INCLUSIVE EDUCATION - TEACHING WITH THE HEART
Inclusive education is no longer a new part of the education sector's mission around the world, but perhaps in Vietnam, many teachers are still confused and unfamiliar with inclusive education. Many students with disabilities have difficulty accessing knowledge, integrating with peers and being equal in society.
Where and how to start?
In the small room used by the school to combine the library and the "Inclusion" room - is where Ms. Thuy, a vocal music teacher at Tran Phu Secondary School, will meet students with disabilities in the school twice a month. To teach children more about life skills, they are learning together how to make refreshing lemonade for the summer. The teachers thoughtfully guided the 10 students step by step, not forgetting to tell them to go home and practice making it for their parents.
“Each student with disabilities has a unique world, personality and strengths. I choose to accompany and help them better understand their own value through their personal emotions and actions, from which they learn to be more open with those around them. At first, myself and my colleagues also encountered many difficulties when approaching the students. Some students ran around during class, or did not pay attention in class, affecting other students, but gradually, When you learn to be more patient with children and understand them better, everything becomes easier.”
In the Inclusion room at Nguyen Ba Ngoc primary school, each special lesson will only have 1-2 children but the lessons are carefully and interestingly prepared by Ms. Hieu. Because the children's attention span will be shorter than that of other students, the teacher has divided the activities into appropriate time periods, combined with illustrative and colorful lectures for the children to fully enjoy and participate.
As a Gen Z teacher, Ms. Hieu was assigned to teach the Inclusion class right from the first days of working at school. Until now, nearly 5 years into her career, she has never once felt like giving up or feeling disadvantaged than other teachers when taking on classes with students with disabilities. Her dedication is rewarded with the students' progress. When they memorize all the letters and read each number, she has more motivation to stick with them. "When I'm devoted to the children, they also love me back" - Ms. Hieu shared.
In the Vietnamese class of an inclusive class (a public school class with students with disabilities participating in the same curriculum) led by Ms. Linh at Phan Boi primary school, she always takes advantage of the free time like when the whole class is doing homework to provide additional guidance to students with disabilities in the class.
She also assigns students in that child's group to tutor those students, so they can keep up with the whole class, and not feel lost. When she first accepted students with disabilities, many times she felt very sad because she did not know how to help them write beautifully, read quickly, and calculate accurately like other students despite spending a lot of time to guide them. But after having access to many training courses on skills and knowledge about Teaching students with disabilities, she realized that she should let them develop their strengths and not force them to follow the schedule as she had hoped. Some of her students won prizes in drawing competitions thanks to her changes in teaching methods.
To bond with students with disabilities, professional knowledge alone is not enough. The bond between teacher and student is not only knowledge, but also understanding and love, helping students eliminate timidity and proving that they are still useful people. Understanding the disadvantages of children with disabilities, teachers have become second fathers and mothers who always accompany and open a new world with less fortunate students with love and tolerance.
In addition, teachers also need to update and practice new and appropriate teaching methods for students with disabilities. Teachers also accompany parents on this arduous journey, so that no one is left behind and open the doors to the future for children with disabilities and improve equality in social integration for them.
The above schools are schools receiving support from the Inclusive Education Project jointly implemented by VNHIP and the Research Center for Inclusive Development (RCI). The project has supported facilities for Inclusion rooms at schools, and organized capacity building training for primary and secondary school teachers in teaching students with disabilities.
Inclusive education is no longer a new part of the education sector's mission around the world, but perhaps in Vietnam, many teachers are still confused and unfamiliar with inclusive education. Many students with disabilities have difficulty accessing knowledge, integrating with peers and being equal in society.
Where and how to start?
In the small room used by the school to combine the library and the "Inclusion" room - is where Ms. Thuy, a vocal music teacher at Tran Phu Secondary School, will meet students with disabilities in the school twice a month. To teach children more about life skills, they are learning together how to make refreshing lemonade for the summer. The teachers thoughtfully guided the 10 students step by step, not forgetting to tell them to go home and practice making it for their parents.
“Each student with disabilities has a unique world, personality and strengths. I choose to accompany and help them better understand their own value through their personal emotions and actions, from which they learn to be more open with those around them. At first, myself and my colleagues also encountered many difficulties when approaching the students. Some students ran around during class, or did not pay attention in class, affecting other students, but gradually, When you learn to be more patient with children and understand them better, everything becomes easier.”
In the Inclusion room at Nguyen Ba Ngoc primary school, each special lesson will only have 1-2 children but the lessons are carefully and interestingly prepared by Ms. Hieu. Because the children's attention span will be shorter than that of other students, the teacher has divided the activities into appropriate time periods, combined with illustrative and colorful lectures for the children to fully enjoy and participate.
As a Gen Z teacher, Ms. Hieu was assigned to teach the Inclusion class right from the first days of working at school. Until now, nearly 5 years into her career, she has never once felt like giving up or feeling disadvantaged than other teachers when taking on classes with students with disabilities. Her dedication is rewarded with the students' progress. When they memorize all the letters and read each number, she has more motivation to stick with them. "When I'm devoted to the children, they also love me back" - Ms. Hieu shared.
In the Vietnamese class of an inclusive class (a public school class with students with disabilities participating in the same curriculum) led by Ms. Linh at Phan Boi primary school, she always takes advantage of the free time like when the whole class is doing homework to provide additional guidance to students with disabilities in the class.
She also assigns students in that child's group to tutor those students, so they can keep up with the whole class, and not feel lost. When she first accepted students with disabilities, many times she felt very sad because she did not know how to help them write beautifully, read quickly, and calculate accurately like other students despite spending a lot of time to guide them. But after having access to many training courses on skills and knowledge about Teaching students with disabilities, she realized that she should let them develop their strengths and not force them to follow the schedule as she had hoped. Some of her students won prizes in drawing competitions thanks to her changes in teaching methods.
To bond with students with disabilities, professional knowledge alone is not enough. The bond between teacher and student is not only knowledge, but also understanding and love, helping students eliminate timidity and proving that they are still useful people. Understanding the disadvantages of children with disabilities, teachers have become second fathers and mothers who always accompany and open a new world with less fortunate students with love and tolerance.
In addition, teachers also need to update and practice new and appropriate teaching methods for students with disabilities. Teachers also accompany parents on this arduous journey, so that no one is left behind and open the doors to the future for children with disabilities and improve equality in social integration for them.
The above schools are schools receiving support from the Inclusive Education Project jointly implemented by VNHIP and the Research Center for Inclusive Development (RCI). The project has supported facilities for Inclusion rooms at schools, and organized capacity building training for primary and secondary school teachers in teaching students with disabilities.
