Today I arrived at the front office of the Ezra H. Baker Elementary School dressed as if on a job interview - nylons, etc. The weather was not really conducive to such formal attire, in other words, the heat made me hot and uncomfortable.
The secretaries were expecting me, but not my cooperating teacher. The principal, Kevin Depin, had neglected to tell Mrs. Richter I was arriving today.
Mr. Depin had assigned me to the STAR Program. This program started as an initiative of the Superintendent, Carol Woodbury. She inaugurated the program as a means to contain out-of-district costs several years ago.
I was nervous about my performance and how I would be judged. I had no idea that the STAR Program would be similar to the environment I had worked in at the May School, Chatham, and Massachusetts. The May School is residential school for children on the autistic spectrum, which now is in Randolph, Massachusetts. After my initial foray into the room and meeting the head teacher, I felt at home. Mrs. Richter had also taught at the May School. She had been hired away from the school by Mrs. Woodbury to start the program.
I relaxed, a little. It was awkward for me to be there, not really knowing how to interact. Mrs. Richter and her assistants put me at ease. Yet how was I to fit in? I didn’t want to be the new professional too far above the assistants who really do the work in the room.
The heat was overwhelming for my MS. I have a very difficult time not showing how the heat was affecting my level of energy and thus my attention to my new environment and responsibilities. But the familiar environment kicked in and it helped my mask my MS symptoms and perform up to par.
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