Emily

For the last two years, I've had the good fortune of having Emily in my Lyricism class. It's a long story how it came to be that Emily found my class, but with her special needs, she thrives on the high stimulus classroom setting of good music. While she can't communicate verbally, she speaks with her eyes. When the aides who work with her played some possible rock bands to research and present to the class, she lit up when the Steve Miller Band came on, specifically the song "Jungle Love." So she presented an awesome PowerPoint on the Steve Miller Band, and we all grooved to "Jungle Love." The item the aide is holding for her is a recording device that she touches to play a pre-recorded segment that the ladies helped her with.

Sometimes I teach my kids lessons, sometimes they teach me. Emily has taught us all for two years now. She's one of the real success stories in my 27 years. She's also a fashionista with her stylish rendition of Tie Dye Tuesday.