To reiterate: KDS is a Level-II, Dual-Diagnosis, residential school located in Columbia, TN for students 8 to 21 years of age and adults who have been identified with Mental Retardation and who may have a secondary mental health diagnosis or other behavioral concerns that require 24-hour care and structure.
I started teaching at KDS January 3rd, 1989. My primary subjects were Reading, Written Language, & Spelling. I had six, 50 minute classes a day, plus PE, plus lunchroom duty. Planning was done before or after school and on-the-fly throughout the day.
At KDS there were multiple programs:
>The Early Learning Program was birth to 4-year-olds. These were students from the county and came for classes 3 days a week.
>We had an elementary self-contained class for students 8 to 11-years-olds.
>We had two middle school/high school class that had students 12 to 18-years-old.
>There was a pre-vocational class that worked on job skills,
> A full vocational sheltered workshop that students aged 16 to adult worked either full or ½ days.
>We had two self-contained rooms for individuals with severe and profound disabilities.
KDS also had four on-campus residences for children and adolescents and two off-campus residences for adults.
My focus was on the middle & high school aged students.
I felt like I had learned my lessons (the hard way) at my previous school. So I was determined to be highly structured, very proactive, and consistent to the point of near inflexibility when it came to behavior. Ninety % of the students came from the KDS residences and the other 10% came from a nearby group home. I soon discovered that 24-hour structure for the students made my job so much easier. It is amazing what happens when a kid eats good healthy food every day, sleeps in a warm bed (inside) at night, actually attends school, and is not physically or sexually abused. At times we looked like miracle workers (which we were) but the miracle was not all that complicated.
Another thing I picked-up was the concept of being a family with the students. Many of them had come from horrendous circumstances. There was a low possibility that they would return home anytime soon (or at all) and they were more likely to live with us for a number of years. Some of the adults in our program who were in their 40’s and 50’s had lived at KDS since they were teenagers. It was essential for those children’s development that they received actual love from adults, not just clinically detached treatment. They needed appropriate physical touch. They needed joy and sorrow and disappointment and frustration from us. They needed many mothers and fathers in their lives to undo all the hurt, neglect, and damage done in the past and to replace it with something they could be confident and secure. There was a lot of emotional risk involved for the staff. Many of the staff crashed and burned because they themselves had so much buried hurt in their own hearts, they had nothing left to give.
I was reminded of a geography lesson in my “History of Israel” class in Bible College. The Jordan River runs into the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is Israel’s largest fresh-water lake. It is teeming with fish and provides a livelihood for all who live near it. It provides life. The Jordan River then flows from the Sea of Galilee south eventually ending into the Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea is one of the saltiest hypersaline lakes in the world. It is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean. No life can be sustained in that lake. The bottoms of boats are eaten away by the Dead Sea. All of the fresh water that pours into the lake is eventually turned salty and useless. The Dead Sea has no outlet. It is one of the lowest points on the surface of the earth, 1388 feet below sea level with a depth of 1,237 feet. There is no place for the water to flow. It just collects and becomes stagnant.
Without The Lord pouring life into me, I would have had nothing to give. I had a shallow pool of human goodness that was quickly drained at my previous school. I was desperate. I was forced to rely on His strength flowing into me so I had something to give out to the kids. The end result was that I was no longer stagnant, but fresh. Fresh water flowed in and flowed out and the pool of my heart was cleansed. It really helped me is so many areas away from school.
It was a quick five months, then the end of the semester came. The school offered me a raise and I signed on for the next school year.
I had found a home.
chris
(Tomorrow, two funny stories)
www.tkds.org
