We have been given the opportunity to attend study groups as a part of our professional development at RAKESS. I would have liked to attend the PYP workshops, being new to the program and all, but somehow I missed the directive to sign up for our workshops, and at the time I realized it, I had a limited choice. However, I figured special needs inclusion is something I could always stand to learn more about, so I went ahead and signed up for it.
Yesterday was our second session. One of my frustrations has been that I don't really know my kids well enough to know what the kids' needs are. There's only so much you can notice about each of them when you see them for 40 minutes (IF the teacher brings them on time), once a week, and there are 22 of them. In the first session one of my naive questions was whether or not we have a tracking system, or if there are IEPs for any of them, so that I can find out where the needs are in my class and find out about them proactively...well, this is the middle east and it's just not as progressive here. Leave it at that. However, one of the things that I've noticed about the way my own brain works is that if I'm "studying" something, I pick up on it more subconsciously, and over the last few weeks I have found myself noticing the differences in the kids - who seems to be depressed, who seems to have physical impairments, why some kids are behaving the way they are. So that's a good thing. Having noticed what the needs are, I now find myself, as I get ready for the class or see the kids on duty, thinking of how I could respond better to their needs to be a more effective teacher for them.
The end of the first unit poses the question, "What would help you as a teacher to respond better to the needs of all children?" and I thought I would leave this blog with a response to that. It seems like such a simple question - knowledge, that's what I need, knowledge of the resources available and the actions that are being put into effect for the students' needs, and knowledge, essentially of the children themselves. I need more workshops like this. Unfortunately most of my teaching experience has occurred in countries where the special needs of students - when they are considered "negative" - are by and large ignored, and there's only so much you can do against the entire system. But I have become more aware in the last three weeks, and I hope that as the sessions continue I will become even better at identifying and planning for the special needs of my students on the fly.
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