Class Six

Marsha knows how it feels to belong in class six. She sees how her friends run, dance, jump, sing, shout, argue, chatter. She learns how it feels to have friends who play with you. She learns how it feels to be with people who share with you, who care about you, who send Christmas cards to you. She leans about Ronald McDonald parties, Andy the clown parties, Bouncy Castle parties.
She learns what it feels like to be included in the school choir, Christmas plays and school trips. Marsha learns how it feels to belong.

The children from Marsha’s class learn about Marsha. They learn that not every child can run, dance, jump, shout. They learn that sometimes you have to communicate in a different way.  They learn that just because a person can’t do the things they do, or act the way they act, or sound the same as they sound, they still matter the way that Marsha matters, that they still count the way that Marsha counts.

They learn that Marsha too has feelings and that she too can be happy or sad. They learn how to care and to think about people other than themselves. They learn how to help and assist Marsha with her class work.

They learn how much harder Marsha has to try to do the wonderful things which they enjoy and take for granted. They learn how tough it must be, without being excluded from everyone’s lives too. Lindsay Hanson (1996) Let Our Children Be (Parents with Attitude, Sheffield)

The publisher is ibk initiatives.

Class Six © Lindsay Hanson (1996)

All Rights Reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher except for the quotation of brief passages in reviews.