Until recently, children with disabilities were "invisible", hidden from the gaze of others and unfairly marginalized by the "visible". of our environment. I want to put them in the place where they belong and to help them, through my activities, go through life with their heads held high, giving us all examples of how to deal with ourselves and those who see us, teachers and students in special schools, as different.
Educating children with disabilities, on the one hand, prepares them for the many challenges in life, both professional and personal, and on the other, enriches the teacher and the environment by encouraging them to see the world around them in a different, often simpler way. I often wonder how I would understand myself and all my simplicity without working at this school with these children.
After studying natural sciences, I began to study again. It was extra work, which filled me. In those days, I was the only physics and chemistry teacher to teach students with disabilities. For the first time, I saw live behavior problems, right there in front of me, ones that can only be seen in a movie. I was terrified of some of the auto-aggressive activities that the students did in the classroom.
However, working with students with disabilities does not allow for a standard teaching methodology. On the contrary, the search for new techniques and approaches in the work encourages me to constantly expand my views and to seek a creative approach in all activities. As a mentor to young teachers, I usually start by teaching: “Teaching students with disabilities is a constant way of looking for a corridor in life, with the laws of physics not universally applicable! "
Osnovno pravilo, koje poštujem od trenutka kada prvi put upoznam svoje učenike, je da počnemo lekciju tek kada se svi učenici nasmeju i imaju pozitivan predznak u ponašanju. Samo u takvoj sredini su spremni da prihvate nova znanja i steknu lično iskustvo. Drugo pravilo, ne manje važno od prethodnog, jeste to da su učenici uvereni da su na pravom mestu u pravo vreme i da rade odličan posao! Mislim da sam nadogradio metodologiju nastave i tako proizveo način na koji učenici vole da uče.
Moje proučavanje nastave zahteva mnogo napornog rada, odricanja i prilagođavanja, koja se ne mogu naučiti iz knjiga tokom studija, već interaktivno dok se radi sa decom, posebno u novim okolnostima u kojima sam se nedavno našao. Model inkluzivnog obrazovanja podrazumeva uključivanje svakog deteta u obrazovni sistem i često vrlo često kruto se primenjuje prema deci. Moje obrazovanje za nastavnika nije ni spomenulo pripremu za rad sa decom sa smetnjama u razvoju. Često sam se u nekim situacijama, naizgled jednostavnim, osećao bespomoćnim, ali sam se poukom od mojih učenika suočio sa ovim „teškim“ pitanjima.
Morao sam da rešim misteriju obrazovanja za deteta sa Turetovim sindromom i da pronađem odgovarajuće aktivnosti koje ne bi pogoršale stvari, a doprinele kvalitetnom obrazovanju. Svakako, iskusio sam rad sa učenicima koji ne govore, a posedovali su izvanredno pamćenje i sposobnosti za učenje prirodnih nauka.
That's how my student Laza SuperHeroj got into my teaching career. No school allowed him to enroll, for fear that he might get hurt, and rather I would say out of their ignorance and lack of courage for something new. I took the risk and started. Laza SuperHeroy did amazing things while performing experiments and applying knowledge, which he collected. His desire to work made me change all techniques and approaches to my teaching. Laza SuperHeroj was the first student to have a personal communicator. He used a cellphone to answer and ask questions. Laza SuperHeroj was a student who didn't say a word, and he knew and understood a lot. My teaching career has turned into an irreversible one and will never again be standard and molded. He asked questions even when he had free time, holidays, breaks from difficult and painful rehab exercises, mediated by his mother and father, who were his guardian angels and role models.
I was completely devastated when I heard he died last year. It was the worst New Year I have ever had. I did the last lecture at the cemetery in front of his monument with his face and eyes, which were so shining and eager to know. In his honor, I put Laza's photo on the wall next to a great physicist, like Steven Hawking, because if we were different, everything would be different. I will never forget his passion for learning and working. There is only one unfulfilled desire, to argue out loud and laugh at the wonders of life.