For Daniel

In memory of my beautiful son Daniel. If you could only know what a miracle that boy
was...I have been asked to speak to you today about my son, Daniel; about his life and
what he meant to me; about his death and what that has done to me and my family. I
apologize, for I cannot. The pain I feel by just by writing this is indescribable. I fear the
only sound you would hear is the agonized moan that my soul has cried with every beat of
my heart since Daniel died.
My son was a joy. He had huge brown eyes, an innocent smile, and soft brown curls you
couldn't help but touch. Before he died Daniel got a big boy hair cut. I miss his curls. I miss HIM so much. What happened to our son is not merely about us. It is about working mothers and fathers who entrust their children to the care of responsible professionals.
Decisions about who we would trust with Daniel were not made lightly. We looked for
someone to care for him with sincere and careful attendance.
I have to say I am very disappointed in Rimma. I truly believed that she was responsible,
sincere, and professional. As it turned out she took the role of a child driver and caregiver very casually. AS WE ALL KNOW, Rimma took her neice to camp the morning Daniel died.
She felt well enough to go to shopping during her work hours. I am certain she felt well
enough to call and chat with her husband and daughter that day. Rimma would like you to
feel sorry for her and be respectful and understanding of her pain. I tried, but I cannot. You see the only thing Rimma seems to have forgotten that hot summer day was my son; my
beautiful two and a half year old angel. I trusted you Rimma with my child. It IS your job to
take care of children. How could you forget my son? You never once thought about Daniel as
he cried in your van. So desperate was he to get out that he unbuckled himself and tried to
open the van door. Do you have any idea what it is like for me to know how he fought for his
life, suffered enormously and was baked alive in your van? How could you forget my son?
I lost my mother to cancer when I was 3 years old. As a nurse I worked with terminally ill
patients for almost 11 years, helping people and their families face death with comfort and
dignity. No one comforted Daniel. You took that from me and so much more. Every night
before I fall asleep I see the same scene in front of my eyes...my innocent, helpless,
beautiful child....confused and crying in your van. "Where is Rimma? Why did she leave me
here? What did I do? Mommy? Daddy? I want to get out!" The nightmare is endless. I
couldn't help my son when he needed me most! I couldn't hold his hand when he needed me
most! No I was left to hold his beautiful, cold, dead hand in the emergency room of St.
Mary's Hospital in Langhorne; in the same hospital where he was born two and a half years
earlier.I was begging God that this was not true. Please wake up! I don't know how long my
Daniel suffered, and believe me, I can't bear to know. I feel like a walking dead person.
Rimma, you forgot Daniel. You killed him. Your carelessness, thoughtlessness cost Daniel
his life. I will never see my son grow up, never again kiss his sweet face, hold his hand, hug
him close. I'll never see him blow out his birthday candles, teach him to ride a bike, help
him with his homework. I will never be the same person again; my life will never be the
same. Never, never, never......
After Daniel died it became very clear to my husband and I how very cold and two faced
you are, Rimma. Your cruelty and inhuman attitude towards us was unbearable. Rimma
wants people to feel sorry for her. However, she has no idea how brutal and unkind her
behavior was during the awful time of being neighbors right after our tragedy. How could you
bring that van back to your home when we lived two doors away? How could you subject us
to look at the death trap where our son took his last breath? That was heartless and
unforgivable.
The terrible reality is that nothing can bring our beautiful son back no matter how much
we wish it, but the person responsible should be punished. My family is devastated and
destroyed because Rimma forgot. Because Rimma didn't care. Our lives are ruined forever.
Instead of playing with Daniel, we visit the cemetery often. We cry all the time, pray all the
time. So many parents trust their children to professional caregivers everyday. These
caregivers accept the highest degree of responsibilty. Tragic accidents leading to death or
permanent mental or physical disability are not acceptable. Negligence can not be forgiven.
To me, Rimma is a murderer. She caused the death of my son just as surely as she
suffocated him herself. You may call her differently in this court room, of course, but if what
she did is not murder, then what is?
We will never forget our Daniel. When our time comes to join him, we will hug and hug
him, hug him a million times. We will never forget him. And we will never forgive Rimma.
Thank you for listening. Please hug and kiss your children and grandchildren.
Sincerely, Emily..................bereaved mother of Daniel Slutsky

Class Reflection

Looking back on this class, I can say it was a good review of everything I either taught myself or learned through my education career. I eagerly anticipated taking this course, but in the end I was left wanting. I found myself completing my assignments in a relatively short amount of time, then went on to experiment on my own. I know that the class consisted of Netgeners and Net immigrants, but I think that as the population of Netgeners in teacher training increases, Albright should consider offering two sections based on the students' abilities. Overall I did find some good ways to integrate technology into the classroom, but I would have like to have learned about these invaluable tools in addition to how to use them.

Portfolio Project

http://mrstevens05.webnode.com/

Make this digital portfolio was incredibly easy. With the exception of the Technology Article Reviews which I intended to continually update, I placed everything until the portfolio section. I designed the rest of the website to be easily updated when I actually become a teacher. Having so easily made a website I hope to play around to make websites for students to use in lessons.