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Last night, we attended open house at TJ’s elementary school. We got to meet TJ’s first grade teacher, who is a lovely woman. When we introduced ourselves as TJ’s parents, the smile on her face widened, and she said that he is an absolute joy to have in class. He’s very polite, he’s very smart, and apparently he never fails to make her laugh.
She wanted to let us know about the really great “teacher story” he gave her:
During the first week of school, the kids were asked to draw self-portraits. They were told to ask a friend what color their eyes were if they didn’t know, and they talked about what were appropriate colors to use for their skin, etc. When the teacher came over to TJ, she saw that TJ had colored himself completely purple.
Teacher: “Now TJ, we talked about using the right colors to draw our self-portraits. You are not all purple.”
TJ: “I know, but… I thought I would look more distinguished this way.”
Yes. My son told his first grade teacher that he intentionally ignored her instructions because he thought he’d look more distinguished in purple. And she thought it was brilliant.
That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.
