxia (difficulty with motor planning), and reduced breath capacity makes it incredibly hard for him to speak. It is very difficult for those to whom he is speaking to decipher the words Joey is trying to formulate. This difficulty speaking is exacerbated by the fact that he cannot control his tongue as well as the vast majority of people. He has seizures several times a day. This repeated trauma has affected his ability to read, write and spell. He requires the use of hearing aids to compensate for a hearing deficit. He has been in therapy since he was 8 weeks old in order to help him with the fact that the entire right side of his body is very weak.
At this point, you may be thinking, "Wait. I thought you were going to tell us about some tough kid you have in class."
I just did.
What Joey "can't " do is quite insignificant compared to what he
But that list of challenges is such a tiny part of him.
The biggest part is that Joey gets up every day, puts on most of his clothes without assistance (he still needs help with buttons), brushes his teeth, grabs his far too heavy backpack, and hops on the bus to school.
When he gets there, he struggles to enter the combination on his lock, open his locker and get what he needs for the day. He slowly makes his way through the halls. If he has to go to the second floor, he trudges to the elevator (stairs are not safe for him). Yet he is never late.
He enters each class with a smile and takes his place amongst his peers to participate in every lesson. He gives his best effort in every task requiring reading and writing. When asked to work in a small group with his classmates, he pulls his weight. And when it comes time to do the thing that is most difficult for him: to speak out loud... he is tenacious. He will not concede. He will not surrender. He will not yield.
My class relies very heavily on student participation in group discussions. During these conversations, it would be very easy for Joey to simply keep his hand down and observe the exchange. It would be so simple for him to say to himself, "It is too hard for me to form words. It is too hard for people to understand me. It too hard for me to have to repeat myself 7 or 8 times in order to get my message across. It is too hard not to get embarrassed".
But the words "It is too hard" are not the words of a badass. Joey is a badass.
Therefore, when Joey has something to contribute to the discussion, he musters up the strength to lift his hand, waits his turn, and then... he speaks.
And no-one understands.
So he speaks again.
And no-one understands.
So he speaks again.
And no-one understands.
So he speaks again...
And then someone in the room (it could be and adult or fellow student) gets it! The successful translator pumps his/her fist and repeats the statement for the class.
Joey smiles and pumps his fist as well.
His statement or question was insightful. It helped propel the discussion. But most importantly, Joey didn't give up... and the class didn't give up on him.
A few minutes later, Joey raises his hand again... and the class gets to work on making sure we all understand Joey's contribution.
That is why Joey is a badass. While many students in the school just let their education wash over them as they remain passive audience members, Joey fights every second of every day to get the education he deserves. He fights to get to school. He fights to make it around the halls. He fights to read. He fights to write. He fights to speak.
Joey fights.
I have only known Joey for two weeks. But to be honest, it only took 5 minutes to figure out that I was in the presence of a true badass.
Joey fights... and he loves it. At the end of the first week I received an email from Joey's mom. It turns out Joey is up for another fight. He noticed that our school doesn't have a Military History club. He is going to fight to start one. I'm sure he'll win.
At the end of the message, his mom mentioned that Joey is incredibly excited to be in high school and that he loves it.
Joey loves going to a place where he has to fight for everything that comes so easy to almost everyone else around him.
He shows up every day and all day long he does the hardest thing in the world for him... and he does it with a smile.
Yeah... Joey is a badass.
If there any other educators, parents, students or friends, who would like to share a story of a student he/she knows, make sure to use the steemiteducation tag so those interested in education related posts can find it. If you would like to encourage more education related posts, please follow @steemiteducation and consider delegating SP to @steemiteducation or @steemwizards. Thank you to @lukestokes who already has.