Tuesday, December 29, 2009

A special need for special education

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

A special need for special education
Kareem Shaheen
SHARJAH // Poor integration of children with special needs into mainstream schools is hampering their education and could have “dire consequences” for their personal and professional futures, according to an expert who works with visually impaired youngsters.
Adel al Zamar, the manager of the Emirates Association of the Blind (EAB) in Sharjah, said inadequate provision for the education of children with disabilities, and a lack of policy guidelines, was limiting their ability to assimilate into society.There was a tendency among mainstream schools towards over-reliance on charitable organisations like the EAB, which is run by volunteers, regarding the education of special needs children, he said.
“They refer the students to the association, but we’re not an educational institution, we don’t issue certificates.” The lack of such certificates makes entering further education or embarking on a professional career extremely difficult. The issue of special needs education had not been properly addressed, he said, because many people regarded it as a benefit provided by society, as opposed to a right.
“In the end, we’re volunteers. We volunteer in our spare time. But why is special needs education seen as a benefit rather than a right? A benefit can some day disappear.”Mr al Zamar said efforts to integrate special needs children into mainstream schools had been haphazard and poorly researched, and many visually impaired pupils were denied places because they had inadequate Braille skills.As a result, parents turned to organisations such as the EAB, most of which do not have the resources to cater for large numbers.
“The education of people with disabilities needs a special environment,” Mr al Zamar said, and warned poor integration could have “dire consequences” for the prospects of special needs children.To avoid this, he said, schools should employ Braille specialists and technologies such as screen readers for school computers. A screen reader is a device or piece of software that connects to a computer and literally “reads” aloud everything the tutor writes on a digital blackboard.
He added that more specialist teachers and counsellors needed to be brought in and that special needs children should be taught in smaller groups.“Does it make sense that a blind student joins a class with 25 or 30 students? And does it make sense to ignore the other 29 students?”Mr al Zamar also recommended that schools adopt a smoother integration approach, such as introducing special needs students into mainstream education later in their school life, rather than early on.
In October, the Ministry of Education announced that over the next three years it would set up 60 schools across the country with facilities for the inclusion of children with special needs. Twenty-eight of these would be ready to accept pupils next year, it said, although it was unable to say exactly when.In addition, the ministry said Dh2 million (US$545,000) would be allocated for training teachers, technology and other provisions. According to ministry figures, more than 220 visually impaired students attended public schools last year.
Mr Ahmed Mukhtar, a blind volunteer at the EAB who has been teaching Braille for 26 years, said special needs education in mainstream schools required experienced instructors who could provide one-to-one tuition when needed.“Integration is done without being studied,” he said. In the classroom, “the numbers are huge, and there’s no specialisation. Sometimes a blind person needs individual teaching.
“Teaching children is not easy and there are no rules. Their capabilities differ, their environment, their family,” Mr Mukhtar said.“The teacher’s job does not end when he gets off work. The teacher has to make the [child’s] family feel like he’s a member of the family.”The lack of resources earmarked for special needs education was highlighted by a recent announcement by the Zayed Higher Organisation for Humanitarian Care, Special Needs and Minors Affairs (ZHO), which said it was printing 800 Braille school textbooks for blind children. While the project was seen as a positive development, it served to underline the general lack of reading material for the UAE’s blind community.
The ZHO’s printing press, which was installed in August, is believed to be the only one that produces Braille books in the country. Mr al Zamar said the number of Braille books printed in the Arab world was woefully inadequate, with fewer than 2,000 titles published since Egypt started printing in Braille in the 1950s. Moreover, the production of school textbooks in Braille was often held up by frequent changes to school curricula, or publishers not providing books on computer discs that could be easily converted to Braille for printing.
“This upsets the students. They ask, ‘Why don’t we receive our books with the normal kids?’” said Ms al Swaidi.Printing such textbooks should not be seen as an accomplishment or milestone, said Mr al Zamar, because education was a right. He called for funding to build another Braille printing press and to hire more professionals to cater to the special needs community.He also said a federal law passed in 2007 and designed to better facilitate special needs education, called the UAE Disability Act, was not being enforced.

