It is Wednesday, so that means it is time for our Teacher of the Week!
This week it is Keith Young at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind. He is also its Teacher of the Year! Mr. Young is their physical education teacher, he says working at the school was fate and he loves it. When he puts together his lessons he puts a lot of thought into how to explain it to the students and create a sound source or something the blind students can feel on the floor to know boundaries.
He says the most rewarding part of his job is helping students learn to play soccer, basketball and goal ball, when so often blind and deaf students don’t get to fully participate in PE in other schools. He is also the head goal ball coach at FSDB and the school is known for their championship team!
He has some advice for other physical education teachers that may have deaf or blind students in their classes.
“So my advice to them is don’t think in terms of adapting the activity… learn the students, learn what their vision level is or if there are any cognitive or motor issues, learn that student. From there we need to adapt our teaching, that is the biggest piece of advice I give,” tells Keith Young.
He says it is so important that no child is left out. His classroom motto is inspired by Tom Coughlin. It is “Students First, Students Last, Students Always.”
So a big congratulations to Keith Young at Florida School for Deaf and Blind for being our Teacher of the Week!
About FSDB
The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind is a tuition-free state public school and outreach center available to eligible Pre-K and K-12 students who are deaf/hard of hearing or blind/visually impaired. At FSDB, students learn how to do more, be more, and achieve more, fulfilling our vision of preparing them for a lifetime of success. FSDB gratefully accepts private donations to support vital programs that directly benefit students and are not paid by state general revenue funds. For a campus tour or to inquire about eligibility for enrollment, contact FSDB Parent Services at 904-827-2212 voice or 904-201-4527 videophone. For more information, visit www.fsdbk12.org