Recent photo.
by Rena Schine
Well, I just couldn’t resist the opportunity to chat with you all…it is like “old home week” reading about Ron Abate and Ralph Burke and Mary Randolph! Keeping in step with the rest of you “not-retired
retirees”, I have continued to fight the good fight for children…but wait…I am now sitting on the other side of the table. I have been working for 12 years with CACLD as an Education Advocate for children with learning disabilities
helping the families navigate through the special education system with all its devious twists and turns….and complaining when the school psychologist’s test reports are not ready in time (knowing that mine were sometimes not written for months
after the PPT!!) (Hope Dr. Guth isn’t on line)
I left the terrific McKinley School with all its mold and mildew in 1993 and went to work for two years in Tanzania at the International School of Tanganyika with all its dusty pot-holed
streets and lack of electricity….it was wonderful! I returned to work with Dick Leadem for one year at Holland Hill, and then off again overseas to work at the American International School of Israel for 4 years where I tried valiantly
to learn Hebrew to no avail!
Like “Pi” in the new movie, The Life of Pi, I was exposed to samplings of many religions and cultures but after my return to the states I took a trek to find the Gorillas in Rwanda. There I found
that they, the Gorillas, have a much more peaceful take on life than humans from any of the religions or cultures I experienced. They live and let live…on a diet of veggies…grooming the rain forest like good keepers of the planet.
If only we could go back to our origins.
Those days at Fairfield with my School Psychologist, Special Education, and Deaf Education buddies were so rich and fulfilling I don’t know where to begin reminiscing. This "blog" endeavor is
a terrific idea for bringing back so many fond memories and giving us a chance to reflect on where we were and whether or not we’ve learned anything since….thank you Paula Sweeley.
Onward,
Rena Schine, Ph.D.
School Psychologist/Advocate
rschine@snet.net
2/9/13