bowling and family day

My special education centre had a bowling competition cum family day today. Only half of our families came; together with our students and staff, but still the bowling alley was jam packed...with us occupying two thirds of it. A thought crossed my mind as to how we could have gotten everyone into this place if all our 120 families had turned up. It would have been nice to have full attendance for every family day events (which of course is almost a near impossibility) but in this particular location, half was just right..

We spent the whole morning there; some of us arriving as early as 7.30 am, even though we all knew the event will officially start only at 9.00 am. There was excitement in the air as everyone was just raring to go! As soon as the Family Support Group Chairman gave his short welcoming speech, we all turned to face the lanes. The students played first; versus one another. Very soon, we were hearing the sounds of balls hitting the floor and rolling towards their targets; parents cheering their kids on and every little achievement becoming a big deal (as it should be).....and all eyes were on the students. It was the most exciting part of the morning. For our students, the competition was done in the spirit of Special Olympics whose motto, "Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt" placed great value on the athletic effort of every single one of them.

at the end of the day,
everyone's a winner!

It was very interesting to watch the range of bowling styles of the students....everybody tried and that was the most important thing we wanted to see. For us it did not matter that only a few students had all the correct moves of a bowler and could make strikes; or some need lots of help to just push the ball forward. And even some who could bowl only one particular way and still others who did their best, and yet the ball kept rolling into the drain till the bowling alley staff had to get in to retrieve the balls stuck there. It really did not matter for they all had tried their best.....

When they had finished, it was the adults' turn. I don't remember the last time I went bowling but this was a nice chance to play again. Together with my teachers, we had a friendly competition against the parents. The parents won, we lost! 

It was a fun-filled morning and there were some endearing moments too. One particular scene happening right before my eyes was particularly touching. I did not know whether anyone else had noticed it but because I was standing just behind them, I could see and was observing everything and I couldn't help but smiled to myself - a child with Down syndrome was "coaching" and encouraging his mom when it was her turn to play. This happened at least two times and the exchange between them revealed to me these; the self-confidence of this child and the strength of the parent-child bond.

Being in this field of special education for many years now, I think I am able to say that those two qualities are part of what could help a person, in spite of his/her specialized learning needs, to achieve his/her potential towards being an included and contributing member of society.

interesting....the different bowling styles of our students