Have you ever tried explaining something to someone who just isnât getting it? First, you have to figure out what they donât understand and why. Then you have to fashion a different approach. Itâs painstaking work that requires enormous patience.
Teachers do it every day.
Take Emily Moxey, a St. Louis special educator who works with kids with hearing loss. As a teenager, Moxey cared for a neighboring familyâs two-year-old child who was deaf. In TCâs deaf education program, she learned to âfit the instruction to the child, not vice versa.â
Emily Moxey (M.Ed. â06) (Photo Courtesy of Emily Moxey)
A few years ago, Moxey helped a boy named William (not his real name) learn to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators (e.g., 2â3 â 3â7). William often stared in silence, but Moxey, aware that he liked to reassemble old TVs, understood that his mind was working.
âIâd say, âWhat are you thinking?â We developed a process checklist he could follow with each problem.â When Williamâs math scores improved, Moxey walked him around school, sharing the news.
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In 2016, Moxey was named St. Louis County Special School Districtâs Teacher of the Year. Now, as Area Coordinator for the Countywide Program for Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing Students, sheâs sharpening a focus on language â especially in math, where language delays often surface when teachers assign word problems.
âI tell teachers, if kids donât get it, change what youâre doing,â Moxey says. âThis is about the kids and how to get through to them.â