This Exclusive interview given to Calibre Creators was published in the February 2015, Volume 3, Issue No.6 of Calibre Creators Learning Letter is reproduced here.
This month, Calibre Creators met
up with the wonderful team of Ms. Gulzar Bhimani (GB) and Ms. Kanchan
Vishwakarma (KV), both successfully running an Education Management
Company. The objective was to discuss
the delicate and very sensitive issues related to children and academics. The issue of Dyslexia was very beautifully
highlighted by the Indian Movie “Tare Zameen Par” released in 2007 which has
also helped raise awareness amongst parents on this issue.
CC - Q.1 : Tell us briefly
about the work carried out by your organisation.
WOLH – GB : Wise Owls Learning Hub assists the children with their
learning concerns to produce positive results maintaining their individuality
and distinctiveness of learning differently.
The learning is facilitated according to the individual learning style
of each child. Remedial and Behaviour Therapy are part of the facilitation
process. Parents are also counseled wherever and whenever required.
CC - Q.2 : Please explain to us
the broad category of students and their typical behaviours?
WOLH KV: Children with above condition are often misunderstood and
considered lazy, un-responsive or uninterested in studies. However, they function as good as their
peers, except in academics.
Learning Disabilities usually
falls under 4 broad categories:
· Spoken language-listening
and speaking;
· Written language-reading,
writing, and spelling;
· Arithmetic-calculating and
concepts;
· Reasoning-organizing and
integrating of ideas.
Specific learning disabilities
include:
· Dysgraphia:
Difficulty in forming
letters, words with pen and paper and writing legible handwriting.
· Dyscalculia:
Difficulty in understanding
and using math concepts and symbols.
· Dyspraxia:
Mixing up words and
sentences while talking.
· Dyslexia:
The 2007 Bollywood movie
“Tare Zameen Par” has made this a very Popular term: While reading, an
individual often mixes up letters within words and words within sentences.
Letter reversals are common. Some individuals may have difficulty in navigating
and finding routes using right/left and/or compass directions.
CC - Q.3 : Why are some
students attentive in class while others are not?
WOLH – KV : Children will be children and if they do not make mischief and be
naughty who will? Most of the time the student is seen as inattentive or
mischievous by the grades he/she scores and the discipline maintained. Level of
LD is not appropriately (the child may be facing Learning Differences or
Learning Difficulties rather than “Learning Disability”) defined. Various
factors can be citied for non-attentive behavior but important and fundamental
factor is to have ‘Understanding’.
· Pedagogy not in accordance
with child’s understanding/learning;
· Language barrier (“kala
akshar bhais bara bar”);
· Child’s learning style not
taken into consideration;
· Child’s capacity not
considered;
· Environment of the class is
distracting, not allowing the child to concentrate, etc.;
· Teachers not equipped and
adequately trained to handle such cases.
CC - Q.4 : How is the LD or
ADHD in children caused? Is it genetic, is it because of the socio-cultural or
socio-economic environment or because of any past incidents?
WOLH – GB : Researchers are studying the relation between functions of the
brain and areas of brain with regards to LD and ADD/ADHD. It is thought that learning disabilities may
be caused by:
· Hereditary, family history,
early developmental psychodynamic factors;
· Consumption of certain
drugs by the mother during pregnancy;
· Medical factors, Premature
birth, Malnutrition, Juvenile Diabetes (onset of Diabetes Mellitus at infancy
stage);
· Environment, malnourished
mother during pregnancy and poor pre-natal healthcare;
· Presence of toxins like
high “Lead” content in drinking water and wall paint, head injuries and so on.
Whatever the cause, having LD or
ADD/ADHD doesn’t mean one cannot do well in life. Many famous people with learning issues or
ADHD have carved a niche for themselves in life: For example, the most famous
cartoonist Walt Disney, Fashion Designer Tommy Hilfiger, Scientist Thomas
Edison, Scientist Albert Einstein, come to my mind immediately.
CC - Q.5 : What, in your
opinion, is the scale or magnanimity of the problem of LD in India?
WOLH – GB : In India, nearly 3% to 18% of all school children are affected by
it; the extent of this is largely seen in boys who are 6-8 times more often
affected. A large majority of children
start to exhibit symptoms by the fourth year and the gradual onset occurs
before the child has completed about 7 years.
The ratio of children impacted by
ADHD is nearly 10% to 20% of all psychiatric disorders diagnosed amongst
children in the age group of 0-10 years.
These are huge numbers and must be reduced substantially over the period
of years.
CC - Q.6 : How should a teacher
handle students who are inattentive in class?
WOLH – VK : The child needs to know that he is respected, loved and
appreciated even when the child is inattentive and the teacher must exhibit
this through actions, care and words. The child’s behavior should not be the
criteria to judge his intelligence. Not all inattentive and academically weak
students are Learning Disabled.
Few simple tricks can be used to
get positive results:
· Generate curiosity at the
start of the class for the child to be attentive, learn and enjoy the learning
process;
· Make learning visually
appealing;
· Usage of Colors can be
exciting;
· Extensive use story-telling as a teaching methodology
wherever appropriate.
CC - Q.7 : How should a parent
handle their children who are inattentive at home and have difficulty in
getting good grades, and are not interested in doing their home work?
WOLH – GB : The above strategies can be fruitfully employed by parents too.
Most of the time parents are aware of child’s aptitude towards sports and arts
but discourage the child to transform that aptitude into professional career
due to various, reasons mostly out of societal pressure and not necessarily due
to financial compulsions. Nonetheless, the pressure on the child to focus only
on academic performance is constant. Making the child understand the importance
of academics without constant nagging about his interest in sports,
recreational activities or enjoying art or other extra-curricular activities
can bring positive results.
