The first time that I set foot on a campus in
Compton, I went to an adult school — Chester Adult School. This school seemed
to be in disrepair, which in one way reflects on the staff who supervised the
district, including the facility. When I showed up, about half an hour before
class was slated to begin, I ran into one other lady. She was one of the other
teachers on the campus, and she did not have access to the room I was supposed
to cover.
The students in this program where the 18-22 age group, a transitional
community, for young people with autism or multiple disabilities do not
necessarily get better with time, but they still require care. The County
offers programs for this age group, which in many ways is like gloried
baby-sitting.
Well, to characterize my time in that facility as "gloried
baby-sitting" is demeaning to the students. This is a habit which I am
learning to abandon. This charge belongs primarily to the teachers and the
staff, many of whom have settled into an easy job for easy pay, much of the
time which amounts to "glorified baby-sitting."
But the staff at Chester Adult School cared about the transitional students
under their care. The community of students and staff was quite unique. One
young man had suffered a massive heart attack as a high school student, and
following the arrest, he fell into a severe coma, from which he had not
awakened until very recently. The other students were severely autistic. Some
of the students just lacked social skills, while others engaged in repetitive
behaviors and spoke not a word. They were a well-behaved group, for the most
part, but some of the students just needed a little more attention and
direction than the other students.
He was cared for by an athletic type, an older man whom I had originally
confused as one of the students, since he was wearing a basketball jersey,
sunglasses, and spiked hair. This man had done so many things. He had two adult
children, at the time enrolled in their early years in college.
The second man assigned to this class worked as a computer teacher and
programmer at a Lutheran School in the South Bay, although he lived in Compton.
He had a younger set of children and an older child, but he was married to the
same wife. I find it admirable that a couple is willing to have a second
family, they want to bring more children into the world. Admirable. This man,
Ike, was a one-on-one for one of the students, a kinetic nineteen year old who
would run around the room, stimming as autistic students tend to when excited
by an outer stimulus or as a matter of custom.
A young lady was assigned to this class, as well. She was a very kindly woman,
one who wanted the best for the students, one who complimented me because I
actively taught the students, as opposed to most substitutes, who would just
sit back and do nothing.
The fourth staff member in the room, a younger man than the other two men
assigned full-time to the classroom, was engaged with buying and selling
something on-line as well as helping the students in the classroom. I do not
fault the man for doing what he was doing, in large part because there is not
much that a paraeducator in an adult-school special ed class can do.
As in many classes in LACOE, I spent more time playing with the students and staff,
shooting baskets and playing Bingo, than anything else. The morning session was
the most important. During that time, I would go over the basics, like a
kindergarten class, as the students and I would go over the numbers to 100, the
alphabet, the basic colors, and even street signs in the community.
Unlike other classes, though, the other four staff members had helped establish
a garden outside of the classroom. For the better part of mid-morning, I worked
on weeding the new garden with the other staff members. They were preparing to
plant carrots and other vegetables in a short time. Never had I enjoyed
gardening as much as I did that day.
Because I was the substitute teacher, I did not have the authority to take the
students into the community and engage in real-world activities. So, to pass
the time students would do some reading, play games, and then watch a video for
the rest of the day.
In fact, the class was a great program for me, although we did do all that
much. The staff were very helpful, leading me through most of the routine that
was permitted on-site.
The young lady who complimented me on the lesson that I had given earlier
requested that I come back. I looked forward to visiting again, since I had
such a wonderful time being with people who liked working with special ed
transition students.