I am Xuan, teaching at a primary school in Nam Giang District, Quang Nam Province. Since 2020, our school has had children with disabilities. In my class, there is one child with disabilities named Tuy. I am a young teacher so I didn’t have any experience in teaching children with disabilities whose learning ability is slower than the other children. Fortunately, the quantity of children per class in the school is quite low so I could spend more time taking care of him. Moreover, he is very dutiful and friendly. His family is a poor household and his father passed away soon so his mother has faced many difficulties and worked hard to raise Tuy. Understanding that situation, I always encourage him to participate in all class activities and remind my pupils to support him.
I tried to integrate special lessons for children with disabilities while ensuring education plans for other pupils. Unexpectedly, this led to a pressure on teachers because we did not have clear and specific guidance to support children with disabilities in the right direction. When the Nam Giang Department of Education and Training suggested VNHIP to add teachers into training courses, I was very happy to have this chance. After attending training courses of VNHIP’s project, I had a specific method to examine children with disabilities’ capacity and develop an education plan for them easily and effectively. Moreover, I know how to propose specific objectives that are closest to their learning ability in each semester. Each objective also has clear indications and plans following every week and month. I have no more pressure because instead of trying to teach them as much as I can, I focus on strengthening their basic knowledge and developing gradually.
One more thing that encourages me is the increase of school and parent’s interest in supporting children with disabilities. Through social events such as We Ring The Bell and International Children Day, children with disabilities gain more attention from the community. From then, their parents do not feel complex about their children’s situation. They become more active to talk to teachers and ask for support.
For me, teaching children with disabilities is a chance to improve my teaching skills and partly help them with integration into society in the future. Thanks to VNHIP’s project, I realize not just Vietnam, all around the world is sharing the responsibility for letting children with disabilities go to school. I am motivated because I know I am not alone in this challenging journey.