tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175684769476781639.post6901202102684589340..comments2023-10-31T09:19:18.737-07:00Comments on Organized Chaos: my special education heroorganized chaoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18050635225751382130noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1175684769476781639.post-38888300284019071352008-09-07T14:51:00.000-07:002008-09-07T14:51:00.000-07:00Oh!!I too fell in love with teaching and first dev...Oh!!<BR/><BR/>I too fell in love with teaching and first developed an interest in becoming a special ed. teacher or autism specialist when I first discovered the book One Child on the bookshelf in the library. Or rather, first I read One Child, thought it was one of the most amazing books I had ever read (I was 11 or 12) but didn't think anything more of it. A few months later I saw Ghost Girl at the library, recognized the author, read it, and <I>then</I> developed my obsession with Torey Hayden and her books. By the end of 7th grade I had read all of her books and was totally and completely in awe of her. <BR/><BR/>This great appreciation of her writings continued throughout middle school and high school as I read and reread all of Hayden's books. In fact, my college entrance essays were based upon how meaningful her writings were to me, and how they influenced my projected major area of study.<BR/><BR/>In the end, I ended up not studying special education - in large part because the college I chose did not have that as a major. I did major in psychology though, and wrote a major research paper on Selective Mutism (which I learned about through Hayden, as it was one of her major areas of study. I also got to use her published study as one of my references - though it was quite outdated so it was used more as a historical piece than as a current one).<BR/><BR/>Over time, my obsession has lessoned a bit, as I have continued to read more and learn more about education and psychology. I still am incredibly impressed with Hayden though, and very grateful to her for having written and published her experiences for us to read about and discuss.<BR/><BR/>Keep us updated on your blog about how the discussion goes in your class. I too am interested in what a class full people studying education would think of her. Like I said, my bubble has been burst a bit in regards to her - I don't idolize her in the same way I did when I was younger. Despite this, I can't help but being hipnotized each time I reread one of her books.<BR/><BR/>And, interestingly enough, Somebody Else's Kids is one of my favorites - I find Lori and Boo and Tomas (I think his name was Tomas?) hauntingly fascinating. (Which is a problem in and of itself. They are real people, or perhaps composites of real people, but I find them fascinating more as characters than as real people - which is kind of my one critique of Hayden. She writes in a way that captivates the audience and really describes the students, but she does so in such a way that they seem almost too idealic, too cartoonish.) In an interview, Torey said that Somebody Else's Kids was her <I>least</I> favorite of those she has written. That she wrote it out of anger at The System and Lori's classroom teacher more than for any other reason.<BR/><BR/>(Sorry for the really long comment! As you can see - I am really passionate about Torey and her books!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com