JAMYANG DENDUP (CLASS II)

There are many stories for the man to narrate. Over the years, when people are celebrating the success story of their  achievement, there comes a group people who doesn't have even a proper shelter or meals in a day. A nations making donations and helping others, while forgetting ones own citizens, the situations are out of our controls, which needs our rethinking and attentions to make it right.

 

This is a story of Jamyang Dendup who comes from Nganglam. He is reading in class II. He was admitted to GLSS last year(2020). He has been recognized as CP. He is doing well in the classes unlike other SEN children. He finds difficulty in coordinating the walk or using the muscles for writing and speaking. The cognitive is fine and he is learning equal as general student

we see  future in him, unlike other children, he is following all the norms and rules of the school. Everyday as he finds the way to classroom, walking over the railing, sitting in a classroom and learning the unlearn lesson is what makes him so special in the class.

 As the school strives to provide help and support in nurturing their dreams and motivations in life, I have been working closely with the School SEN team members in seeing  welfare of those 17 SEN Children.

PARENTS TEACHER MEETING(TERM I) 2021

This year parents teacher meeting was held on Sunday,11th March,2021. As usual meeting was chaired by Zobel Gup. The agendas were tabulated and discussed for resolutions. I presented on the services rendered for  SEN children. I don't want to write the agendas and its resolutions but I want to share some thing that I want to express as my observation.

As I sat over the meeting, sensing the discussion the agendas and  points, I found the meeting was based on ones projections and perceptions. It shouldn't dilute the essence of meeting and the points of meeting. My expectation was to hear the ways and ideas to nurture our children together. Most of the views and the opinion expressed were just on one sided ideas. The entire meetings were dominated by false ideas. It was found that public doesn't have even a respect for the School workers.  Teachers eating lunch from the mess kitchen should not matter them as all their miscellaneous work are not paid as teachers work.

Teachers here are finding a hard time to manage water scarcity and public doesn't have any support to address this problem. As a leader, as a community, I feel teachers deserve a respect  and  have right for resources . 

 Finally, as I wait for the next meeting, I would like to hear the ways and ideas to cater the learning needs of our children and communities from the common floor. Not as someone's views and opinions.

                                                 SEN SCHOOL IN PEMAGATSHEL

Gonpasingma lss is a heart of learning center for Children with special needs in Pema Gatshel.

A school stands on the apex of Zobel village, catering the needs of nearby villages.
 If you take a distance view from the adjacent motor road, it presents you with an immediate invitation to the place. Historically the place was founded by the local priest Yalo and Kalo as a new hermitage sites for propagating the Peling traditions, thus the name Gonpasingma.

school in a distance view from road point

I never dream of being in the place, until I was placed by the Dzogkhag to serve the school.  Once as a primary school goer I had been to this school to participate in the talent hood haunt competition. I remember sleeping in the dusted hostel fighting hard against the chilly aired room. Since then, the place became once again the strange place in my memory. 
Another picture of the school was, students studying in the school were found to have red cheeks due to severe cold weather, thus making it easy for the identification of the previous school. My brother also studied in the school and it was this school that he was shaped and molded to a man of today.
 Once School was well known for producing a good Dzongkha calligrapher. Under the strict monitoring of lopen Jamba.  My brother nearly dropped the school, when he had failed in handwriting improvement.  

It is also well-known for the water scarcity and producing an abundant potatoes harvest from the place.
Today school is housing a special room for the differently abled children. It was instituted since 2015 and it is connecting the children from nearby villages like Restang, Norkhe,Zobel and Mongling.
GLSS  being a place for the special child; teachers too were special. Teachers’ receives numerous workshops to fulfill the need of those needy students unlike other teachers and other school.

Teachers discussing the story of Special Child

The School caters the learning need of differently abled children such as autism, hearing impairments and speech impairments.
I have been teaching in this school for last five years. My experience of teaching the students were like finding the jewels from the dust. As challenged by the working experience and meeting the learning needs of a teacher, I still find the joy of being in the SEN program.
Every child is treated as special. And teachers do believes in their hard-work and commitment to be the agents of change for those special souls. 

                                                      Pullout classes
                

For an inch of change in children, its the collective efforts of all the concern teachers and the offices in looking a change.
School is also transforming structurally. Completion of ongoing ramp constructions for the wheel-chaired students will add another structural transformation to the school. There is also a call for the need of changing the old classroom structures for the special children.
GLSS SEN school is a special school in Pema Gatshel. What if there is no such room for those students, they are likely to become a complete waste to the family and to the nation as a whole. Or they could have become a perfect cow herder or victim of stigma in the public. Understanding the nature of disability is a complicated concept for all but inclusion is the vision of school.

Respecting the diverse needs of the children, working together for the common cause and goal is what makes GLSS  a center of INCLUSIVE learning for all.

Therefore, it is important for all of us to be aware of the special, abled and differently abled person in life. You or I may be the next person to sit on wheel chair, so, there lies a question of respecting and accepting them. Everyone should become one in system of ours.