Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Dear old Mrs. Leach

Don't you hate it when your child is trying really hard to tell you something and you can't make out what it is?  Ben's articulation is very good for his age, but he still makes all the usual consonant substitution errors, like /d/ for /th/ and /w/ for /l/ and /r/.  He also has a tendency to mumble when he's self-conscious or unsure of himself -- something we all do to some extent.

Anyway, this morning while I was driving him to preschool, Ben made a long and solemn pronouncement.  The engine was running, the heater was blasting, and of course I couldn't turn around to look at his lips, so I couldn't make head or tail of it.  After many repetitions, I could tell that it was mostly a question, and it had the word "teach" in it.  Was he asking about his teachers?  No.  Was he asking about what I'm going to teach today?  No.  I quizzed him left and right, and he kept repeating the sentence, to no avail.  Something about "great teaching" and "forget".  Finally he brightened and said, "I wemembuh -- it was Mrs. Weach."

Ahhhhhhh!!!  This is what he had been saying:  "Who was your fourth grade teacher?  I forget."  As soon as he answered his own question, it all made perfect sense to me.

A few days ago, we were talking about Ben's teachers, and for some reason I went off on naming all my elementary school teachers.  Now, dear old Mrs. Leach was a sweet person, but she was hardly the best that the Rockbridge County Schools had to offer, and I did indicate, during our conversation a few days ago, then I did not look back on the two years I spent with her (4th and 6th grades) with great satisfaction.  This obviously made quite an impression on Ben.

Dear old Mrs. Weach.

3 comments:

Melanie said...

I have those frustrating moments with Peas too. And it is interesting to hear that Ben also mumbles on occasion. The TOD that observes Peas at preschool has mentioned that he too mumbles when he's not sure of something.

Madeline said...

There was a Mrs. Leach at our elementary school. She was one of my Odyssey of the Mind/Destination Imagination coaches and Alicia's 2nd grade teacher. If I recall correctly, she was actually a speech and hearing therapist in a former life.

Ben has such an impressive memory!

Alicia said...

Like Madeline said, my second grade teacher was a Mrs. Leach. She actually taught our class a fair amount of signing during the year (most of which I - unfortunately - forget now). She taught us several songs with accompanying ASL. Lots of fun!