In classrooms across the country, each day starts out with some type of routine.
There are announcements, a run-through of the day, and usually the Pledge of Allegiance. But, in this video, teacher Chris Ulmer operates his classroom a little differently…
Every morning, he spends the first 10 minutes giving compliments to each of his eight students.
Compliments include: “I love having you in my class. I think you’re very funny. You’re a great soccer player. Everyone in here loves you,” Ulmer says to the kids as they each take their turn standing in front of the class, facing Ulmer.
Ulmer is a special ed teacher, whose students include those with autism, traumatic brain injury, speech apraxia and agenesis of corpus callosum.
When Ulmer first started teaching, he said, each day had a theme, like “Monday Funday” and “Toast Tuesday,” which is when the affirmations began.
“I noticed the kids were always more motivated, happier and better behaved on Tuesdays. So we started doing it every day.”
And Ulmer began posting videos to his Facebook page- Special Books by Special Kids, with the kids’ permission almost everyday.
Each incredible student comes from a segregated environment, but Ulmer says, “Now they’re participating in school activities, dancing in front of hundreds of other kids and in the debate club.” And while Ulmer agrees academics are important, he feels it is even more important to reverse the psychological damage that came from being made to feel like outcasts.
Ulmer is committed to telling his students‘ stories on social media to educate the masses about what life is like in their shoes. “Everyone has their quirks, and that’s a good thing,” he said. “We give ignorance a free pass. There is no excuse for a lack of empathy.”
Watch the incredible video here:
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[Featured Image Credit: Facebook- Special Books by Special Kids]