Uppers Students Advocate for a Fictional Character
At a recent All School, one of the 6/7th grade lit classes shared their work with the book Mockingbird, by Kathryn Erskine. Millie and Madax introduced the main character, Caitlin, a neurodivergent 10-year-old struggling to communicate with others, socialize with peers, and navigate the recent death of her brother, Devon.
We spent time analyzing the interactions between Caitlin and the adults in her life. Students felt that she is not getting the support she needs at school, and were asked to provide evidence from the book. The most obvious noticing was that Caitlin’s autism makes it difficult for her to understand figurative language, while Mrs. Brook, her school counselor, uses it often. Students found examples to support their claim that Caitlin’s counselor is making her life more challenging,
Harper: “Ms. Brook is Caitlin’s school counselor. Every day at school she sees Caitlin and she is not very good at her job. There are multiple times in the book where she does not do her job well, like when she uses phrases that Caitlin does not understand. For instance, when Devon passed away, Mrs. Brook said that part of Devon was still with Caitlin, and she took it literally, looking around for parts of Devon floating in the air.”
Mockingbird Excerpt:
Mrs. Brook: Part of Devon will always be with you.
Caitlin narrates: Which part, I wonder? No parts of his body are left because he was cremated. That means burned up into ashes.
Mrs. Brook: Can you feel him?
Caitlin narrates: I look around the air. I look down at my hands. Are parts of Devon scraping me? Is that what I’m supposed to feel? The heat is blowing from the vent in the ceiling, and I feel that. But that’s only air from the furnace. Or does it have Devon in it? Where do you go when you get burned up and turned into smoke in the air? Maybe you get sucked into furnace systems and blown out through the vents.
Mrs. Brook: Can’t you still feel Devon?
Caitlin: Maybe, I’m not sure it’s really him though. It could be anyone. What would he feel like?
De shared about another scene in Mrs. Brook’s office, when she tells Caitlin to practice empathy.
De: “ Mrs. Brook said to put herself in someone else’s shoes and Caitlin took her shoes off. Mrs. Brook also confused Caitlin when she tried to force Caitlin to make friends instead of listening to what Caitlin needed, which was closure.”
The Uppers agreed that Mrs. Brook doesn’t seem to help, even though she thinks she is. We discussed the role of a school counselor and the importance of knowing how to communicate with each individual student. Most Uppers expressed their disappointment with Mrs. Brook’s approach to working with Caitlin and believe much of the confusion is avoidable. We are seeing how language can actually be a barrier to communication and brainstormed substitutions for the metaphors and idioms used by her counselor.
Linden and Damaris shared that Mrs. Johnson, Caitlin’s teacher, has sent Caitlin to the counselor’s office as a punitive measure. Each time there was a clear breakdown in communication and Caitlin didn’t receive enough guidance with social skills. Evidence they presented from the text shows that the teacher does not seek to understand Caitlin’s neurodiversity.
Students were tasked with writing a letter with their observations and suggestions. To wrap-up our class sharing, Owen, Birch, and Ruby read their letters aloud to our school community.
Dear Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Brook,
As a child in your class, Mrs. Johnson, the way you treat Caitlin is challenging to watch. When she doesn’t clearly express her feelings, you don’t think twice and accept it as sarcasm, which is already a hard concept for Caitlin. This creates tension that Caitlin doesn’t know how to address, and that I believe you should be the one to resolve. Mrs. Brook, I know you're the school counselor, so counseling is supposed to be your forte, but you just don’t seem to recognize Caitin’s specific form of communication and interpretation, and treat her like a lesser human. If you would stop using colloquial language and unnecessary idioms with her, you would be getting through to her much more clearly. I think both of you don’t see how long it’s taking for her to pick up what you’re putting down. If you both studied her situation and her accessibility needs, stuff like what occurred the other day wouldn’t happen as frequently. I’m not saying you won't make mistakes along the way, but you both could try harder, especially you, Mrs. Brook.
Sincerely,
Anonymous future psychologist student
Dear Mrs. Brook and Mrs. Johnson,
I am in a class with Caitlin and have noticed multiple instances when the two of you have made situations extra confusing for Caitlin that don’t have to be. For example, Mrs. Brook when you use so many sayings and metaphors, like when you told her to “put yourself in someone else's shoes”. Caitlin interprets those literally. I would suggest saying things in a more literal way which Caitlin would understand. Or try to let her talk more about what she is interested in, especially at recess which should be a break time, not a time to learn more. Mrs. Johnson, try to help Caitlin, like when she was doing what she thought was helping Rachel out after she fell. Instead of telling her what not to do, help her learn what to say. Or when you kept asking her if she wanted to do something in class, when you really were not meaning it as an option, be more clear with things like that. I hope you guys will consider doing these things.
Thank you,
Birch
Dear Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Brook,
I am writing to you about my friend, Caitlin. As we all know, Caitlin has Asperger’s, which causes her brain to act differently than some. I have noticed throughout this year that you sometimes don’t know how to help Caitlin in the right way. This letter will give you some of my helpful tips. Mrs. Johnson, remember that time when you assigned a project and everyone had to pick an animal and Caitlin chose the human heart? I think the reason that she chose that is because she is dealing with a very important loss right now, and her project is related to her loss. When she told you that she wanted her project to be that, you argued that that’s not an animal. When she told you she was her own group, you argued that a group has to have two or more people. You didn’t listen to her needs, but demanded that your needs were met. She has trouble making friends, and she needs people who understand her. Next time, you could try walking in her shoes and see how it feels to be the only person with Asperger’s in the classroom. Mrs. Brook, the job of being a school counselor is making sure you are helping the students in the way they want, not the way you THINK will help them. Caitlin told you directly that she wanted to talk about closure, but you made her talk about making friends. She was telling you what she needed from you, but just like Mrs. Johnson, you didn’t listen. Next time, try listening and it might help her more. Also, Caitlin takes everything VERY literally, so you have to say everything like it is. No “hungry as a horse”, or “busy as a bee” with her. Try to be as literal as you can with her, that’s how you can help her most. Please try to make my friend’s life better and easier. She needs as much help as she can get right now.
Sincerely,
Michael