It's a Very Good Thing

This is the Phonak Inspiro
that I use in my classroom.

It isn't the first time my students have seen my little FM mic. I use it every day while teaching reading groups. I am trying out a new FM system before I will decide which one my school district will purchase for me as part of my hearing accommodations. I am lucky my district has the resources to help me in this way. I don't think I could continue teaching very much longer if I didn't have this help. The FM delivers my students' tiny voices directly into my cochlear implant and makes it possible for me to hear them reading to me even while the rest of the class is busily engaged in reading and learning activities in my classroom.

But the simple action of pulling the mic out of it's storage bag and clipping it to my make-shift microphone holder in the center of my teaching table brings out an excitement for reading that I don't often see in school anymore. My eager readers were practically giddy -- waiting for their turn to read into the mic. And when I asked my first comprehension question, every hand went up.

And then the thought occurred to me: this little FM mic is not only good for me, it is very good for my students, too.