Hayden: ONE CHILD   Term Paper ID:27198 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Reviews Hayden's 1981 book, which is a sensitive report of the relationship that grew & developed between Ms. Hayden, a special education teacher, & one of her pupils.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Reviews Hayden's 1981 book, which is a sensitive report of the relationship that grew & developed between Ms. Hayden, a special education teacher, & one of her pupils. Paper Introduction: A Review of One Child by Torey L. Hayden Introduction: An Overview of the Story Torey L. Hayden's One Child is a very sensitive report of the relationship that grew and developed between Ms. Hayden, a special education teacher, and one of her pupils, a six-year old girl named Sheila L. Sheila was a tragic example of a child who has been abused and neglected. The daughter of a 14-year-old mother, Sheila was born in poverty and raised in abuse, including being abandoned by her mother on a busy freeway when she was just six years old. This abuse led Sheila to violent behavior, and she was arrested for the act of setting a playmate, a young boy, on fire. She was then sentenced to be committed to a state hospital for Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will saynothing. I'm just going to wait until you're not scared anymore and thenwe'll go back to class. When Sheila came to class the first time, she was dirty, unwashed, andtotally withdrawn. Second, Ilearned that as a teacher, it's all right to get involved with yourstudents, to care for them and to worry about them. First, I learned that as a teacher, it's very dangerous to makeassumptions that all children are alike. I think the reason that she didwas to let people know that it is dangerous to make assumptions aboutpeople and then to let those assumptions determine how we react to thosepeople. There are many emotional and impressive scenes and several importanteducational ideas in the book, five of those scenes will be discussed here.Five Significant Events The first event to be discussed was the description of Sheila's firstday in class and her interaction with Ms. Hayden and the eight othermaladjusted students. What impressed me was the way Ms. Hayden didnot criticize the children, but slowly worked them around to admitting thatthey themselves would feel bad if someone were making fun of them. Hayden's One Child is a very sensitive report of therelationship that grew and developed between Ms. Hayden, a specialeducation teacher, and one of her pupils, a six-year old girl named SheilaL. And yet Sheila had absolutely no home environment to speak of, andcertainly no upbringing. Thebook details the incredible way that Ms. Hayden was able to work withSheila and teach her not only to socialize but to gain respect for herself. When that happens, confusion sets in. This leads to the fourth significant event. But shewasn't, thanks to a teacher who went the extra mile. She was thensentenced to be committed to a state hospital for evaluation and therapyand was considered to be totally unmanageable. The question of what would be another appropriate title for the bookis a difficult one. 1981 That's part of thelearning process. Their winning the case likelysaved Sheila from sinking deeper and deeper into a life where she would betreated, and act, like a violent crazy person. Our life, whilewe are awake and active, is a mixture of important and unimportant choices. I'm not going tohurt you. I've been wondering how I might apply this book to the classroom Iwill someday have. The court scene when Ms. Hayden and her boyfriend go to court to tryto get the state to reverse the decision to put her away in a mentalinstitution and let her remain in the class. I think too manyof us get too tied up in using words that we don't think about orunderstand. Anyone who loves working with children would find it hard to not be movedby the terrible way Sheila had been treated by her family. As the work progresses, Sheila slowly comesout of her shell. A Review of One Child by Torey L. For instance, when Ms. Hayden was trying to get Sheila towrite down words and thoughts and Sheila kept refusing. Each one is different and eachone has amazing potential. This abuse led Sheila to violent behavior, and she was arrested forthe act of setting a playmate, a young boy, on fire. When Ms. Hayden finds her in the gym sheslowly manages to calm Sheila down by speaking to her calmly and withoutanger or reproach: "I'm not going to hurt you, Sheila. "Firstyou will sit down at a little distance from me -- like that -- in thegrass. 'This beeasy,' she whispered, hoarsely so the others could not hear" (59). She was awed to discover the genius in Sheila, but it was herown efforts at reaching out to her that made that genius come to life. The second event significant event is the gym scene. By this point in the story it is easy to be convinced that Sheila isso damaged that she will never be taught anything. I have been taughtthat we choose our actions, so we are responsible for them. I really like that part about words being a source ofmisunderstandings. She is tested and found to have an IQ in the geniuslevel. The teacherdecided that she wouldn't push it, that that one skirmish wasn't asimportant as all the other things she had to accomplish. The daughter of a 14-year-old mother, Sheila was born inpoverty and raised in abuse, including being abandoned by her mother on abusy freeway when she was just six years old. New