In this chapter Torey talks about how the year is winding down, and how many of the classes/grades are having programs and plays to celebrate different events (Mother's Day, May Day, end of school year, etc.) Lori cannot stop singing the songs from the first grade program, because her sister Libby had taught her all of the words. Torey feels bad because she doesn't have the time to create a program for her own students. She talks about how she wishes she could help Lori and for Lori to have some kind of normalcy. She says:
"It must have been hard. Hard being seven and relegated to the never-never land of a class like this. Hard wanting to be like everyone else and never quite understanding why you couldn't be. I had underestimated Lori. I had believed that if I could get her away from all the pressure of things she was incapable of, away from the abuse and humiliation, that was all she needed. I was wrong. This was not where she wanted to be. My room was safer, easier, but it was second choice. If she had had her way--if she could have managed it--Lori would have been a "real" first grader." (pg. 292).
I think a case like Lori's would be almost more difficult than that of a child with severe mental limitations. In all other aspects besides reading, Lori is a 'normal' even BRIGHT child who is fully aware that she is being separated from others and made to feel different. I hope that I will be able to have a classroom where although everyone has different abilities and some have exceptionalities, everyone will still feel like they belong there.
Torey then brings her guitar. Lori decides that she wants to do an act in the upcoming talent show. The other students aren't very enthusiastic about it, and neither is Torey. They end up singing made up verses to "He's got the whole world in His hands", naming each of their small classroom's students as the song goes along. It was a very united moment for Torey's small class.
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