ABSTRACT
Approaching Mrs. Tibo’s first-grade special-education class is akin to closing in on a thundering waterfall-the sounds assault you long before you see the sights. The racket today is louder than usual, however. Alarmed, I cover the distance to the classroom with wide steps, and taking a deep breath to make sure I am fully present, I open the classroom’s door. Huddled in a corner at the end of the room, a boy is holding a chair, seat to chest, four legs aimed at the teacher. He is yelling: “I gonna’ beat you up, I gonna’ beat you up!” It is Leroy, one of three children on my caseload from this class. Ms. Linda, the teacher’s assistant, attempts to restore order by incrementally raising the volume of her own voice. Mrs. Tibo, en route for the chair with her own voice reaching foghorn proportions, threatens to call Leroy’s grandmother. This only seems to have the effect of increasing the zealous thrusts of the chair in her direction.
