Dirty Laundry Blog by Jennifer Hynes

We know we are not alone. We know others feel the same way as us. We know others struggle like us. I know there are parents all across America with the same fears and anxieties as me. I know there are parents of deaf children who are mainstreamed who are struggling now to access an appropriate virtual education for their kids. I hope we can come together from the West Coast to the East coast and demand not to be left behind. Working in a single school district for change is difficult because DHH is a low incidence disability. For example at the Boards Town Hall they use a system called Thought Exchange. A day before everyone gets to put their questions and concerns and then they are rated by a star system and the ones with the most stars get talked about at the live town hall. My DHH questions and concerns were never brought up. IEP questions and concerns were never talked about at the Town Hall even though many parents have concerns. This is why I think a district approach is not feasible. It’s easy to “get to special education” last after the general education is dealt with. So join me! If you are a parent of a DHH student mainstreamed and are concerned about your Childs pandemic education lets join hands! Who knows what we can do together.

School still starts in eighteen days. That means practical change needs to happen at home regardless of the details. The first thing is going to be painful. I need to set my alarm clock! I need to wake up, get my workout done, breakfast ate, kids breakfast and lunch made, and lessons organized and ready to go. Currently the plan is kids are to be logged on by 8:30AM. Not sure how that will work at all. Do I need two computers? Jack will need to wear headphones. Not sure yet how Fiona will have access, like I said the interpreter was impossible to use and the FM might get 25-50% of what is said. I will continue to teach my kids off line. I will teach all the lessons regardless of what happens on-line.

I will start “boot camp” tomorrow! Wake up get ready and reduce kids TV time!

My dog is laying at my feet. She’s so old now. Her back legs are shaking. I love her so much, she’s been such a great companion. I’ve never seen so much growth in any dog I’ve had before. She went from a wild scavenger wolf dog to a loving family dog. I don’t know how long she has. This Shelter in Place has been great for Billy. We’ve been together all day and all night. The kids have really gotten to know Billy and they love her so much. There really have been so many blessings during the Shelter in Place. I’ve cherished the time with my kids and my dog. I’ve cherished time spent outside in the yard with the humming birds.

I look forward to continuing to grow and learn and teach. The next eighteen days I will spend as much time in my studio painting. But I’m sure I can figure out some way to keep it up when school starts.

Today we are going hiking. Poor Billy can’t come though. And the kids are already complaining. But I’m looking forward to being under the trees.