Who Taught Me to be Inclusive

when I was around seven we living in a cul-de-sac in Prestatyn
I have only one memory of living in the bungalow on the right hand side of that street and that was a Sunday based "show" performed by the kids for their parents in the street
I remember very little except the dance performance by one of the girls on the close and that was a downs syndrome girl in her teens who danced and ran about in a circle
She skipped her way through some sort of 70s song and did so with such good humour I remember the entire close giving her a standing ovation....
It taught me a lot about fair play,
and it taught me to celebrate a lumpy fat girl with learning difficulties who had more chutspah than the average rabbi
funny what you remember eh?

19 comments:

  1. I'll get in quick before YP, Nige, et al say it should read ovation..not aviation...which would involve lots of arm flapping.
    Jane xxx

    ReplyDelete
  2. But .... John probably did some 'aviation' as well, knowing how enthusiastic he gets! LoL!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I wouldn't have know the difference, John, whether it had been aviation or ovation ... with her flying her arms as wings aviation seems most suitable. Eh?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. my spelling is atroc... atroci... awful

      Delete
    2. In fairness to John, it might have been 'aviation' - many performing families used to call themselves 'The Flying ******'s' in those days.

      Delete
  4. That s so cool! The fact that the kids would put the show on, awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It was a good memory to retain, John. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I thought aviation was entirely appropriate for a young girl whose joy in dancing flew. (A hopeless sentimentalist here).

    ReplyDelete
  7. So, she was Judy Garland, and you were Mickey Rooney!

    ReplyDelete
  8. someday I'll fly away ? we had many Downs Syndrome youngsters to play when we were growing up. Mum was a special ed teacher.

    I remember standing at the top of a steep hill at the cul de sac where by best friends lived - sisters. We had plastic guitars & would happily sing our hearts out to all & sunndry with our versions of The Sweet - our favourite band !

    ReplyDelete
  9. A boy with a very pronounced stutter taught me the same lesson, John. Despite several well-meaning teachers telling him he didn't have to read in front of the class he always insisted on taking his turn. We listened more intently than we would have done if Laurence Olivier was speaking.

    ReplyDelete
  10. When I saw the heading to this blog I first thought you might be referring to the rock group 'The Who'. That was hardly likely to have been the case, unless it was to be inclusive in a 'them and us' rebellious kind of way.

    But it's a nice post of a sweet experience. Thanks for sharing it. It really comes alive.

    ReplyDelete
  11. That story is one of the reasons I adore working with folks with learning disabilities.

    ReplyDelete
  12. The first black boy in my school taught me that lesson . . . I was his only friend. And that leads to quite a story . . . No, no we were only Eight.
    I'll try and find time to post that one, maybe later.
    Have a good weekend John x

    ReplyDelete
  13. I worked for many years with children with learning difficulties John and some of my best memories from my teaching career concern these children. If only everyone could see them is such a light - hopefully the Paralympics have started something.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm feeling a bit (okay, a lot!) melancholy today and your story reminds me of one from my past--It is always interesting what can trigger a memory.

    Enjoy your day John, I hope your weather is improving!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Children with learning disabilities seem to have empathy for other people.. I help out with 2nd graders here in my town and there is a girl in this class that is vary very hard of hearing. She is so amazing.. I just love her..Memories are a wonderful thing especially the good ones.
    Have a great day ~ TA TA FOR NOW FROM Iowa:)

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love those type of moments! I missed the spelling error - tee hee. Kind of like the one where Lady Mary was chasing that man to give her a kiss. hee hee hee

    ReplyDelete

I love all comments Except abusive ones from arseholes