Roma LITVINAITĖ, who has been working for the fifth year as a primary school teacher at Gargždės “Minijos” pro-gymnasium, notices that, despite the loud talk about inclusive education, the following pattern of behavior still prevails in Lithuanian society: if you don’t like something, it causes problems, instead of solving it, looking for suitable ways or methods, you want to stay away Roma is convinced that it is very important for a teacher to be able to work with different students, to adapt learning models suitable for them, to personalize tasks according to each person’s characteristics – this is the school of our future.
Experience – also in the private sector
– Roma, tell us what motivated you to choose the path of a teacher?
– I am most fascinated by the mission of the teacher’s work – to raise the younger generation, to inculcate in them values such as tolerance, empathy, respect and citizenship. After graduating in pedagogy, I had a vision of how education can change, how to include more innovations.
– What is your work experience?
– I remember I went to inquire about a job with the then director of the Gargždų “Minijos” pro-gymnasium, Antanas Jacik – there were no places. For ten years, I worked at the Gargžda Region Museum, where, in addition to my main duties, I led excursions and education for students. I created an education about the coat of arms of the city of Gargžda, which is still alive today. Later, there was an opportunity to work in the department of Queen Martha’s School in Klaipėda. I came to work after a break, but during those years, as I joke, I may have graduated from two universities. In this school, there was a lot of professional development, innovations, and the manager Austėja Landsbergienė passed on a lot of knowledge. However, when I went on childcare leave for my son, the department in Klaipėda was closed. I had to look for a job, and “Minija” was missing two primary school teachers at that time, I took part in the competition and was accepted.
It is important to find a balance
– Gargžda “Minijos” pro-gymnasium is the largest in the district. There are 23 students in your class. What is the most difficult?
– The path of a teacher in today’s context of educational changes is complicated. One of the main difficulties is that the abilities, personality and learning characteristics of the students in the classes are very diverse. All their needs must be met. There is also a generation that actively uses information technology, it is part of their life. Students acquire a lot of knowledge and ideas about the world in the digital world. We need to accept them with their peculiarities and interests. Present tasks in a way that is as close as possible to the context of students’ lives, related to their areas of interest, such as computer games. Of course, and find a balance in the use of digital technologies. Teach responsible digital and media literacy.
– It has been loudly announced that from 2024 all schools in the country must open for children with special needs, so that inclusive education will be real. Do you think this ambition has been achieved?
– I myself am currently studying a master’s degree in inclusive education and socio-educational industries at Vytautas the Great University. As far as I know from the professors and teachers who teach me, the Seimas groups are still debating whether the school can offer the family another supposedly better prepared school, that is, choose not to accept students with special educational needs. If we talk about inclusive education, it is almost impossible to prepare for it, because you never know what kind of student will come, with what difficulties or diagnoses. Every child on the autism spectrum alone is different. Inclusive education is a continuous process. It is important to consistently raise the qualifications of teachers and support specialists, to strengthen the competencies and values important for inclusive education. Schools should aim to develop a set of special support tools. It is also important that the focus is not only on students with special educational needs, but also on everyone else. Try to understand the neurological characteristics of each of them: it is easier for one student to remember written information, for another – photographed, etc. In the past, it was as if an effort was made to make all students the same, to educate them all according to the same methodologies, but now we should follow the path of personalization, getting to know the student.
A value transformation is needed
– Have Lithuanians already learned to accept differences, instead of running away, fighting against them?
– When I started working at Queen Martha’s School, my job was specifically in an inclusive class, with a student with multiple developmental disabilities. Through this student, I got to know Jura Tender from Australia, the founder of VšĮ ISAD Lietuva, a Lithuanian expatriate, who came to the school, observed my lessons and gave me advice, and shared her foreign experience in this field. When I started working at Minija, there were also children with special educational needs in my class, and not alone. I can truly say that it was quite a challenge. Today I am happy that all the students stayed in the team and successfully moved to the fifth grade.
Of course, if there is still such an attitude among parents, if someone misbehaves, the student is different, some parents would like to initiate the collection of signatures, invite the Child Welfare Commission and do everything to keep that child out of the classroom. If we compare with Scandinavia, there is a completely different perception. If there are problems with a student, the school and the parent community unite and do everything to make the inclusion of that child successful. He tries to make that student a successful part of the class and school community. We still need a lot of growth and change. By the way, parents of children experiencing difficulties or with special needs, who are a crucial link in inclusive education, are also still very scared and feel rejected – help is very much needed here. It is important that support groups for parents of children with developmental disabilities are created so that they can communicate and collaborate with each other. It is still a painful and acute problem. A value transformation must take place.
Learn from professionals
– You are very actively interested in working with children with special educational needs. Studies in Kaunas are not random?
– Really so. Before that, I completed many individual seminars, trainings on this topic. One day I decided that a systematic deepening of knowledge was needed. I also needed the community I met here. I am happy to learn from professionals in my fields. Studies broaden your perspective a lot. In some cases, working with children with special educational needs requires very little adjustment to engage the student in the learning process. Perhaps it would be enough to offer headphones that protect against noise, reading aids, to let them choose how to report on the learned topic (oral or written), to use information technology, digital tools, etc. While studying neuropsychology at the university, I gained knowledge on how to teach taking into account the peculiarities of children’s brain activity. I delve deeply into the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDM) access and try to implement them in my classroom.
Agne ADOMAITĖ
Author’s photo.
#era #uniform #students #time #embrace #diversity
– 2024-03-30 08:36:13
