Special Dedication

Story by Jane Gordon| Photo by Julie Bidwell

	Michelle Mongeau, Carol Cease and Jillian Cook

When the French novelist and winner of the 1921 Nobel prize in literature Anatole France said “nine tenths of education is encouragement,” he was not dismissing the value of a formal education. Better, he was promoting the worth of a kindly word, of earned praise, of a nod and a smile for a job well done. He may well have been referring to the special education teacher, if indeed he had known any in his day. Yet back then, special education did not exist, and “retarded” was the word commonly used for a broad spectrum of learning disabilities. Learning-disabled children were often misdiagnosed, isolated from their peers, and stigmatized. Today, they have saviors in those special-education teachers, who heap praise and smiles upon them every day, while helping them to overcome their disabilities and master the art and science of learning. Hear the voices of those teachers as they describe why they do what they do, from Carol Cease, a New Hartford special education teacher whose own education was a struggle, Michelle Mongeau, a Litchfield Middle School teacher who always knew what she was meant to do, and Jillian Cook, a speech-language pathologist who grew up in a house where helping those with developmental disabilities was a way of life.

Carol Cease - Special education teacher, grades three through six for Ann Antolini School, New Hartford

I grew up in rural southern Connecticut on a small farm. My older brother struggled in school. In eighth grade, he still could not read. Public school basically gave up on him. There was no learning disability designation in those days, so children who could not learn were seen as mentally retarded. My mother went to work to pay for my brother to go to a reading clinic and then a small private high school. He went on to college and graduate school to become a physicist!

During my school career, I was motivated and worked very hard to succeed. However, I often felt that I was not smart because in math I couldn’t memorize computation facts, in history I couldn’t remember names and dates, and writing a paper took me forever. I got great grades, but I had to work so much harder than my friends. I’d be up until midnight doing homework while many of my friends spent little time on their work. I just thought I was slow!

My first career was in the field of accounting. I compensated for a poor memory by being very organized so everything was at my fingertips. But I did not find this career fulfilling. When I had my two daughters, I was able to stay home with them, and I worked part-time as a waitress at nights to help with our cash flow. I loved this time with my children. When they started school, I became very involved with the PTO and even got into their classrooms to help whenever I could. When one of my daughters was in third grade, we discovered that she had a learning difference. We had to have her tested on our own, because at that time there was no mandate for the public school to test. We found out that she had a high IQ, but needed some strategies to compensate for her learning difference. As I advocated for my daughter, I also researched learning disabilities. I became hooked. I realized that I too learn differently. My struggle in school was not because I was not smart; in fact I am currently a member of MENSA! The problem was that I learn best visually or through hands-on activities, not through words. My memory is weak and I am directionally challenged; I can get lost in a restaurant! Listening to lectures, reading books, memorizing facts were all difficult for me. But I succeeded in school and realized that I could help others do the same. I went back to school to become certified as a special education teacher.

In my first job as a special education teacher, I had the opportunity to set up a new preschool program in New Hartford Elementary School. It was very challenging but so rewarding. I went home each night exhausted, but I felt that I was doing something important, something that might make a difference in someone’s life.

For more than ten years now, I have been working with students in grades three through six at Ann Antolini School in New Hartford. I have worked with students with a variety of disabilities and learning differences. This year I will be with mostly sixth graders.

Each year, each day, is a new challenge. I prefer to be in the classroom co-teaching with the regular education teacher so that all students can learn together if given appropriate modifications and/or adaptations to the regular curriculum. However, this is often my biggest challenge. How can I make the sixth grade curriculum accessible to all students and keep them motivated?

I have been very lucky to be in a district that encourages its staff to try innovative and creative teaching strategies. Being a special education teacher is both extremely challenging and gratifying. To make a difference in a child’s life, especially a child who is struggling academically or emotionally, is rewarding beyond words.

Michelle Mongeau - Special education teacher in resource room for eighth graders in the Middle School wing of Litchfield High School

After my first year of college, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I had always loved children and spent a lot of time babysitting during high school. As I began to think about career choices, teaching became one of my first choices. School had always been a positive experience for me, and I figured by becoming an elementary school teacher, I would get to work with children and stay in school, the best of both worlds! I transferred to St. Joseph College my sophomore year and began my teaching program. At that time, the state of Connecticut offered dual certification. You could complete your degree and get certified in elementary education as well as in special education. After my first special education course, I was hooked! I knew I wanted to be working one-on-one or in small groups to try to give children with learning differences the same positive experience I had always had in school.

I don’t have any one particular specialty; in a resource room it’s a little bit of this and a little bit of that, from math to organizational skills. One challenge is keeping students positive about school and their schoolwork. At this age, most students have priorities above school and homework: friends, sports, music, etc. Another challenge is striking a balance between fostering independence in students while still providing them with enough support to succeed. Kids at this age are getting ready for high school and the world beyond. I need to teach them the strategies they need to function independently as they become adults, while ensuring that they have successful learning experiences along the way. Sometimes, the best reward is when I see the light bulb go on when a student “gets” something I’ve been working on for a while. Sometimes, it’s a smile from a student who came into the room in tears and left relieved and happy. Working with every student is rewarding in ways as unique as the students themselves.

Jillian Cook - Speech-language pathologist for kindergarten, first- and second-grade students at Bethlehem Elementary School

I grew up in Litchfield. My mother worked in special education in a public school system and my father is a physical therapist whose practice addresses the needs of children and adults with developmental disabilities. Learning about the challenges and rewards of helping other people was a part of my everyday life. In high school I knew I wanted to pursue a career in either the education or health care fields. After researching various professions, I came up with a perfect fit: speech-language pathology.

I attended the University of Connecticut for both my undergraduate and graduate work. During graduate school, I was exposed to many aspects of my field including hospitals, clinics, preschool, birth to three and the public school system. Although I enjoyed all of my placements, I decided that elementary school was where I wanted to be.

My biggest challenge each day is to balance my time and to give adequate attention to each aspect of my job, whether it is working with children, speaking with parents, collaborating with teachers, attending meetings, or any other task that may be required.

My biggest reward is when a child is proud of his or her own accomplishments and I know that I played at least a small part in their success.

Jane Gordon is a journalist and a frequent contributor to Seasons.