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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 January 2000 Issue No. 465 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 20 - 26 January 2000 Issue No. 465
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Bringing the back row forward
What happens to students who just don't fit the mold? Amira El-Noshokaty finds it all depends on the classroom
"They made me sit at the back of the class, and nobody would talk to me," remembers Ahmed, an eight-year-old student who was removed from school in second grade after teachers told his parents he was "lazy", and a "hopeless case". A year later, he repeated his school year and was top of his class. This year, he is going into third grade. So much for laziness.
"Slow learners" or "borderline children" are terms often used to refer to those children who cannot or will not cope with the mainstream educational system. Such children usually suffer from general difficulties in learning due to such problems as autism, Down's Syndrome and/or short-term memory. Does this mean they are incapable of assimilating information? Increasingly, experts are saying no: they just need a different system.
"According to the American Association for Mental Deficiency (AAMD), a mentally retarded person has an IQ [intelligence quotient] that is below normal level," explains Nawal Shehata, a psychology consultant. Normalcy is defined as ranging between 90 and 110; retardation is considered to be below 70, but many students with specific mental disabilities are borderline cases, with IQs of 70 to 90. These cases are often referred to as "slow learners".
For such students, special methods of teaching are necessary, according to paediatrician Dr Alaa Shukrallah. He deplores the fact that these "unfortunate students" are often ridiculed and labeled lazy. "They need education on a one to one level for they are usually very sensitive to external stimuli."
If "slow learners" are eventually diagnosed as having specific learning disabilities, they are often mistaken for children with special needs: in other words, they are condemned to mainstream schools where, due to overcrowding and insufficient resources, they will be shunted to the back of the class and branded as lazy. Otherwise, they will be placed in a vocational programme and forced to forego any kind of academic education.
That, at least, was the likely scenario until a few years ago. Since then, several NGOs and schools dedicated to special education for slow learners have sprung up, indicating a growing awareness that special needs and hopeless cases are not synonymous.
Step by Step is an NGO established two years ago for children with learning difficulties. Unlike other NGOs serving the same purpose, however, Step by Step offers education at mainstream levels. Students who are accepted are taught the national syllabus, but in a simplified and more stimulating manner. The students sit for their final exams at a government primary school that cooperates with Step By Step, and disregards their normal attendance requirements, so the students get both a special education and an ordinary place in a mainstream school -- thus avoiding the social stigma that could be attached to "special education".
Results have been encouraging. Like Ahmed, 12-year-old Amira, who entered the Step by Step school last year, was described as lazy at her old school. Furthermore, an official clerk was assigned to sit her exams for her -- a provision made originally for hearing- and sight-impaired or learning-disabled children. True, she made it to the fourth grade; but until last year, Amira could not read or write.
"It was hard for me to grasp the syllabus," explains Amira, who has passed fourth grade and will be sitting for the fifth-grade exam this term. Now, if Amira could cover the gap of several years of illiteracy in the course of one year, just how "slow" is she?
Soha is eight. She has Down's Syndrome. Her parents were advised to keep her at home until she reached "the right mental age". With a little luck, she might have found a place in a government school, during the morning shift. Soha has passed the legal age for entering primary school, but she has received training to prepare her for literacy classes. From there, she can obtain a certificate before resuming her education at a mainstream preparatory school.
"There is no such thing as an illiterate child. All children can and must have access to education," says Fatma El-Shishi, director of the NGO. El-Shishi believes that if a child does not understand a lesson or a piece of information, this does not mean he or she is a "failure" -- on the contrary: "I would be the one who failed to teach the child properly."
Stories of hope and success echo through the four classrooms in which students are grouped according to their abilities in classes (with a maximum of four to a class), and a daily speech therapy session. Miracles can be wrought, it seems, with a little extra care, attention and a patient, well-trained staff.
The success stories are by no means limited to the national education system, however. The Continental School of Cairo (CSC), another special school, offers an international curriculum. It opened in 1994, when Saniya El-Nimr, the principal, returned to Egypt after over 20 years spent abroad. "I couldn't find a special school for my youngest daughter, Marwa," she remembers. The dilemma was resolved when Marwa insisted on going to school like all her friends. Instead of sending her daughter to school, however, El-Nimr decided to bring the school to her, creating a small establishment for children with learning difficulties. El-Nimr presumed she would be dealing with a group of four or five children; sixty-five students are enrolled today.
The CSC's eight classes, divided according to age groups, follow the international British curriculum. The classes, which accommodate a maximum of 11 students each, are divided into two main levels:
Junior school, from preschool to year 6, and senior school, from year 7 to IGCSE examination level. Each two classes work on a key stage, which is divided into several levels that children are expected to cover in two to three years.
Those who did not enrol in time to begin the school's general programme can take a vocational training course, where they are taught to read and write in English as well as Arabic. Mazhar, who reads and writes English and Arabic very well, is going to be the school librarian. Other students are trained to work at the new computer software factory that is to be set up as part of the special educational system.
Due to misunderstanding, the term "lazy" is also applied to other categories of students: those who suffer from dyslexia (impaired reading and writing ability, which has nothing to do with IQ level), discalculi (impaired numeracy), ADD (attention deficit disorder), and ADDHD (attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder). The Sunshine Unit is for students with average and above-average IQ who have such learning disabilities.
The parents of eight children with partial learning abilities funded and started an association and small education unit that is hosted by the New Ramses College. The Sunshine Unit teaches the British international curriculum and offers Arabic language classes, which goes to show that dyslexia does not preclude bilingualism.
Here, the students get to apply all they study in real-life situations. Trips to the market are practical applications of mathematics (weight and the use of scales), while computer games help them with typing schools and computer literacy.
"Our students are not ill, and therefore it is not a question of curing them, but they can learn different techniques to handle their problem. They need specialised teaching methods that will build up their self esteem and confidence," explained one of the Sunshine Unit's founders, who has a degree in special needs education. The students have the by now familiar tales about past misery in their old schools; now, however, they love education, which is more than many "normal" students can say.
"Slow" learners can speed up, it seems; in fact, some back-row students are already up front. It all depends on the classroom setting.
Step by Step: 346 1781
CSC: 290 8083
The Sunshine Unit: 455 4196 / 397 1133 / 247 5769
