Title: Chris Montgomery: Pamela & Tania Story


[Visual Description]
Throughout the video are photos of Pamela, the teacher and Tania, the student working together to explore a piece of paraffin wax. 


Chris Montgomery:
We just had an artist, Guida Dettoni, come to
work with some of our staff and students and
it was a profound experience for me
but I think was also a profound experience for the staff that were
involved and
I have to wonder about the students, I think it was
a profound experience for them too. The teacher Pamela
was blindfolded. My task was kind of
working with Pamela and helping her and the student she was working with, Tania, be
comfortable.
Tania was born deaf-blind she has a cochlear implant.
They were handed a piece of paraffin, like a wax
kinda stuff. They weren't given any agenda with this it was just
hang out together work with this piece a wax, right just be.
I think Pamela was kinda skeptical coming into this, you know? Her body language is
so it's a little like
I've got stuff I gotta do you know. We're out of our schedule, out of
our routine. I was standing right next to 'em watching.
She sat across from Tania and you could just
they just were touching their hands and knees. Pretty soon
I saw them both start to fall under the same rhythm.
And I don't know that either of them were
cognisant that rhythm that they shared. I think it was just sort of happening
naturally, and then the next thing I started to see
they would both smile at the same time
they couldn't see each other and then they'd focus back early intently on this
this piece of wax that they were working with and then they both smiling all this
stuff is happening at the same time
and it was amazing. Pamela took off her blindfold and I was like,
well you know what'd you think? She was just like,
"Oh my god. You know, I've never experienced anything like that before."
Tania too, she was so
connected and obviously Tania and Pamela have a great
relationship, have known each other for a long time.
So there's definitely a huge level of trust there,
and a huge level of built in understanding coming into this.
But I don't think from Pamela's point of view she'd ever quite connected with Tania
like that.
And so you just have to wonder what was happening there.