York. That is a big responsibility, for itmeans that we are always making judgments. As I was reading it, I kept asking myself, "What would I do" if Iwere confronted by any of the situations that Ms. Hayden faced? So why did she turn out to be a genius when allthe cards were stacked against her? And apparently, anyone can be reached, can becommunicated with, can be taught. I think that is avery good way to establish important lines of communication with everystudent, and it should make each student feel important. I also think that she wrote the book because she is a woman of greatsocial conscience: "There were not enough social workers and foster homesand welfare checks to sort out the disasters and repair the damage Onlythe most severely abused children were removed from their homes becausethere was no place to put the others" (97). Ms. Hayden was asked totake Sheila into her Special Ed class until a space in the hospital opensup. Also, I did a lot of wondering afterreading this book about why people do certain actions. Yet the third event tobe described makes the reader aware that this is not the case -- the scenewith the picture recognition. In this book, I learned a lot about teachers, and the act of teaching. I'm not angry and I'm not going to hurt you" (35). Whilealways wishing to help others, I have also had the idea that there are somepeople who cannot be helped. Also, I think I will adopt her idea of having each student keep ajournal and I would write messages back to my students. Sheila was a tragic example of a child who has been abused andneglected. HaydenIntroduction: An Overview of the Story Torey L. That surprised me a lot. The fifth significant event was the way that Ms. Hayden worked withSheila to begin dealing with the eventual separation: "All things end,Sheila. I had to reevaluate a lot ofmy thinking about the goals and ideals of a teacher after reading thisbook. Ms. Hayden would place a series of pictureson a table, say a word, and then wait for Sheila to point to the correctone. If what will be will be, then itwould seem that Sheila would be doomed to live life as a monster. When we talk or write, we are deciding on the arrangement of ourthoughts, and we have to search for the right expressions. BecauseSheila wet her pants and had not washed at home, she smelled and all of thekids were making fun of her. Within the education system we are instructed to teach childrencertain sets of skills that we feel are important for them so that they canlearn to deal with their future. Because of that, Ms. Hayden does not want to see her condemned to ahospital where she would be treated as insane, which is what everyonethought she was. I think that I would call it "Closer and Closer." Ms.Hayden finally started reaching Sheila when she began reading the story"The Little Prince." The scene where the fox and the prince discuss tamingwas quite beautiful: "You must be very patient," replied the fox. I think the first way would be to make sure I alwaysstayed flexible. I have wondered why Ms. Hayden chose to write this book, because it iscertainly an unusual story of education. I've always beentaught that the way we act is a result of our environment and upbringing. Sheila was carried to the discussion group "foldedup into a lump, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees" ( 2 ). She refused to speak or participate in any way. I mustadmit that I do not believe I would be able to be as strong as her. I think the main reason she wrote the book was that she realized thiswas too big a story to get lost. Words are the source of misunderstandings. She is, or appears to be, a person whobelieves that life is a series of choices and that those choices make uswho we are. But you will sit alittle closer to me each day" (1 2). We've had terrifictimes together and I wouldn't have changed it for anything in the world.You've changed so much" (2 3). Having free will means that we are able to act voluntarily, that we couldhave decided to act differently than we did. It begins as a simple exercise which turned almost magical. Haydenwrites: "As I read each word, Sheila would point to a picture, hesitantlyat first, studying each of the four choices carefully, then more freely.After six or seven plates, a small smile slipped across her face. That's a goodlesson for all teachers to remember. Avon Books. With that test, Ms. Hayden learned that Sheila was above averageintelligence, and was challenged to see what ways she could work with herto develop her full potential. For instance, if I were in Ms.Hayden's position, I don't know how I would have reacted. Work CitedHayden, Torey L., One Child. Certainly a bad judgment, but also a naturalone. And when confusion setsin, communication stops. The book was definitely inspiring for the following reasons. But readingabout Sheila made me rethink that too. This allowed Sheila to more easily come toterms with the fact that she would be away from Ms. Hayden.Personal Reaction to the Book It is hard to remember ever being so moved or so horrified by a book. This happenedwhen Sheila had gone crazy in class, stabbing the eyes out of goldfish, andthen running away from class. Because that's the way I feel a lot. In our everyday lives, there are many times when we have to makedecisions; what we are going to eat for breakfast, or where we are going towalk. I'm a teacher, so my ending comes in June. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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