Teacher Do You Care- The Pete Chronicles

Even with a dedicated teacher the educational system has failed Pete. He has spent too much time alone. Lonely repetitive scripts are Pete’s default nowadays. Pete has retreated into himself for comfort and protection. The brief connections I have with Pete are followed by continued soothing scripts.



It takes a village to raise a child and I did not have a village to assist me with connecting to Pete. As my workload increased, I was pulled away from my engagement with Pete. When I finally saw him he was so withdrawn. I was unable to connect with him for any period of time.

Why does this happen? It is heartbreaking to watch Pete pulled away. Pete is not lost. Constant engagement will bring him back to longer and more meaningful interactions.



I will not give up even though it is very hard to feel helpless. Politically, Pete represents hundreds or even thousands of children in our educational system. I will always fight for these children who are over looked, misplaced and unengaged in learning and social interactions. This is a setback but it is not the end.

Teacher Do You Care- The Pete Chronicles

I had some great exchanges with Pete today! I used his script, “Rick ruins everything!” as a jumping off place to create a story. I made up a short story line then asked Pete to continue with more details. What a funny, hilarious story we created! Pete was laughing and producing ideas so quickly.



Next time I see him we will write the story or make a play so we can invite in his peers to participate. Pete was connecting and relating. I consider this to be education.

Teacher Do You Care- The Pete Chronicles

When a staff member who is assigned to my room cannot show up it creates a big hole. I am often told sorry I cannot come to your class someone else needs me more. When there is not enough staff I can usually handle it. Is it optimal no?

I did not have enough staff to cover the students that needed more assistance yesterday. In addition the administration had given me mandatory extra work to do which included hours of testing students. This meant I could not spend time with Pete. It was heartbreaking!



Pete did not understand why he was moved to a office with more supervision. He said he would be good. This was the heartbreak. I told him he was good; he was great. I tried to explain that I had so much work that I could not spend time with him.

I protested and stated the students would suffer with no avail.

This is how the system looses the good ones. The system wants the paper work done and unfortunately it is at the expense of student learning. This system is broke.

Teacher Do You Care- The Pete Chronicles

Yesterday Pete had a great day! He participated in class. Earned time to talk to me and we had some great exchanges. One exchanged Pete was telling me a line in his script that used the word imposter. I asked him what does imposter mean? An inquisitive look washed over his face. I don’t know said thinking. Then we got an opportunity to talk about what that word meant.

Pete can leave early to go to lunch to avoid the crowds. He wanted to stay in class to talk with the other students and me.

I think Pete feels good about himself.

Teacher Do You Care- The Pete Chronicles

Yesterday Pete had a great day! He participated in class. Earned time to talk to me and we had some great exchanges. One exchanged Pete was telling me a line in his script that used the word imposter. I asked him what does that mean? An inquisitive look washed over his face. I don’t know he said thinking. Then we got an opportunity to talk about what that word meant.

Pete can leave early to go to lunch to avoid the crowds. He wanted to stay in class to talk with the other students and me.

I think Pete feels good about himself.

Teacher Do You Care- The Pete Chronicles

Pete missed a few days of school last week. While he was gone his teacher called me to ask what I was doing in my class to deal with Pete's behavior. According to his teacher Pete is just horrible in her class and she wants to know what I am doing that is different.

One of the educational staff from Pete’s room came to my class to ask the same question about Pete’s behavior. When I started to explain how I built a relationship with Pete, the staff member kept interrupting. She really didn’t want to know. The woman went on to tell me that staff in her class thinks that Pete is afraid of me so he behaves.



Pete is happy in my class and completing classwork. It has to be someone's fault that his teacher does not understand him. This is a common practice of people who are not willing to get to know students or accept them for who they are.

I will continue to support Pete and his family regardless of what people say.