Belle Children’s Services of St. Louis Arc
I visited the Belle Children’s Services Center on November 11, 2015, for about two
hours. I observed the students in their classroom and in the playground for one hour and twenty
minutes, and I interviewed one of the teachers and the principal for 30 minutes. The area where
the students were playing and studying is very clean and organized, and the Center has lots of
space that is safe for kids who are using wheelchairs, so they can access the building easily. In
addition, the Center has 100 students, boys and girls with different abilities. The Center has
physical therapists for students who need help, counselors and social workers, textbooks written
at different levels, support materials, but the Center does not have services for students who
speak English as a Second Language. Also, their teachers are very loyal and kind with all kids
and their goal is to give the kids the feelings that they are at home. For example, the teacher told
me about a child who uses a wheelchair which is designed for him, and he is apparently a
paraplegic. She was very nice with him, and he was not able to walk or run like other kids do, so
she was holding the chair and was running around. He was laughing and looked so happy. I
believe that the Center has a comfortable environment and good and loyal teachers to let the kids
study, play, and sleep safely.
The most important theme that I observed is the support that the kids get from the Center.
One of the supports that the kids get from the Center is that teachers work cooperatively with the
parents and give instructions how to help their kids to meet their needs. What I like is the Center
opens the door for the parents all the time. I can see a good relationship between the Center and
parents, which will help the children in the future. In my opinion, when the school teaches
parents what to do with their kids, parents can use the same routine for their children at home.
According to the teacher’s interview, she said, “I use a routine system with my students to help
the students understand my expectations, and I ask their parents to use the same way too.” As
Jacob’s mom, Brandie Martine, said in her presentation, she needed to learn how to carry, feed,
and play with her child, in the same way that the early intervention therapists did. Both the
Center and early intervention program that Jacob was in used a routine system and taught parents
what to do with their kids.
The second support that I noticed in the Center is giving emotional support, which is very
important for students. The teachers provide feedback and give hugs to their students. For
example, the child who is apparently a paraplegic was making some sad noises, so the student’s
teacher carried him and gave him a big hug and asked him in a funny way, “Why you are making
these noises?” I love the way she talks with her students. She is a very good teacher, and she
knows how to communicate with all the kids. She comes into classes and does different activities
because she has students who have different abilities. Based on the teacher interview, she told me
a successful story of a child who has Down syndrome. She said, one student who has Down
syndrome works with a group of girls, and they create social stories in the form of cartoons and
share them with each other. This helps the student with Down syndrome to learn about how to
handle certain situations like how to deal with a bully or strike up a conversation with someone.
Many years later, after this student had graduated from the Center, the parents contacted the
Center and told them about their child who is learning and becoming a successful person.
The Center supports the integrity of individual differences and abilities. The Center
represents how teachers should care and love all students. Based on the interview, the principal
and the teacher told me about a successful story of one of their students, which helps me see how
the Center helps all students. This student has developmental issues; he needs lots of equipment
to walk and move. He had difficulties in expressing his feelings. After teachers provided
everything that the child needed with patience and love, the child could be a successful person in
the future. Later, his grandmother came and told the school that her grandson could walk and
express his feelings in doing things, and she appreciated all the teachers who worked with him. I
believe that the Center is great and it was a great experience for me because obviously the
Center, principal, teachers, and therapists care and love all kids and want to help them become
successful.
I learned from this Center that teachers should care, love, help the students no matter who
they are or where they are from, and treat the students equally. What I really liked is when the
teacher carried the child to drink water as all the kids did and she asked him the same questions
even though he is not able to talk or walk. What she did was amazing. I asked the school to be a
volunteer with this teacher to learn more from her, so I am sure if I work with her as a volunteer,
I will have a good experience with her. I believe that she is a very helpful teacher for all students,
and very helpful for me to learn how to communicate with students who have different abilities.
In the future, I want to help the students in the same way as this teacher helps her students.
The employees represent positive qualities of the Center. I believe that teachers care
about students with different abilities a lot, and are very loyal to the kids and sensitive about the
used of the word” disability”. I learned from her a very important thing, which is instead of using
the words “people with disabilities”, I will use “people with different abilities.” Also, two of my
classmates agreed with me and have the same beliefs about the Center. Amaal said, “I really like
how teachers communicate with students with disabilities. Also, I like how the teacher uses the
same way every day, so students get used to knowing the teacher’s way as routine.” Amaal loves
the routine system that the teacher uses with her kids, which I really like it too and I plan to use
the same way. In addition, Nora said, “It was a great experience for me. The most interesting
thing was the teacher who I observed in her class. I like her way on the playing ground when she
tried to play with kids with disability and teach them at the same time. The teacher told us some
stories about her students and how they become successful in their lives. I wish the program was
free so anyone could have the chance to enter this program.” Both Amaal and Nora love the
Center and they believe that it is a good place to let the kids study and play, which I believe too.
In conclusion, the Center is a good place to learn and play, and parents feel comfortable
when they leave their children in this place and they have the opportunity to come anytime to see
how their children are doing or if they need anything. The Center has a nurse, and she
administers medications, attends to general problems that come up and counsels classroom
teachers on medical conditions their students have. The school also has a social worker. She
helps parents, teachers, administrators, and students with socialemotional and family problems.
The most important thing about the teacher’s personality is her voice because she has a good
skill in her voice tone, and she always gets her students’ attention by modulating her voice. You
can actually tell if she is angry or being sensitive or sometimes being humorous with her
students. When I was in high school, I had two different teachers. The first one had a loud voice.
She was always excited even if the subject we were taking needed a low voice, so we can
understand the lesson, but she couldn’t control her voice. The second teacher had one tone in her
voice, so I couldn’t figure if she was angry, happy, or excited. I think it’s important to make the
students know what the teacher wants from their voice tone. I would like to use my voice as the
teacher in the Center does, so my students can understand me much better.
