The title of this blog post refers to the training Moses and I are currently conducting with all the schools in our district. It is about recognising children who have impairments and identifying strategies to help them in the classroom. I think we have already made big progress with the participants. At the beginning of one session, a teacher suggested an action we could take was to 'advise the parents to send the child to a special centre' but by the end of the day, they were able to identify lots of strategies they could use to demonstrate inclusive education for all.
The heavy messages have been accompanied by participatory activities too, with us blindfolding teachers, tying their legs together and putting masking tape over their hands so they could attempt to get a sweet from a challenging environment and thus experience what it might be like to have a disability.
We also looked at how people with impairments are treated in society by creating a party environment where different coloured stickers determined whether you were ignored or greeted nicely. This followed with a conversation about how it feels to be left out by society and what we can do to change this. We looked at the use of the Kinyarwanda word 'ikimuga' which means 'broken pot', a word which is sometimes used to describe a person with a disability here. Lots of interesting discussions and plenty of food for thought:
I have also been doing training on Assessment and Differentiation, which follows the SEN training very nicely.
Here is a photo of the participants' ideas and my brilliant drawing of a chef and customer! :
Lots of thanks to the lovely Michelle, Bebhinn and Taravusa for joining us for some of the training. It was great to have some fresh perspective!
And I hope this proves to you all that I do work hard. Although I did manage to squeeze in a swim at the pool in Kigali on Sunday!