Bosing Day Camel ride



Anyone got a good caption??






What did the camel say to the good lookin' fellow??





At the end of the camel ride.





We made it in one piece. As a tip we gave 10dhs whcih is only $3. It really doesn't seem like much but he was happy with that. We checked on the amount with our driver.




One wise mummy (ME) and one wise daddy (MATTHEW) shadow.




Oh what a view.





Sheep and goats wander together.






We saw some that had long nails on their feet. Nothing to wear them down in the desert. I couldn't help but think of some very special goats in Brisbane and their living conditions.



A beautiful clear day, early on the winters morning of Boxing Day 2009. Sheep, goats and camels live with there herdsmen.




A desert bush.






A camp fire dies out from the night before. Click to enlarge to see the living conditions of these men.







Camel workers and living accomdation.




Camp, where is the fresh running water?? Where is the ac??







I never tire of the rolling sand dunes. It's a good view from where I am.






My shadow is at the back and Matthew in front of me.





A desert plant.




Oh the view and quiet, except for the camel breathing heavy near Timothy.







Timothy talking to the other camel, it seemed he has asthma. It kept coming up along side of Tim.





A big concrete wall in the desert protecting someone's oasis and Date palms.





Poor Matthew had a metal bar at the back where his left hand is and it kept rubbing on his tail bone.





Looks good in the saddle.






A scarecrow in the desert that has a lampshade for a head. The orange tarp is covering the feed for the animals.



What a beautiful clear sky.








Almost there.




Phew! It is trickier than you think. How did they travel for hours and days.





Ready, My camel seemed a bit cranky, I think it was saying, "How come I get the chubby sister?? I always get the chubby sister!!!"
I was worried before the thing even stood up.



Matthew was first. We arrived at the camp in the 4x4 in the background. The driver was a lovely Indian man. He taught us a new phrase "Lazy Crazy".




Camel feed being laid out. Really only palm fronds.





Camel hospital.




Christmas - gift sharing


Ooops, how did that get in there.









This year Matthew gave me money to buy myself a gift as he hadn't done any shopping. So I bought a digital photo frame. Matthew and Tim will be moving to a Villa while I am home so we haven't even set it up. To be fair, I did get some silver jewlery he bought from the Monastry at the top of old Petra.


This Indian family, came visiting after 11pm on Christmas Day. Matthew & I were dead upstairs and luckily Timothy and Emily were still awake. They brought in 2 big cakes, they had come form mass. They just live down the road and Emily & I were invited into their humble home. I will take a photo of the work they are doing in their front garden. Anyway they asked Emily where her chubby sister (ME) was. I was already fast asleep. The chubby sister thing stuck and will be refered to in the photos of our camel ride.


There are a few things in life that are precious.









Timothy's friend gave us a lovely calendar for 2010.





ThankS Buddy.






A Chess board. The challenge is one, from Timothy.







Also from Timothy, the most delicious nuts in the world. Boy are they good - so morish. Timothy even added more to the pack. Wow! what a gift. Matthew has always loved getting nuts at Christmas.






Timothy also received gifts. Camel rides in the desert. Photos up soon.








A DVD from his sweetheart. Notice the time and the art work on the wall.










Hey, Timothy gave great gifts, The box is a blender. Tarsina made me such wonderful fresh juices everyday when I was in Qatar. I also wanted to try and make Mohd's famous BBQ with Black Lemon.





Our 10' Christmas tree - well actually it is a close up of an 18" tree and we had to put it on a chair to put gifts under it. :) I delegated the shopping for a Christmas tree to Matthew. This is what we got. ;)


Dubai Rugby 7s



Run boys.






Get off him, let him up!!





This is what we have to do....







I was standing right behind the Aussie bench.



I had a wonderful day with the boys. Timothy is so much fun to be with. Matthew & I had just been to Jordan that week. Try having a royal flush in the sun. Phew!! Glad Matthew found some shade.







2009








1 Aussie down.






The blonde with the yellow vest is the dr.




Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.





Good game.