From the eyes of a 4-years-old Deaf child…
June 17, 2008
Oh, I remember.
The school was Loma Vista Elementary School.
The year was Fall 1970.
I was four years old.
I was placed in a Hearing kindergarten class.
Along with two other children who were Hard of Hearing.
I remembered the Hearing Impaired teacher
Escorting me to the kindergarten room.
I saw the children running around
And doing the routine things -
Putting blocks together, playing with dough and reading.
I tried to do these things and the Hearing children backed away from me.
Oh, I felt so LONELY.
When the Hearing kindergarten teacher called for piano time,
The Hearing children flocked to her and sat down on the big mat.
My eyes followed the children so I sat on the first row.
Then my eyes were on the teacher and the piano.
Teacher and the children began to sing a song.
Oh, I was so LOST.
My heart sank — not being able to “hear” the song.
The eyes of the teacher and children were on me.
They tried to mouth the words, which I could not understand.
I guessed that they wanted me to sing.
I began to babble out of the blue.
The teacher and the children were flabbergasted.
Again, their eyes were on me.
Oh, I felt so LOW.
I dodged into the coat closet and locked myself in!
The teacher tried to run after me and knocked on the closet door.
No luck getting me out.
The teacher called the Hearing Impaired teacher.
The HI teacher tried getting me out…no luck.
Oh, I was so UPSET.
The teachers tried different ways to coax me
Out of the closet, but to no avail.
Finally, they had to call in my dear Mom.
Mom came to the kindergarten class and knocked on the closet.
I felt the knock and peeked between the doors, seeing my Mom.
I reluctantly opened the door and reached out to her.
She looked at me with a flick of understanding and took me home.
Oh, I felt so RELIEVED.
What a day in Kindergarten!
-Ginny Paja Nyholm, June 12, 2006
