“My faith played a big part
in me making the trip back,”
Baldridge said. “I’ve been so
blessed and loved back home and
I felt called and invited to share
that with these families here in
the village.”
The trip has caused Baldridge to
face many fears, but it seems her
biggest is the fear of not making
an impact during her four-month
stay.
“I am burdened because the
situations that these families and
their kids with special needs face
in and around the village is a
hard thing to swallow,” she said.
“While the community may be
proud of the school, many of the
people refuse to come close to the
students it educates because they
believe them to be ‘demented.’
The lack of support and education
for these families and these kids is
heartbreaking.”
Every day, Baldridge asks herself whether she did
something that will, in the long run, impact the
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.
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. She said, “It was great seeing the
improvements made just since our trip last year. Molly
has definitely made an impact on that school. I believe the
“Coming to India has definitely
created space for me to dream,
and to dream big.”
COE COMMUNICATOR | APRIL 2016
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.”
She 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.”
When Baldridge returns to Kentucky in May, she will be
seeking a job in her field.
“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 shortterm 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 ([email protected]). For more information
about participating in the course Baldridge joined, contact
Dr. Amy Spriggs ([email protected]) about the course
EDS 558.
7