Sheryl Green: The beat of a different drum
Mr. Hudson invited the entire fifth grade class into his band room. He played all the instruments for us, but I was most attracted to the drums. I rushed off the bus that afternoon to announce to Mom that I was going to be a drummer. She quietly retrieved a clarinet from the top of her closet and played a few bars.
I know she was using some sort of momma psychological warfare tactic that mothers learn somewhere in mother school because she replaced my infatuation of beating a drum with the shiny new toy of the woodwind kind. My childish frivolity began making noise, and I was immediately sold on the clarinet.I have never forgotten, however, my dream to be a drummer.
That's why I like to watch Thomas's performances any chance I get. He's a drummer, and a good one, too. But it's the backstory that makes me cheer for every beat of Thomas's sticks.
Thomas wasn't always in perfect rhythm with his peers. In his early school years, he marched to the beat of a different drum, and his parents and teachers alike were often perplexed at exactly what that rhythm was. He was a behavioral nightmare in a desk. His temper matched his red hair, and his attention span was as quick as a paradiddle. School year after school year, Thomas was dragged through the doors of the impatient teachers' classrooms, the angry principal's office, and the perplexed doctor's exam room, most often literally kicking and screaming.
Years of diagnosis covered everything from ADHD to Tourette Syndrome, from seizures to bipolar. Every form of medication was prescribed, and nothing seemed to settle the restlessness of this elementary school kid.
School was a struggle. Life was a struggle.
Many of his teachers wrote him off and gave up on him, passing him over to the special education department, and washing their hands of his hopeless case. Perhaps their intentions were good -- to hand him over to the ones more qualified to deal with a challenging kid like Thomas. That frustration could have been the end to Thomas's potential -- if it weren't for a sixth grade special education teacher who escaped the trap of giving up and took a liking to Thomas. Mrs. D. became invested in Thomas and saw something many others did not.
That's the difference-making ability of our special education department. What we "regular" teachers may see as a frustrating behavior issue and a hopeless case, special education teachers see as a challenge to rise above. Mrs. D. became like a relentless, protective momma bear, chewing up the naysayers, fighting off the frustrated, and defending against the stifling of Thomas's future.
Thanks to Mrs. D., things slowly began to change for Thomas. With a vocal advocating educator in his corner, Thomas began to settle into a routine of slow progress. Through a challenging year full of medication trial and error, sixth grade became a pivotal, life-changing chance for Thomas when he was first introduced to the snare drum.
Despite the lack of patience and understanding from a reluctant band director, Momma Bear Mrs. D. persistently encouraged Thomas and his family to remain steadfast in their pursuit of band. During his seventh grade year, Thomas found within his drumsticks a purpose and a place. Out of six years in an educational world that turned its back on him, Thomas finally found a lifeline. He and his family grabbed it and hung on.
He's 16 now and holding firmly to another line -- the snare drumline of an award-winning, championship high school marching band. Most football game-goers recognize one of the most critical and spectacular features of a halftime performance as the snare drum line. Membership requires focus and discipline, two traits Thomas was told he would never or could never maintain in any kind of setting.
Mrs. D. never said that. She never saw in Thomas a hopeless case. She saw a drum line. She saw a musical talent that would cause people like me to take notice and envy.
When the naysayers and the frustrated and the angry try to stifle your potential, find a Mrs. D. and start beating on the drum of your dreams.
Who knows? Maybe you'll be good at it.
Sheryl Green is an independent contractor. Contact her at sherylgreen14@yahoo.com
This story was originally published January 5, 2016 at 10:47 PM with the headline "Sheryl Green: The beat of a different drum ."