Ms Sawyer

Have you ever known someone that has gone beyond the call of their job? I have. Her name is Ms Sawyer. She is a teacher of special needs kids that have a IEP (Individualized Education Program) at South Middle School in Henderson Ky. Who truly believes in “no child left behind.”

Ms Sawyer started teaching in New York at the age of 27. And later she moved to Evansville In. She has been teaching for 10 years. She had a friend that told her that she would be a good teacher because she is the type that loves to help kids.

Ms Sawyer has seen a lot of different types of teaching from New York, Evansville, and Kentucky. She says that New York is the most different from here. They don’t put as much pressure on kids about testing. They focus on the basics and job skills, but here it is all about testing and scores.

Ms Sawyer teaches kids that have learning disabilities. Like my son. He has been diagnosed with ADHD, Bi-Polar and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It has been hard for him to deal with change because of these disorders. You cannot change his routine in any way or his whole day is thrown off. My son will ask you questions repeatedly if you change his schedule. He has to know what he’s doing and what will happen next at all times. He has to stay on a regular schedule in order for him to stay focused. Ms Sawyer has to give him extra help and guidance when his schedule is changed, by telling him what he needs to do next, or where he needs to go. She has to also make sure that he gets his medication on schedule change days. She has helped my son so much and he has come a long way. Ms Sawyer has spent a lot of time with him and has gone out of her way to help him so that he can have a good life and to go as far as he can in school and in the work place.

As for the school, she thinks that the school system needs to focus on other things not just testing. Yes, testing is good but for some kids you cannot know how they are doing just by testing. Some of the kids, like my son, have a hard time with testing because of their learning disabilities. Ms Sawyer also thinks that the middle and high schools need to be like academies. By doing this you can have more of the basics and then preparing the students for the job market that they will be entering and teach the kids in a setting that will get them ready for the path they will take in life. Ms Sawyer feels that they should consider their community, and offer classes to help the kids learn a skill to help them find a suitable job that the community has to offer.

I think Ms Sawyer is a hero because she truly believes in “no child left behind,” and she spends all her time teaching these kids and showing them that. She believes that the kid with learning disabilities and the ones that need extra help are just as important as the ones that can do it on their own. Ms Sawyer is a very special person to me and my son. I just hope and pray that there are more teachers out there that care for the kids like Ms Sawyer and I hope that I can find some that will and can follow her footsteps and will do anything to make sure that “no kids are left behind.”