With a full heart, teacher Rose McDermott watched three of her students graduate from high school. A common experience for someone in her profession? Perhaps, but this graduation day was special. McDermott’s trio completed their secondary school education while on kidney dialysis at Children’s Medical Center, where she is a tutor.
McDermott, a hospital volunteer, has little to say about her own efforts, too full of admiration for the children she has met.
“My students are so upbeat. They give to me more than I could ever give to them,” she says. “It was exciting to see them pass their exams, the TAAS tests and graduate.”
McDermott’s mission in life has been to help children. The neighborhood resident taught for more than 30 years in the public school system before retiring in 1993. But after a few years off, she missed teaching and decided to return to the classroom.
This time, McDermott’s classroom was a hospital room. And, she says, the past two years she has taught as a volunteer tutor at Children’s Medical Center have been the most rewarding years of her entire career. McDermott enjoys the fact that she is in a position to do something positive for children facing difficult obstacles with their health.
“I try to be very objective and think about what I can do for them,” McDermott says.
Rather than dwell on their medical problems, she concentrates on teaching them something that will lift their spirits or help them to feel good about themselves.
“I want these children to have hope for the future rather than worry about their present medical problems.”
“These children are strong and courageous,” McDermott says. “It’s very rewarding for me, because now I find I truly have the freedom to actually teach.”
The public school veteran explains that by teaching students on a one-on-one basis, she knows exactly where each child is in the educational process. In this way, McDermott says, she is better able to help each child meet his or her educational goals by focusing on their strengths and weaknesses.
“I have to feel my way with each child to discover how to reach them,” she says. “Sometimes, children may be having trouble expressing themselves. And then, there’s a break-through, and they are able to respond about their feelings through poetry or maybe even a video that they watch.”
There are big differences in teaching this way as compared to a traditional classroom of 30 students where it’s difficult for teachers to spend the time necessary to help each student individually. And in a traditional classroom, probably one-third of a teacher’s time is spent with documentation of records, cutting into teaching time drastically.
The ages of McDermott’s hospital students vary, and so does the subject she teaches. Her morning students usually are long-term patients who come into the hospital weekly for kidney dialysis.
In the afternoon, she works with patients there for a variety of reasons. McDermott says many times she is unaware of the age, education level or physical condition of her students until right before she goes in to teach them.
“Rose impacts our kids in a way no one else can,” says Myrna Watkins, Children’s director of volunteer services. “She gives her students something to focus on other than the physical problems they must deal with daily.”
McDermott recently was honored as an Outstanding Educator Volunteer, one of 10 outstanding individuals and organizations receiving awards at the 20th annual Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Awards Celebration during National Volunteer Week. The Volunteer Center of Dallas County sponsored the luncheon honoring top volunteers.
McDermott’s reaction to the honor is simply to urge others to do the same.
“The way I teach now is very exciting because I see the progress these children make and the joys are immediate,” she says.
“I only wish I could encourage other retired teachers to share in the joy I receive from these courageous children at Children’s Medical Center.”
