Free To Be Me

Grand Haven Christian School celebrates student ability

Grand Haven Christian School will be hosting an Educational Support Services (ESS) “Free to Be You and Me” awareness morning on Friday (May 14).

The event is designed to foster deeper understanding of various types of learning styles and areas of disability. The emphasis will be to educate students and parents about the many unique minds God has designed. “Free to Be You and Me” is the school-wide theme for this year.

GHCS is a prekindergarten through eighth-grade inclusive educational environment supporting the belief that every student is able to learn from and contribute to the community. This means that in a classroom of 20 children, for instance, one may have Williams Syndrome, Down Syndrome, be visually impaired, have Asperger’s Syndrome, or evidence autism. “We feel that it is important to embrace and celebrate each unique learner,” says Shelley Feddema, director of ESS for GHCS, “We focus on each student’s ABILITY within the disability and create specific goals for each child’s education, because we want to make sure there is a sense of belonging in the classroom with their peers.” 

The morning will begin with educational awareness and general understanding from classroom learning sessions. Students will then go through interactive learning simulations in which they’ll learn what it may feel like to walk in another’s shoes. A breakout session for parents, friends and other community members will be held in the GHCS library from 9-9:45 a.m., and an all-school chapel at 10:30 a.m. is to feature Will Pardee as guest speaker. Will suffered a diving accident in 1981 that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down; he now creates art by holding a pencil in his mouth. Students will see Will draw and hear him speak about his life’s journey with a disability. The ESS focus will conclude with lunch at 11:30 a.m. The public is welcome to attend the library session and the chapel service in the school, 1102 Grant Ave.

The morning educational components, classroom simulations, and the all-school chapel are designed to allow students to better understand the strengths and challenges of other students. “We want all of our students to understand what others go through each day while they are at school,” says Feddema, “What does a student with Asperger’s feel like when another student bumps them or touches their arm? What is like for a visually impaired student to do a homework assignment or sit at their desk and not be able to see the board?” In one session, students will have the back of their neck touched by a wet finger to let them know how a person with Asperger’s Syndrome feels when touched. In another activity, students will attempt to write notes with their fingers taped together.

The purpose is to educate students, bring awareness to similarities and celebrate what each child can do. “We’ve created an environment of inclusive learning that allows our children to truly learn with each other,” says Principal Rick Geertsma, “Last year, for instance, Maddie Dukes, a student who has Williams Syndrome, participated in the middle school lip-sync contest and won second place.” GHCS chose the song Maddie performed, “Free to Be Me,” as the inspiration for the school’s theme this year.

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