During the summertime, the long dirt road that leads to my house transforms itself into a beautiful path completely surrounded with wild sunflowers. I remember the long summer days when I was a child and my two sisters and I would go for walks along that flowered path. We would pick flowers along the way and when we got home, we had a beautiful bouquet that adorned our dining room table until our next walk. Every now and then, when we arranged our bouquets we would find other wild flowers that had accidentally made their way into our bunch. When we set them in the vase they looked awkward and out of place, but they were always so beautiful in their own unique ways. During my Exceptional Learner course, I was continuously reminded of those random wild flowers. Just like the flowers, the exceptional learner may stand out in the class and seem, at times, as though they do not belong. But also like those wildflowers, the exceptional learner brings a refreshing diversity and uniqueness to the class. As a teacher, I want to be as accepting and accommodating as I possibly can so that my exceptional learners will thrive and succeed.

One way I will be an active participant in the success of my exceptional learners is by accommodating their needs as much as possible. As a teacher, I will learn as much as I can about the exceptionalities of my students and do everything within my reach to accommodate their needs in my classroom. If I have a student with math disabilities, for example, I will have multiplication tables taped to the desk and calculators and manipulatives readily available. I will always take into consideration the suggestions of the parents of my exceptional learners, and will be willing to move around desks, use voice amplifying devices, and bold marker colors on the board. I will always be willing to do whatever it takes in order to make successful learners of my students.

In addition to accommodating my students’ needs in my classroom, I plan to work outside the classroom to make their learning a positive experience. As a teacher, I plan to be an active member of the IEP team. I will be at every meeting and will be prepared with class work and evaluations to show the progress of my exceptional learner. Between meetings, I will be in constant communication with the parents of my exceptional student. I will email, call home, have conferences, and send home progress reports continuously in order to ensure that both sides are always aware of the progress of the student.

I believe that all exceptional learners are different and should be placed in classes according to the severity of their exceptionality. As a teacher, I will always welcome and embrace students who have been included in our class, be it partially or full inclusion. I will work side-by-side with the aids and teachers of resource rooms in order to ensure my mainstreamed students are successful and have attention and help available all the time.    

Above anything else, I want to be the type of teacher that makes his or her exceptional learners feel valued and appreciated. I want to create a comfortable and accepting learning environment in which my exceptional learners will reach their full potential. I do not want them to be looked according to their disabilities, but rather to be admired for their strengths, which I hope to build upon. I want my wonderful little wild flowers to succeed and be appreciated in a world of sunflower bouquets!