"I was impressed by how Amy customizes learning. She told me
about one of her students, who is completely non-verbal, visually impaired, and
can’t move his arms or legs. Rather than focus on what this student couldn’t
do, Amy instead identified something he could do: nod and shake his head. She
came up with a writing system based on yes-or-no questions, so that he could
journal about what he did over the weekend with family just like all of his
classmates.
Amy’s goal is to create an inclusive environment where her
kids learn alongside their peers. Instead of the traditional model where
special needs students are siloed into their own program, her students are
integrated into the broader school. Each one learns and socializes in homeroom,
eats in the cafeteria, and participates in recess and gym class.
The result is a school where students with special needs are
treated as valuable and important members of the community. In addition to
making sure her kids are integrated into the broader student body, Amy also
works with the general population students to help them understand their
differently-abled peers. They start learning and talking about disabilities in
the classroom as early as kindergarten- Gates Notes, Bill Gates”
Amy Campbell is ‘Teacher of the Year’ in the state of
Washington (Gate’s home state), US.
Malcolm X once told, “Education is the passport to the
future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” If one is
denied of this passport, then it will be difficult – if not impossible – to
open so many doors.
In a philosophical sense, education is not limited to formal
education. Being said that, formal education is essential for livelihood and upward
mobility. One can always see a lot of people, who are phenomenally successful
in life, without any formal education. However, we should always remember, people
who dropped out of schools /universities and attained great things in real life
are exceptions, not the rule. There are millions on the other side, who,
because of the lack of formal education are struggling in life. You may ask
this question, what about those millions who completed higher education and
still struggling in life. Well, that is a different question – the one we are
going to discuss in great length in this series.
As a matter of fact, we did not inherit a deeply flawed
system. We cannot always blame history for everything. We had something, which was created by the British
and we had an opportunity to fix/modify it over a period. That educational
system failed to enroll the masses. Before blaming this one also on Nehru, let
me remind you that all governments got fair chance to fix it. Education is a
state subject; hence even the regional leaders also cannot wash their hands out
of that. Our refusal to accept the changes happening around the world only made
the matters worse. Currently, we have an educational system that is partly flawed,
corrupt, unfair, and out of date (especially the one run by state boards).
Let us discuss the problems first.
Sajeev
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