Practicing consistency in
rewarding and punishment can also have great impact. A word of caution here:
Avoid inconsistency in the practice of reward/punishment.
CC - Q.8 : How should parents
handle two of their children, one of whom is very brilliant while the other has
difficult in academics?
WOLH – VK : Understand that every individual is unique and is born with a
package: personality, ability, capacity, intelligence and various other
parameters.
Stop!!! I say STOP comparing
children with their own siblings, friends, and cousins or with yourself when
you were young. Being academically brilliant does not prove the child to be
intelligent to adjust and adapt life fully.
Yes!!! A child must at least complete the graduation degree by using his
capacity and to fully explore life and develop holistically. Parents must
concentrate on the strengths of the child and explore possibilities of moulding the
child accordingly.
CC - Q.9 : Can
children/students with various type of Learning Disorders ever be like normal
children?
WOLH – GB : Learning Disorder is NOT an ailment but a condition. Children
with this condition are smart and intelligent in other spheres of life except
in academics, but not completely. Professional support of especially trained
experts can help enhance the latent skills and talents in them. Parental
acceptance, unfailing support, high level of patience and understanding as well
as care and compassion are crucial in bringing the required and positive
changes in the child over a period of time. Trained teachers and professionals
can contribute in developing a liking towards academics. Encouraging children
to freely socialise with other children without any fear of encountering any
biases from other children (like name calling, labeling, etc.) can also greatly
empower them to feel normal and will help boost their self esteem as well.
CC - Q.10 : Should children
with LDs be sent to special school or will regular schools accept them?
WOLH – VK : Isolating an individual for the reason that he/she has Learning
problem is not the solution. Sending an LD child to a special school is like
segregating for the reasons unknown to them. Peers and relatives and often
parents name call such individuals, obstructing their normal growth and free
socializing, putting their self worth in danger.
Many schools have opened their
doors for such individuals (they are called “inclusive schools”). The need of
time is to becoming “Inclusive” at all levels and not just stopping at caste,
creed, race, etc. More and more teachers need to be trained to identify,
assist, encourage and empower such children. Nationally and internationally,
some of the most successful and renowned people had this condition and they
overcame this disability and conquered the world.
CC - Q.11 : Is it important for
parents to train and counsel relatives as well friends of their own children
with LD and ADHD issues to be able to handle them and give them fair
treatment? At CC, we believe that this aspect is also important and has
been ignored.
WOLH - GB : Most definitely!
Most often parents themselves are
in denial mode. It’s difficult for ANYONE to accept these limitations in their
own child. The feeling is of shame and to some extent guilt too. That’s human
nature. They fear exposing the children
and feel extremely insecure about leaving them alone amongst the normal
children in the neighbourhood.
If parents invite the child’s
friends and make them aware about being sensitive towards his needs, the do’s
and don’ts, then the child’s life becomes easy.
Parents must ensure that the child does not get labeled or is not
disowned by his friends. The same
process must be followed, first with close family relatives, then with family
friends and neighbours. It is important
that parents must get trained from professionals on handling such issues which
will make life easier for the child as well as themselves.
Also, once parents accept their
child’s limitations, the progress to seek professional help becomes easier and
faster thus overcoming and developing positively. Parents of such children can
and must become volunteers in bringing about awareness within family friends
and society. It can have tremendous impact. Such parents are seen as role
models as they have gone through the same journey of heartburns.
CC - Q.12 : Are regular schools
equipped with Counsellors and are Teachers trained to handle students with LDs?
WOLH – VK : The awareness now is better than the last decade. Schools and
concerned leadership are moving towards bringing change but the process and
progress are slow. Approximately 16% of
school children have the above condition.
Teachers are not fully equipped to manage the children with LD and
ADD/ADHD condition. Schools are
struggling to run with core faculty. It
is an added burden on school to hire and retain counselor’s and special
educator’s with existing shoe-string budget. Having a Trained Counselor and
Special Educator in a school, requires allotting a separate room and investment
of resources which schools can ill afford. Lately, few schools are finally
taking the lead and contributing towards required change.
I will end this with a quote from
Peter Senge “Many children struggle in schools, because the way they are
being taught is incompatible with the way they learn” .
About : WISE OWLS LEARNING HUB was incorporated in the year 5th October, 2014 with the
objective of spreading awareness about Learning Disorders, helping parents and
the communities about the importance and handling them effectively to create an
inclusive society. We consider that all
children need to realize their talent and contribute to the society’s social and
economic development. We believe every individual has potential and if it is
tapped at the right time they all can contribute towards a happy society.
Currently, we are associated with
‘Infant Jesus High School’, one of the reputed school in Malad offering our
services to its students. It involves counseling of Parents as well. The new
academic year 2015-16 will see us conducting need based workshops for Teachers,
Parents and Students.
We have opened our doors for the
underprivileged children under our NGO ‘Pagdandi Education Foundation’ (PEF)
under which conduct Spoken English workshops.
Currently, we are catering to 60 children residing in the neighbourhood
slums.
Our Mission is “Making
positive difference in someone’s life by touching their heart and soul”.
Individual Profile:
· Ms. Gulzar H. Bhimani,
M.A, PG Diploma in Education Management, PG Diploma in School Counseling.
· Ms. Kanchan A.
Vishwakarma, B.A, B.Ed. Special Educator.
Calibre Creators wishes them
success in all their endeavours in this noble cause as well as their social
initiatives under the Pagdandi Education Foundation.
Wise
Owls Learning Hub can be contacted on:
Ms. Gulzar Bhimani : 9870185158
Ms. Kanchan Vishwakarma:
7506507511
Find them on : https://www.facebook.com/wiseowllearninghub
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