A Peer Mentor's Perspective--"I've learned that the world is so much bigger than myself

I took a panel of presenters to the CSTP Colloquium to present the peer mentor program. One of the members was an 8th grade peer mentor and I'm sharing her touching statements in this blog.

When she was finished reading the room was in tears....including me.

This is why the peer mentor program has to be extended across the state! All kids are positively affected by this program. Let's build an army of empathetic and caring kids...who in my dreams become special education teachers and change the world.:)

Hi, my name is Grace and I am in 8th grade at Washington Middle School in Olympia. I love school-which is probably surprising for you all to hear out of a 14 year old-but I really do. When the school year started I was expecting a lot more homework and a lot more drama, you know the usual expectations of a middle schooler. This past fall I signed up for a new class that a lot of my friends loved last year; Peer Mentoring.

To be frank, I expected the class to be a breeze. I knew some of the kids before signing up for the class, I’ve seen them walking the halls, and I was even in choir class with two of them at one point. Before I started, I had no clue about the impact that this class would have on my life. In the first two weeks that I spent working with my student on reading, I was scared. I was scared that I would never be able to handle these kids like the staff members did, that I would never be able to help them learn anything, because of the fact that communicating with them was difficult at first.

I work with a 7th grade boy named Zayn who has down’s syndrome. Every day we work on reading and verbally filling in the blanks of sentences. Right now, we are trying to use the sentences as a communication device, giving him choices of what he wants to put in the blank space of the sentence. I remember after getting our assignments to which kid we would work with, one of the paraeducators was guiding Zayn’s hand and leaning over him, trying to get him acclimated to read. I was nervous about the fact that one day I was going to have to get him to read the way that she did. I asked myself a lot of questions; Is he comfortable? Am I doing it right? Things like that. It was challenging to get used to at first but after thinking about my constant questions and nerves, I laugh a little bit at myself because now I am so comfortable working with Zayn that I can work with him independently, without any supervision. Zayn isn’t only the student that I work with though, he truly is my friend. We share a common love of music and disney songs, which we sing together daily. It has been such an honor to have the chance to know him like I do. He is a shining star in my mind, with a great sense of humor and love for life. His smile makes my heart swell up and makes me so humbled that I get to witness his happiness.

I have learned so much because of this class; I’ve learned that the world is bigger than myself. I don’t ever remember being so aware of my surroundings until after joining Peer Mentor. I have been in some scenarios where people are being pretty rude to someone, just because they look different or participate in certain things. Before Peer Mentoring, I probably wouldn’t have stepped in; but now I would contradict them. Taking part in this program has made me a kinder and more considerate person, in that I now realize that nobody deserves rude comments because of the fact that they are unique in their own ways.

This program has changed the lives of the students as well. I had the privilege of participating in a special needs prom in the beginning of February and on that night I truly realized how this Peer mentor program changed the life of a boy named Brogan and many others. He went to Washington Middle School last year and was in the DLC class. At the prom, I was Brogan’s buddy and got to spend one of the best nights of the year with him. Brogan and I saw many people from Olympia high School and Washington Middle School that night; they all were so enthusiastic when they saw Brogan from across the room, and so was he. Brogan was so happy to be with his friends. All of the kids that approached Brogan that night went through the peer mentor program with him. They were his friends, they made him more eager to go to school. The peer mentor program makes these kids motivated to learn and encouraged while they do. When people say hi to them in the halls instead of shying away because they look different than the other kids do, it makes them feel included and appreciated; loved.

There are many reasons why this program is important to me. I used to feel the need to rush to my lunch table to get a good spot, or try to get to school early to talk to my friends about the scoop on whatever was a hot topic that week. Now that I have joined this class, I would so much rather put a smile on these kids’ faces than waste time talking about social media and the latest trends. This program allows me to have that opportunity. Sometimes I think about this program being taken away or not even being started in the first place. I can’t even picture my day without Peer mentoring in it. Every day I sit with the DLC kids at lunch; there is a free period twice a week when I try to go to Peer mentor as often as I can. Even after school, I always tell my parents about the latest happenings with Zayn at dinner. The kids’ happiness directly correlates with mine; a good day in peer mentoring is a great day for me.

Typically, a special needs class is very separated from the rest of the school. The peer mentor program bridges the gap between general ed students and special needs students. If it were to be implemented into another school, it would make the special ed students more accustomed to the world, getting a job, living in their own house, anything that an adult does; and since the general ed students are used to the special needs students, they would eventually be more accepting of an adult with special needs. If this program could be implemented into schools statewide, people in my generation with special needs would have more opportunities to contribute to society. This program could have a ripple effect throughout the state and country; and if there’s one thing that prevails out of all of the amazing things that happen due to Peer mentoring, it is my realization that these kids deserve the world, and a classroom like Ms. Charette’s can offer them that and so much more.