Special educator Margaret Azavedo painstakingly selects the plastic beads and gives them to a special child in one of the vocational training classes of the Gujarati Samaj Educational Trust’s school for special children in Aquem, Margao.
Margaret is guiding a group of six special children in the art of making imitation jewellery. It is by no means an easy task, but Margaret is smiling and the children are smiling. According to the affable teacher, teaching special children requires you to befriend them and build a rapport with them.
“Ideally, we must make the children feel very comfortable about themselves and hence we usually ask them questions about their home, their family, their siblings etc. This helps them open up and they consider you to be their friend rather than a teacher,” says Margaret.
Valentino is one such student who seems very comfortable in class. He says, “I love this class and like to make paper flowers,” and proceeds to show me some of his work. According to Margaret, it is very important to give regular positive feedback to special children. “The children need a constant pat on their backs. Hence, whenever they do a good job, we often take them out for a pizza. These acts motivate them to perform better,” Margaret says.
The scenario is no different in special educator, Sandra Fernandes’ class. Sandra is teaching the children multiple skills ranging from paper quilling, making purses from nylon thread to paper bags from old newspapers. According to Sandra, special educators need to have loads of patience, love and caring while handling special children. “Often times, we need to keep repeating the instructions, because after we have moved to the second step, some children have forgotten the first step,” says Sandra.
Making bags out of old newspapers is a key activity. Valencia, a student looks up at me and says in Konkani, “I enjoy making paper bags. I like to punch the holes for the eyelets.” It is heartening to note that a few luxury hotels in South Goa have placed orders for multiple paper bags from the school. “We distribute the money we earn as stipend to the students,” informs Sandra.
Rupal Tanna, another special educator at the school introduces the children to the world of art. A group of children were dipping their thumbs into paint and making creative impressions on plain paper. “By participating in this simple activity, these children understand the concept of colour and the use of their fingers and hands. It is a good way to learn painting,” says Rupal. Rupal is of the opinion that teachers must love their jobs to do justice to it.
Luckily for the special children, the school management is focussing hard on honing their employability skills. The special vocation cell which has 20 young adult students is geared to offer the services of semi-skilled students to shops, small businesses and workshops. According to the two-man instructor team of Sudeep Shirodkar and Prashant Tari, the school has been instilling a work culture in the special young adults through a three-year course. The school has also been approaching commercial establishments in Margao and Mapusa convincing them to employ the young men. Fortunately, a few super stores in both towns have actually hired the services of young men from the special school.
This employability aspect is also close to Chairman Mukesh Saglani’s heart. According to Saglani, the new school building which is under construction on an adjacent plot will have a special production centre which will generate employment for their special children. “In this new building, we are hoping to offer multiple work opportunities for our children to produce a variety of goods to earn revenue,” Saglani said.
