Always Off Course
Sailing & Teaching Students with Disabilities
Teaching students with disabilities is a lot like being at the helm of a sailboat. Now, just in case you haven’t spent much time on the water, there’s a big difference between sailing and motor-boating. If your vessel is motor driven, you can point it at your destination and it will head in that direction, with some interference by wind and water currents.
On the other hand, if you are under sail, you are totally at the mercy of wind and currents AND your skill.
I have a lot of respect for those who sail because they have to tolerate the failure of being off course most of the time – just like those who teach students with disabilities!
Let me point out the similarities:
Set your course: In sailing, you select your destination spot on the horizon and try to sail in that direction. Most of the time, wind and water currents will take you off course. So you spend most of your time off course and self-correcting. In teaching, you set your learning target and spend most of your time adjusting as you realize students don’t have background knowledge OR need more explanation of the new procedures OR are still upset by the altercation in the cafeteria. Deep breath – course correction! You can do this!
Onboard your crew: If you are a professional, you meet with your crew on deck before you set sail to confirm the destination and ensure that everyone agrees on sails and sailing tactics. In teaching, you plan with your co-teachers, your paraprofessionals, and specialists to align on the basic plan. Of course, you all recognize that you will be off-course as much as you are on. That’s not failure; that’s normal and part of the process. So you encourage each other.
Point of sail: Most sailboats aren’t built to sail directly into the wind or with the wind at their backs. Instead, the captain must zigzag them through the water, tacking back and forth into the wind or jibing as they swing their stern through the wind. If you’ve been there, it’s glorious when the wind is strong and the boat heels. I wonder why it doesn’t feel so glorious in the classroom when you realize that you have to tack back and forth to keep your students engaged in learning – using a gaming analogy to hook Jeremy, a puppy picture for Tonya, a checklist for Odette. What can’t it be a glorious adventure? Why not?
Drop anchor: When you’re stopped for the night and an evening swim, you drop anchor so the boat won’t drift. You want to be able to raise your sails tomorrow without losing ground overnight. You give your struggling students an anchor chart organizer with key vocabulary and concepts to support their retention so you can pick up and move forward tomorrow. Rest well – tomorrow will be a new day on the water!
So teaching students with special needs is a lot like heading out on a sailing adventure. Right? There’s one difference, though. Chance are, when you head off on a sailing trip, you are not deeply aware that you are changing the life of a child – everyday!
Don’t worry if you get off course. The little side tacks that you take along the way help build a relationship of trust and mutual respect with your students and your colleagues. You are creating precious memories. Some of those students will never forget that they got to sail on your ship. That’s part of the journey – just make those course corrections and keep going. It’s worth it!
