The last two months I have been working at John Hay Cleveland School of Science and Medicine as a teaching assistant. I have the good fortune to be working with students who have Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Asperser syndrome and other health issues. I am totally amazed everyday how wonderful these students are. They are what the rest of us need to be on so many levels. They have such a beautiful simplicity of spirit. It is impossible to put into words. They show so much compassion to their classmates that might be sad or crying, telling them “it will be alright” and patting their shoulders with their hands. In music they sing their songs with such enthusiasm and heart felt sincerity it brings tears to my eyes. Sure they may not know all the words or sing in time or key, but they bring such soul to the music. When they compete, they don’t care if they win, but cheer for everyone in class to do well. Yes they struggle to read, speak, do math and do other things we take for granted, but they give you their best effort when they can focus on the work. These students with so-called handicaps have taught me more about being a better human being in last two months then I have learned over many years. The compassion, spirit of love, simplicity, kindness and gentleness of heart that they have shown makes me wonder who really has the so-called handicap. The other day I asked one of the students if he had some friends outside of the classroom. He said without hesitation, “you’re my friend and I love you”. I said, “I love you too and said I’m happy we are friends. During a musical program for their parents, I began to cry when they sang Louis Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World. If these students can sing this song with such, meaning and sincerity, who am I to think anything less of our world? It truly is a wonderful world. https://youtube/watch?v=ddLd0QRf7Vg
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 17:31:28 +0000
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