Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/65746
EXTRA CREDIT Sarah Tucker comes home to teach at the deaf school she attended. Hearing the language of love PRESCHOOLERS PLAY in their class- room's make-believe "garden shop, putting plastic plants into pots, pouring imaginary water and gathering silk flowers into pretty bouquets. "What color are the flowers?" asks their " busily learning a new word and how to pro- nounce it. "To this day, I am grateful for all her ican Sign Language and spoken English. The youngsters reply back with sign and speak aloud in English. Like the flowers in the nursery, students are blooming under the tutelage of Tucker, who is their teacher in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Preschool Special Day Class at Chris Jespersen School in San Luis Obispo. Years ago, the San Luis Obispo County Education Association member was a deaf child in a similar program in the district. Tucker loves being able to work with her former childhood mentor, Diane Hunt- Roberts, a speech language pathologist. She taught Tucker about speech fluency, articulation and sentence structure, as well as not being afraid to ask for help when 38 California Educator / May 2012 teacher, Sarah Tucker. "Can you say pink? Blue? Are you making a beanstalk you can climb up, like Jack?" Tucker is talking to them in both Amer- hard work she invested in me," says Tucker. "Without Diane's dedication and persever- ance, I would not have clear articulation or understanding of how to pronounce words in order to carry on a conversation with my hearing peers and co-workers. Now Diane and I work together as a team to meet our students' needs." When Tucker was younger, she had my deaf students and show them that when they grow up, they will still have a hearing loss, but they can be successful any way they choose," she relates. Tucker incorporates language and no exposure to a deaf adult role model. She assumed that when she turned 5, she would hear like everyone else. "It is important to be a role model to was educating her peers — and some teachers — that she just was like any other student, with the exception of a hearing loss. She believes some of her students will also be faced with this. "I can help students overcome chal- As a child, Tucker's biggest challenge lenges by discussing my personal experi- ences growing up, being a role model for them, and encouraging them to be proud of their hearing loss," she says. "I love see- ing them gain confidence in themselves and becoming self-reliant, so they will be able to advocate for themselves when they are older. deaf and hard of hearing children because of my positive educational experience in San Luis Obispo, "I always wanted to be a teacher for " communication through American Sign Language and auditory-oral reinforcement. Her teaching style involves role-playing, so students can put together pictures, vocabu- lary, ideas and concepts, connecting them with the real world. years of teaching in Colorado, it has been a tremendous honor to make a full circle and come back home to teach." " adds Tucker. "After six By Sherry Posnick-Goodwin Photos by Scott Buschman BONUS See a video of Sarah at www.cta.org/sarahtucker.