Something I wrote...

13 years ago I wrote and acted in

that little play about a teacher and different students with autism. This is only my perceptions but I want to share it with you.

Code 50

The actor is sitting alone in center stage

Actor: You are asking me what you have come here to see. It will not be dictatorial, I promise you. Besides, how can I preach something I do not know? You are surely  wandering if I’m here to speak of myself. Well, maybe a little.   The person you see before you is not a teacher but an actress. Quite practical to be able to combine both! In passing, do you even know what an actress is? She is someone who engrosses herself in emotions and in a life she has never led.  She takes in a multitude of feelings and, in turn, builds upon them. She understands the intentions and preoccupations of others to the point of being able to mirror them. If she is successful she will make you believe that the person you are watching is someone other then herself. It is at this precise moment that you should understand what you are doing here. 

Evidently, the teacher depicted in this play was someone who, above all else, was touched by the children she encountered. The teacher within her did not always know how to meet their needs but the actress tried. It was she,  who involved herself in their inner world – a world filled with vibrant color, evident only to those who engross themselves within it. 

Surely, you have heard of the story of the “petit Prince’ of St-Exupery  and the people he touched on his journeys. Like the little prince, these children have touched  me. Their inner world is truly an undiscovered and conflicting planet - as fragile as a rose yet with roots as strong as the Baobab. Thus, in turn, as I explored these planets, the children became my own little princes. If you allow yourself to be open to this voyage they will change your life forever.

The two actors are now on stage, almost back to back. 

Teacher: To the public:I met her at school on a beautiful September day. That night it had rained so the yard was full of puddles and she was playing with both feet in one of them.  Our eyes did not meet but hers were as blue as the sky.  To the child: You should get out of the water for if you fall you will get wet. ( twice)

Child: My father will be coming to get me by plane….

Teacher: Oh! Your father is a pilot?

Child: …or maybe instead by submarine.

Teacher: That’s fine but I would still prefer if you got out of the puddle.

Child: A plane is much faster then a submarine.

Teacher: My name is bewilderment. That is what I felt the first time that I met her.

Child: My name is bedevil . That is sometimes what I feel when I collide with your world.

This is recess, the child is in the middle of the yard surrounded by noise. The bells ring. The teacher waits by the line up while the child is turning in circles in the middle of the yard. The teacher retrieves the child by hand. The child goes limp.  

Teacher: My name is frustration for I do not know how to intervene. 

Child: My name is confusion for I do not know how to react.

Now they are in class. The child plays with a small piece of paper. The teacher removes the paper and puts it in the garbage. The child says nothing.

Teacher:  Take out your pencil, your pink copybook and we’ll write down the date. Can anyone tell me what day is today ? Yes, you’re right, today is ….. 

The teacher approaches the child and holds his face between his hands.

Teacher: Can you please take out your copybook? 

The teacher opens the desk but the child does not move. He stares into space. The teacher takes out the copybook and opens it on the proper page.

Teacher: Please copy the date, just here,  it’s just there on the board. 

The child starts to write but soon stops. The teacher stops the lesson and approaches the child and begins the lesson again. The child writes one letter and stops.

Teacher: My name is incompetence. That is what I feel when faced with my insecurities.

Child: My name is impudence when I am surrounded by insecurities.

The child is sitting at his desk. He is playing with pencils and an eraser. The teacher gives him work to do and then returns to his desk to correct other student’s work. The child continues to play with his pencils and eraser. The teacher breaks up the child’s game and requests that he do his work. This scene repeats three times. 

Child: That’s it! She did it again!

Teacher: What?

Child:  You broke Robi the Robot. 

Teacher: Broke Robi the Robot?

Child: Every time (she shows her the eraser and pencils)!

Teacher: But this is stopping you from working.

The teacher returns to his place.

The child goes to see the teacher with his robot. 

Child: If you keep him while I work, I could play with him later. Now I can do my work since I know someone will take care of him.  Oh yes, don’t forget to feed him from time to time.

The teacher smiles. The child returns to his place and starts to work but soon stops. The teacher stands up and goes to see him.

Teacher: If you want Robi to return to his home, you will have to do your work before you can pick him up at the daycare.

The child returns to work

Teacher: My name is emotion.

Child: My name is need.

It is the playground or the gym class. The children are playing ball. The  noise is amplified. The ball passes beside him and he makes little effort to catch it. The sounds of the playground become louder and louder. The ball passes beside the child once again but he does not move.

Teacher: My name is….

Child: Silence (a cry of anguish)

The teacher and child are alone in a quiet room

Teacher: (softly) Now that we are alone, let’s practice the alphabet.

The teacher takes the child’s hand and begins to say the alphabet. The teacher is saying the letters alone and requests the child to repeat them. The teacher still holds the child’s hand and tries to turn the child’s face so he can focus on the letters. The child repeats and then stops.

Child: Do you know that Martians do not exist but that man walked on the moon?

The teacher continues to repeat the letters while continually holding the child’s hand in an effort to help him focus on the task at hand.

Child:  Do you know what my cat wants to be when he grows up? (the teacher stops and looks at him) He wants to be a lion.

Child :My mane is isolation, that is what I feel sometimes when I am in your world. 

We hear the children back in the classroom They are involved in noisy activities. The child has been crying in the corner for a few minutes before the teacher notices him.

Teacher: What is the matter?

The child continues to cry. The teacher touches the child who in turn does not react.

Teacher: I can maybe help you if I could maybe understand what happened.

Through his tears the child explains as well as he can but we do not grasp it. The teacher holds the child’s face and tries to connect with him but the child is frustrated and screams. The teacher moves back, unsure of what to do.

Child: My name is rage. That is what I feel when I am misunderstood.

The same scene is repeated but when the teacher touches the child’s face to console him, she stops crying.

Teacher: What is the matter?

The child continues to cry. The teacher comforts the child but she does not react.

Teacher: I can maybe help you if I could understand what happened. 

Through her tears the child explains it as well as he can. The teacher holds the child’s face and tries to connect with him. The child becomes frustrated and screams. The teacher then soothes him.

Teacher: Shhhhh…

Child: It is my turn to do arts and crafts. It is my turn! 

Teacher: If there is no more room you must wait for another day!

Child: But this is another day! I want to go now! No one ever gives me a place. No one ever gives me a turn.

The teacher sighs

Teacher: My name is …

Child: …distress.

The child is in crisis. The teacher is beside him. The child throws himself to the ground and screams.

Teacher: My name is discouragement. I know neither the question nor the answer.

The child is sitting at the table playing with plasticine. Every piece is meticulously done. He is concentrated on his work regardless of the noise around him. 

Teacher:  What are you doing?

Child:  This is the Venus de Milo, this is the Virgin Mary, this is the…

Teacher: What should you be doing?

The child looks at the teacher but does not comprehend the question!

Teacher: We are making geometric forms!

Child: This is the Trojan Horse!…

Teacher:  My name is weariness… 

Child: …and intolerance.

The child is sitting and drawing. The teacher is speaking to an observer that we can not see.

Teacher: Yes he really enjoys this kind of activity. He is also interested in music dance and mathematics. He is being helped by someone for reading. You must understand that it is difficult for him to concentrate during all the noisy classroom activities. He gets help but we do not always know what to do. Every situation is different. Every moment of the day, every reaction, every withdrawal. 

There is light on the child only

Child: My name is Lucy, Claude, Giuseppe, Mary, Kevin, Matthew, Nicolas, Karmina, Jimmy, Daniel…….. 

Copyright 2001

Adrienne Sauriol-Levert