Happy Classroom for Students with Disabilities

SGGP 06/23/2023 10:12

Understanding the disadvantages of disabled children, teachers at special schools have become second parents, always accompanying and opening up a new world to less fortunate students with love and tolerance.

Ms. Dinh Lan Phuong, teacher at Nguyen Dinh Chieu Special School (District 10, HCMC) in a class

“You are special in your own way!”

Present at class 1D - a class for hearing impaired children, 15/5 Special Education School (District 11, Ho Chi Minh City) with teacher Le Huynh Ngoc Han as the head teacher, we felt the very special communication language. In a small room of less than 50 square meters, the young teacher and disabled students painted a picture of happiness. Ms. Ngoc Han said that the school is currently staying at a temporary location waiting for a new construction, so the facilities are limited.

Right at the classroom entrance, two students accidentally caused large patches of the wall to peel off. In order to avoid the stains affecting the classroom space, the teacher and students came up with the idea of ​​using watercolors to “transform” the peeling wall into a deep blue ocean with submarines and many types of sea creatures swimming around. The painting was gradually completed thanks to the consensus of all members.

“Deaf children often have limited communication because they are stuck in their own world. Therefore, I choose to accompany them, helping them understand their own value through their personal emotions and actions, from which they learn to be more open with those around them,” Ms. Ngoc Han expressed. To help deaf students integrate better with normal people, she often tells them: “You are special in your own way, so there is no need to treat you differently.” The bond between teachers and students, in addition to knowledge, is understanding and love, helping students overcome shyness and prove that they are still useful people.

With Ms. Dinh Lan Phuong, teacher of multi-disability class, Nguyen Dinh Chieu Special School

(District 10, Ho Chi Minh City), when teaching visually impaired students to write descriptive essays in the Vietnamese language program for grade 4, she felt many emotions when reading the essays "trying to write like normal people" by the students. According to Ms. Lan Phuong, students are not lucky enough to lose their eyes but they still have the right to perceive the world through their own perspective. "When writing an essay describing a tree, visually impaired students cannot observe the color and shape of the tree like normal students, but they can use their hands to recognize the roughness of the tree trunk, and feel the fragrance of flowers and leaves through their sense of smell. I want them to understand that even though one sense is lost, there are still many other ways to perceive the world around them. They need to clearly understand their own value before receiving sympathy from others," Ms. Lan Phuong confided.

Accompanying parents

The biggest concern after many years of working for Ms. Dam Thi My Ngoc, a teacher at Hi Vong School (District 6, Ho Chi Minh City) is the "help" phone calls from parents when they cannot communicate with their children. She shared that many families, due to the pressure of making a living, do not have time to learn sign language, so they cannot communicate with their hearing-impaired children. Gradually, the children live in their own world, seeing people around them laughing and talking but not being able to hear, not understanding why. At the peak, some children locked themselves in their rooms, not communicating with relatives, parents had to go through teachers to talk to their children.

Sharing the same sentiment, Ms. Vo Thi Quynh, a teacher at the Binh Chanh Center for Supporting the Development of Inclusive Education (Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City) expressed that educating children with disabilities requires close coordination between teachers and parents. At the beginning of each school year, teachers often spend time discussing and listening to the thoughts and wishes of parents as well as understanding the interests and personalities of children, thereby building a suitable educational plan. In activities organized during the school year, the school invites parents to participate so that parents can understand their children, and at the same time have a connection and coordination with teachers.

Mr. Luu Thien Duc, member of the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Education Trade Union, stated that in reality, parents with disabled children often feel inferior and do not want to admit the level of disability of their children. Therefore, if they are shared and sympathized with, parents will open up and share with teachers the difficulties their children are facing, thereby coordinating with the school to help their children develop better.

In the 2022-2023 school year, the City-level Competition for Teachers of Children with Disabilities was organized by the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City for the first time, honoring 30 excellent homeroom teachers with many innovations in teaching methods for children with disabilities. These are typical teachers representing more than 500 teachers working at specialized schools and centers supporting the development of inclusive education in the city.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/lop-hoc-hanh-phuc-cua-hoc-sinh-khuyet-tat-post694701.html