“Have a little patience…,” crooned the singer through the car radio as I navigated Bangalore’s traffic. While I may not have patience waiting in a traffic jam, my job requires heaps of it. In fact, when I inform people of my profession upon meeting them for the first time, I most often receive the response, “Oh you must be a patient person!” Working as a special educator with children who have learning difficulties, I have come to realise patience is a quality that changes and grows with time. Patience is not just about staying calm when a child repeatedly makes the same mistake or takes time to learn a skill. So what is this special type of patience that I am talking about? Continue reading “Patience”
Not Just Another Room
While there is definitely a growing awareness of learning difficulties, most schools in India do not provide additional support to children struggling with academic skills. Even if remedial classes are provided in school, special educators may not be adequately trained and are not equipped with teaching aids to deliver effective instruction. During these extra classes, teachers end up teaching the same lessons taught in classrooms in the same manner. However, the underlying deficits of the child are not systematically addressed. When schools are unable or unwilling to support children with academic difficulties, a recommendation of a ‘special’ school is made, which is more often than not, unnecessary. Continue reading “Not Just Another Room”
The Learning Chapter 