Peter

When the video about Peter began, I was pretty upset about the way he was treated by his classmates. What really struck me was that his classmates attempted to physically restrain him; and that this occurred before they had any kind of conversation about Peter, and help from their teacher or other guidelines set up. I found it harmful and scary to those students, as well as to Peter, that they were allowed to physically hold him back at this point in their relationship. Later in the year, though, I was not only comfortable with, but completely impressed by, the way the students in the class responded to and helped Peter. By them helping Peter, it seemed to me that everyone benefitted. Peter was aided in his social growth. His classmates grew in their acceptance and understanding of students with special needs, and, I can only imagine, in their maturity level. And Peter’s teacher got some of the stress and worry lifted off her, all the while nurturing her classroom as a community.

I think that, overall, the students, the teacher, and Peter had a positive experience. In this situation, they learned more than facts, figures and information to be tested on. This is a great example of students being taught life skills in a classroom; becoming well-rounded individuals as opposed to individuals who can pass standardized tests.