论文部分内容阅读
SPECIAL education gives meaning to the lives of children with disabilities whose conditions are beyond help from medical science.
Physically or mentally deprived as they are， children with special needs， unlike their able-bodied peers who can study and progress unaided， depend on special education to survive and make the most of their faculties.
Of the conditions that render a person disabled， even that of profound hearing impairment is less detrimental to their quality of life than mental disorders. Children thus afflicted need even greater educational input. Growing social awareness of the need for special education has brought about rapid development in this field.
Life Skills
A courteous 15-year-old boy of a tall and straight stature helps his teachers at the gate of Beijing Haidian Special Education School， south of Renmin University of China， usher in his younger schoolmates. It is hard to believe that not long ago this smart-looking boy suffered from severe mental disorders. Ming Ming （pseudonym） attended regular primary school until the fourth grade， when he started suffering seizures that made concentration and coping with the required study tasks impossible. His parents transferred him to this special education school， which takes students with mental disorders and impairments， including autism， psychosis and cerebral palsy.
The special education school taught Ming Ming how to cope with daily life. His mathematics teacher not only taught him simple addition and subtraction， but also showed him how money works. His Chinese teacher taught him everyday vocabulary in a real life setting. For example， to make students understand the word “supermarket” the teacher took them to an actual supermarket and explained how to shop. To understand the concept of eating breakfast outside the home， a teacher took students to the Heguyuan Restaurant to explain how to use a menu and order breakfast.
As the Haidian Special Education School headmistress Yu Wen remarked，“Although they have learning difficulties， they can still be taught what they need to know in daily life.”
Everyday scenarios， such as a traffic lights and pedestrian crossings， have been set up on campus， one of them between the teaching building and the playground. Whenever leading students pass these sections， teachers explain the traffic rules.
The water dispenser is amid a tearoom like recreational setting of book shelves and chess boards. One of the teachers explained that the school works on the principle of environmental educa- tion. Students who find it difficult to hold a cup steady are encouraged to sit comfortably and slowly take a drink of water. For such children， learning to drink water is a vital living skill. The student/teacher ratio at the Haidian Special Education School is 2.5 to one， five times that of a regular school.
China’s special education started in the late 1980s. There are now 1，853 schools in cities and counties with a population of over 300，000 that offer children with disabilities a nine-year compulsory education. Enrollment rate in these regions is nearly 90 percent， and those in big cities like Beijing， Shanghai， and Tianjin 100 percent. Children with minor disabilities – more than half of the total – attend regular schools.
Beijing Haidian Special Education School was established in 1987. There are more than 300 students on its campus. The school is also in charge of 700 or more children with minor disabilities attending regular schools. Teachers from the latter come to the Haidian Special Education School every two weeks for training and consultations with its specialized teachers. Each student has their own file at the special education school that records details of their education， growth and progress.
Healthcare and Teaching
Medical rehabilitation as well as daily class is part and parcel of campus life. One tenth of students at the Haidian Special Education School suffer from cerebral palsy. Xiao Jun （pseudonym） is one. When he first came to the school he was unable to talk， or to walk without help. After attending the school， he began to take two motor skills classes and two specially designed language skills classes every day， as well as an array of class activities. Now 12 years old， other than his academic level， which is influenced by the sensory impairment aspect of his condition， Xiao Jun is not obviously different from any other boy his age.
“There is a high demand for rehabilitation teachers – a job that constitutes a vocation. For children with speech impairments， it entails teaching Chinese pronunciation as well as characters， the former of which means training tongue and mouth movements. For children with impaired motor skills， it means training and strengthening their muscles. And for children with emotional and behavioral problems， teachers must be adept at art-related therapies such as calligraphy， music， and dance， which have a calming effect，” headmistress Yu told us.
Ming Ming’s seizures originate in his inability to control his emotions. The ability he showed in understanding and appreciating art， however， led to his attendance of dance classes that promote his physical and emotional self-control. Dancing is in this way both a remedy and his specialty. After four years’ training， Ming Ming is now a leading performer of the school dance troupe， and has won awards considered an achievement for able-bodied students. Now a well-adjusted young man， Ming Ming also acts as a teaching assistant.
