The first thing one observes in the playground; a boy aged six dancing obliviously to his surroundings. At times boys would kick him to stop him from dancing or pull his shirt, but he does not get bothered. As one enters class 1, he comes jumping, “Good morning ma’am. My Name is Siddharth Sharma”.
While taking the class, Siddharth was everywhere. Jumping on the bench, drawing on the blackboard, talking non- stop and disrupting the class.
His energy could not be contained in the class. Siddharth’s classmates also got irritated with him. He was frequently hit and bullied by them. Teachers and his peers were constantly complaining and blamed him if anything went wrong and he was excluded from their games.
We created an action plan along with the parents. Principal ma’am arranged counselling session for Siddharth and for his parents. She along with the specialist helped the parents to understand the ‘Down syndrome’ disorder. A workshop was organized for the teachers on special needs to build up their understanding. In the class, extra help was provided; to support the teacher.
Siddharth’s mother was advised to come to the school, so she can observe the class and help him in the class and then follow it up at home.
In the class children were told stories on friends, environment, animals, accepting differences and problem-solving etc. they were asked open-ended questions such as, (a) what would you have done in his place, (b) how can you make a difference, (c) what other things can happen. These open-ended statements allowed the children to think and come up with suggestions. More probing questions were asked and they came up with more answers. We related their responses to the classroom situation. Sometimes a child would narrate a specific incident that had occurred with Siddharth and him/ her. It was then discussed in the class and they came up with positive suggestions on, ‘how their responses can be positive and help him’. Siddharth was given small responsibilities in the class with supervision. His positive qualities such as friendly nature, sharing ability, dancing, and singing were brought to the attention of the class. Gradually, we started feeling the difference in the class, as the children accepted him as he was.
They started to display acceptance towards Siddharth and gave him space to be himself.
The teachers’ positive tolerant attitude towards inclusive practice reflected in the teachers’ behaviours and it was passed on to the children. The results suggest that tolerant inclusiveness in the classroom practice influenced happiness of the class as a whole, and as an individual. The children picked up additional values such as to be patient, helpful, problem-solving, understanding, caring and to think differently. It was the collective learning of both teachers and the students in the class. By bringing in inclusiveness in the classroom, the parents, students and teachers learnt to work together. They participated in the design, delivery and monitoring of education; and inclusive education happened as a shared responsibility.
To be tolerant is a great quality, but to pass this value one needs to set an example. It has to be a choice made and not a compulsion. It is a teachers’ attitude, which helps children to imbibe this quality. By bringing intolerance; it paved a way for inner happiness and contentment in our class.
Our journey of making ‘inclusive classroom’ led to instilling patience and generating happiness in us and around us.
अगर हम सहन करना सीखे तो अंत में खुशी पा जाते हैं।
मौन मन की वाणी सीख कर हम खुशी का संसार पा जाते हैं। खामोशी है जीवन का आईना, जुबा मौन है तो अपनों को साथ खड़े पाते हैं।जीवन में सहन किया कुछ तो, अपने दामन में खुशियां पाते हैं, खुद भी हर्षित होते हैं औरों को भी हर्षाते है।
एक बार हमारे स्कूल में एक बच्चा दाखिले के लिए आया।वह 9 साल का था। उम्र के हिसाब से उसका दाखिला कक्षा चार में हुआ। वह बच्चा यूपी केकिसी गांव से आया था, इसलिए उसको ठीक से हिंदी लिखनी और बोलनी नहीं आती थी बच्चा अक्सर खुद को असहेज महसूस करता था, और किसी नाकिसी बहाने से कक्षा से बाहर निकल जाता था। सभी शिक्षक इस बात से परेशान थे, फिर शिक्षकों ने जब उसके पास बैठकर उसका पिछला काम देखातो, पता चला कि बच्चा कक्षा 4 की पढ़ाई के लिए असमर्थ था।
उसकी इस कमजोरी को ध्यान में रखते हुए, हमने कक्षा एक से शुरू किया सबसे पहलेउसको अक्षर ज्ञान दिया फिर, मात्राएं और शब्दका ज्ञान दिया। इस काम से बच्चे को बहुत हिम्मत मिली और पढ़ाई के प्रति उसका रुझान बड़ा और धीरे धीरे वह वाक्य बनाने लगा।अब वह बच्चा सभी बच्चों से दोस्ती करने लगा, और बच्चे भी उसकी पढ़ाई में मदद करने लगे। उसकी इस सफलता कोदेखकर बच्चे के माता पिता बहुत खुश हुए उन्होंने बच्चे पर घर पर भी ध्यान देना शुरू किया। बच्चे में यह बदलता बर्ताव देखकर सभी शिक्षकों और बच्चेके मित्रों को बहुत खुशी हुई। उस बच्चे की सफलता को देखकर शिक्षकों को इतनी खुशी मिली जिसका शब्दों में वर्णन करना मुश्किल है। इसे केवलशिक्षक ही महसूस कर सकते थे। शिक्षक की खुशी का अनुभव जिसका शब्दों में वर्णन करना मुश्किल है। इसे केवल शिक्षक ही महसूस कर सकते थे।शिक्षक की खुशी का अनुभव कोई दूसरा नहीं कर सकता था।
Photos from Madhuban हिन्दी व्याकरण संबोध and use of Google Search. Our story of a child with special needs is original. We built-up our understanding by reading some articles on the net.
- Aspiration JMMS @ John Martyn Memorial School, Salan Gaon, Dehradun - Renu Raturi, Sandhya Thadani, Sonali Sharma and Asha Bhandari
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