Mrs. Morrison
By Caleb Garetson
Walking in the hallways early in the morning, you see familiar faces pass by (or maybe you see your phone). You may wave or give a simple head nod to them, but never more than a split second, never more than a fleeting thought.
The new special education teacher, Mrs. Morrison, got into her field because she wants to make sure her kids are noticed and seen. Growing up in Cuyahoga County, one of Mrs. Morrison's closest friends (and most vital inspiration for her career) was Brian, a boy on the autistic wheel. Hanging out and having fun with him constantly outside of school, she always wonders why, in school, he was removed from the rest of the kids and segregated from them. This frustration led her to dedicate her life to special education.
After receiving a master's degree in special education from Bowling Green, she has worked since 2016, first starting in Dublin Ohio Middle School, where a core tenet was realizing that building a solid classroom meant working with people outside of it, especially parents. "At that time, most of my students were non-verbal, so a lot of that communication came from family…" she added. However, she admitted that many parents were still trying to understand what these special needs meant for their children; this meant many open, honest conversations about what the future had for them.
After working there for four years in 2020, she moved to Delaware Area Career Center, an education facility where kids learned the primary classes in high school and skills needed for the workforce. Mrs.Morrison spoke, with a pride swelling in her chest that visibly flushed her cheeks red and stroked a beaming smile on her face, about the surprise but excitement she had at how well her students there succeeded, with twenty of them all going to work in the hospital.
Her work at the center refined the communication skills she learned at Dublin, but she also learned that her students learn well all on their own when they are included and a part of something. "The most fun they had was doing jobs while we were out in the community." But doesn't everyone? Don't we all, regardless of background, want to work with others so we may be reassured of our humanity and existence?
Now she is here, at our lovely high school. Where she is laying down goals she is confident she can make. "I think in the high school years, the biggest focus is independence," she explained. Mr.Mrission sees the big picture, having been in almost every corner of it, and for her, that looks like setting these kids up with the skills they need to self-advocate, use the skills in every and any setting they may be in, and be able to sustain themselves. This, however, is a big order to make sense. The hardest part of her day (besides everyone's least favorite: paperwork) is just planning the day! With a varying number of kids each day and all of them having their own accommodations and skill levels, balancing a tightrope between a co-tailored one-on-one setting and a collective classroom is one she walks every day. However, she would not want it any other way.
With all this said, and with how wonderful of a job she has been doing, help is always appreciated. The smallest act of decency is how to lend a hand. "I think any opportunity students can pass by my students and give them a fist-pump, high-five, hello, "how was your weekend?", just a small bit of conversation a student can have for two-seconds means so much to our kids" just a fellow human seeing that another is also human is the most powerful way to make a change in life, the recognition of life.