Another one from last year…Joan Banse from the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School.  She’s a keeper!

 

Job Shadow Assignment #3 began at the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton at 7:00 a.m.  

 

I was very lucky to have the opportunity to shadow Joan Banse, a teacher of the visually impaired.  Joan has 31 years of experience at the school.  She has been an Assistant, a House Parent, and since 1990, a teacher.  This year her teaching position changed to a teacher on the road or an Itinerate Teacher of the Visually Impaired.  She has children at the school and children in other school districts too.  I couldn’t wait to get started.

 

The day began in Joan’s room, with preparation of materials to go on the road and a briefing with another teacher, Michelle Tauke.  The two teachers shared what their schedules were and what each other needed to know about the students for the day. 

 

By 7:20, we were off to Lisbon for our first student.  Ms. Banse drives to Lisbon three times a week to give the student up to an hour of instruction.  That’s a lot of windshield time!  The student is a kindergartner and has some vision.  It was amazing how the little girl already knew how to put paper in the Braille machine (my 1^st time seeing a Braille machine) and was learning her letters.  To me, it was similar to a typewriter and shorthand mix.  The patience of a saint is definitely what was required here. 

 

At 9:00, we were at Kenwood Elementary in Cedar Rapids to meet with another kindergartner.  This student wasn’t there for the day and the school wasn’t notified until a few minutes before we arrived.  Joan took it in stride.  I was quickly learning that every day was a little different and flexibility was a key to success.  We met with this student’s teacher, talked about a learning plan and Joan loaned her a Braille machine and some fun materials to help with learning.

 

We were in the home of a 2 year old blind child by 10:15.  What a cutie!  Joan read the baby several books that had sounds and did some bean bag exercises that involved touching and hearing the shaking sounds.  It was really neat.  Another thing I didn’t know, did you know itinerate teaching starts at 2 years old!?  Joan said the earlier you can start teaching a child the more successful they will be. 

 

We arrived back at the Braille School by 11:30, where we separated for half hour lunch break.  I ran to my office to return some calls and when I got back, we went to the lunchroom and helped some older children to the places they needed to be.  Then we took two delightful 12 year olds to Woody’s Cave.  If you have not been to the school, Woody’s Cave is an indoor playground with all kinds of activities.  For about 20 minutes, we let the kids play and visited with them.  

 

1:15 and we are waiting for a vehicle to take us to Tilford School – Joan, myself and another 12 year old.  This young person plays the piano and is learning to play the drums.  He caught my heartstrings when we got in the car, he wanted to make sure I was going with him.  Absolutely!  All three of us troop into Tilford where we are going to learn about rocks and minerals.  The students were given an activity to get up and walk from desk to desk to see the different rocks.  I quickly got out of the way because it was organized chaos and how was my young friend and his teacher going to handle it?  She sheltered him from getting jostled and took him desk to desk to feel the rocks.  This teacher is a teacher in the truest sense of the word!  My appreciation is growing by the minute for her support and caring. 

 

After we returned to the Braille School, we worked with several other students and then to a staff meeting at 2:30.  The staff meeting was much like the Legislature, we all want a great state but have different methods to get there.  The staff meeting was like that, only the goal being services to young visually impaired people, so they can be most successful in life. 

 

By that point, I was ready to give Ms. Joan Banse anything she wanted.  She is patient, dedicated, loving and very skilled at bringing out the best in a student.  If you see her, please thank her for what she does.  We are very lucky to have her.