Classroom of the Month: Word choice and empathy in Tabitha Cooper’s English Classroom

What six words best define homesickness?

BY Trix95 on October 6, 2017
11 | 7 Favorites
My son is currently enrolled in a residential program that teaches life skills to young adults. He recently shared that one of his suite mates had been struggling and hadn't been able to explain what was wrong. Insight, complex thoughts, and verbal expression can be challenging for this population and so their amazing staff had the students join together to support their classmate.
Through guided discussion, they determined this young man was homesick. My son shared with me that his friend "didn't know what homesick was" and so they all talked about what being homesick meant to them.
My son said just the word made him want to see his dogs, sleep in his bed and have dinner with his family. His description brought tears to my eyes: it was the simplest pleasures that meant the most to my boy, who has so often struggled with the activities of daily life.
I thought about that call long after we hung up, and ruminated on that idea of homesick, the word, versus homesick, the feeling... and that you don't have to know what it means to know how it feels.

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