Happy Feet

I was recently enlightened by the movie “Happy Feet”  as I watched it with some very special kids. The girl, who is a very opinionated 5 year old, kept looking at me and saying that I looked like I was about to cry.

Well, I was not crying, but I was feeling for the main penguin, named Mumble.  He is an Emperor Penguin and as an Emperor penguin singing is considered to the only “penguin” way of expressing yourself. The problem is that Mumble does not fit into this mould.   And he get left out of the learning, sat at the back of the class and chastised for the way his feels music with his body, apposed vocalizing it.  As I was watching this I felt like how many students are sat at the back of the class or chastised for expressing themselves in the only way they know or feel, but it is not conventional or easier to teach.   The questions, “How does a teacher/ parent support this child?” “What will happen if these students are not supported?” were what really made me feel like crying. This is a children's cartoon, so the rejected penguin is faced with many challenges of which make him into a stronger, wiser penguin, unscathed by the lengths he went to show he was not “a bad egg.” In real life I saw the student falling through he cracks, so to speak.  I have seen and know too many students that do not fit the mould some schools expect their students to fit into and essentially just phase these students out.  After being in practicum classes where there are students that needed that extra support or adapted instruction, I can understand how easy it can be to overlook the different types of expression or learning.  My hope is that with little reminders like these children's cartoons, we can keep in mind the Mumbles in our classes.