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school, community, teachers, students and families.
If she can answer yes to that question, she calls it a
successful day.
“While I’m here, I get to work alongside the
teachers to give examples of instructional or
behavioral strategies unique to each child and
their special needs so that we can make sure that
every student receives the best education possible,”
Baldridge said. “I get to work one-on-one with
students, whether it’s to teach English, colors,
strengthening vision, working on fine motor, or so
much more. I also am currently working alongside
the owner and manager of the school to come up
with a way to begin implementing data collection
and monitoring of the students’ progress that is
appropriate for the teachers’ levels of education as
well as the school’s available resources within the
village.”
Baldridge has worked with teachers at Morton
and Crawford middle schools in Fayette County to
arrange for needed resources to be sent to the school.
She said it has been amazing to see teachers back
home rally together to support the school in India.
Baldridge interacts with a child from a village in
Mayasandra.
In March, Baldridge got a treat from
home. UK College of Education faculty
members Dr. Amy Spriggs and Dr. Katherine
McCormick, from the Department of
Early Childhood, Special Education, and
Rehabilitation Counseling, brought a group
of UK students to the school to help with
a camp. It was the same trip Baldridge had
made with faculty the previous year. Spriggs
couldn’t believe the changes in the school
since her visit last March.
When Baldridge returns to Kentucky, she will be
seeking a job in her field.
“It was great seeing the
improvements made just since
our trip last year.”
“It was great seeing the improvements made just
since our trip last year,” she said. “Molly has definitely
made an impact on that school. I believe the school
has made an even bigger impact on her. Molly has
grown in her ability to teach, but she has also been
able to take a step back and really ask herself what
this community needs. Identifying individual needs
is one of the biggest strengths a teacher of students
with disabilities can have.”
Spriggs went on to say, “Molly has this fear that she
is not going to make an impact. She has already made
a huge impact. Just ask anyone in the village. Just
ask the parents of the kids she is teaching. Just ask
the teachers who are so willing to try anything she
suggests.”
“Coming to India has definitely created space for
me to dream, and to dream big,” she said. “So while I
don’t think I can tell you where I’ll be five years from
now, I think short term I would love to teach special
education at a school that serves mainly inner city or
low-income families. Having the opportunity to love
and serve those within my own community at home
sounds amazing to me and being able to do that
through a job I know I am going to love sounds even
better.”
For more information about leading or
participating in an alternative service break program,
contact Dr. Katherine McCormick (kmcco2@uky.
edu). For more information about participating in
the course Baldridge joined, contact Dr. Amy Spriggs
([email protected]) about the course EDS 558.
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