Physically or mentally deprived as they are， children with special needs， unlike their able-bodied peers who can study and progress unaided， depend on special education to survive and make the most of their faculties.
Of the conditions that render a person disabled， even that of profound hearing impairment is less detrimental to their quality of life than mental disorders. Children thus afflicted need even greater educational input. Growing social awareness of the need for special education has brought about rapid development in this field.
Life Skills
A courteous 15-year-old boy of a tall and straight stature helps his teachers at the gate of Beijing Haidian Special Education School， south of Renmin University of China， usher in his younger schoolmates. It is hard to believe that not long ago this smart-looking boy suffered from severe mental disorders. Ming Ming （pseudonym） attended regular primary school until the fourth grade， when he started suffering seizures that made concentration and coping with the required study tasks impossible. His parents transferred him to this special education school， which takes students with mental disorders and impairments， including autism， psychosis and cerebral palsy.
The special education school taught Ming Ming how to cope with daily life. His mathematics teacher not only taught him simple addition and subtraction， but also showed him how money works. His Chinese teacher taught him everyday vocabulary in a real life setting. For example， to make students understand the word “supermarket” the teacher took them to an actual supermarket and explained how to shop. To understand the concept of eating breakfast outside the home， a teacher took students to the Heguyuan Restaurant to explain how to use a menu and order breakfast.
As the Haidian Special Education School headmistress Yu Wen remarked，“Although they have learning difficulties， they can still be taught what they need to know in daily life.”
Everyday scenarios， such as a traffic lights and pedestrian crossings， have been set up on campus， one of them between the teaching building and the playground. Whenever leading students pass these sections， teachers explain the traffic rules.
The water dispenser is amid a tearoom like recreational setting of book shelves and chess boards. One of the teachers explained that the school works on the principle of environmental educa- tion. Students who find it difficult to hold a cup steady are encouraged to sit comfortably and slowly take a drink of water. For such children， learning to drink water is a vital living skill. The student/teacher ratio at the Haidian Special Education School is 2.5 to one， five times that of a regular school.
China’s special education started in the late 1980s. There are now 1，853 schools in cities and counties with a population of over 300，000 that offer children with disabilities a nine-year compulsory education. Enrollment rate in these regions is nearly 90 percent， and those in big cities like Beijing， Shanghai， and Tianjin 100 percent. Children with minor disabilities – more than half of the total – attend regular schools.
Beijing Haidian Special Education School was established in 1987. There are more than 300 students on its campus. The school is also in charge of 700 or more children with minor disabilities attending regular schools. Teachers from the latter come to the Haidian Special Education School every two weeks for training and consultations with its specialized teachers. Each student has their own file at the special education school that records details of their education， growth and progress.
Healthcare and Teaching
Medical rehabilitation as well as daily class is part and parcel of campus life. One tenth of students at the Haidian Special Education School suffer from cerebral palsy. Xiao Jun （pseudonym） is one. When he first came to the school he was unable to talk， or to walk without help. After attending the school， he began to take two motor skills classes and two specially designed language skills classes every day， as well as an array of class activities. Now 12 years old， other than his academic level， which is influenced by the sensory impairment aspect of his condition， Xiao Jun is not obviously different from any other boy his age.
“There is a high demand for rehabilitation teachers – a job that constitutes a vocation. For children with speech impairments， it entails teaching Chinese pronunciation as well as characters， the former of which means training tongue and mouth movements. For children with impaired motor skills， it means training and strengthening their muscles. And for children with emotional and behavioral problems， teachers must be adept at art-related therapies such as calligraphy， music， and dance， which have a calming effect，” headmistress Yu told us.
Ming Ming’s seizures originate in his inability to control his emotions. The ability he showed in understanding and appreciating art， however， led to his attendance of dance classes that promote his physical and emotional self-control. Dancing is in this way both a remedy and his specialty. After four years’ training， Ming Ming is now a leading performer of the school dance troupe， and has won awards considered an achievement for able-bodied students. Now a well-adjusted young man， Ming Ming also acts as a teaching assistant.