Many teachers believe that inclusive education is idealistic and impractical and that we have to wait for the education system to be ‘fixed’ before we can think about it. IESA works with teachers at under-resourced schools, who are trying to support and accommodate the diverse needs of their learners, instead of simply moving them through the system. With some success! These teachers demonstrate that supporting all learners (instead of progressing them through the system) can go a long way to creating a future for our youth.
Elsie Bulawa, our schools trainer, began a series of workshops at one of IESA’s project schools in the Eastern Cape in January last year. This is where she met *Ms Debengu, a Grade 3 teacher who felt challenged when she had a learner, *Bulela, in her class who was working at Grade 1 level in literacy.
At first Ms Debengu felt she did not know where to begin. With the help of the guidance offered through Elsie’s workshops she realised she could try consulting a Grade 1 teacher. This Grade one teacher has now become her greatest resource. The teacher shared her knowledge and expertise and this enabled Ms Debengu to accommodate Bulela in the Grade 3 class, with his peers. ‘I started with Grade 1 work in Phonics and progressed to matching for word building. Now he can read, write and spell words correctly. Bulela now reads Grade 1 and 2 books and can re-tell and dramatise a story. His confidence grew as he mastered new skills and his relationship with other children in the class has improved.’
Inclusive classrooms and schools are welcoming and supportive. They accept diversity and accommodate all learners. The outlook for Bulela would have been different if Ms Debengu had ignored or ridiculed him. She addressed the gap in his knowledge and skills, and in the process boosted his self-esteem. Instead of falling behind at school and ‘progressing’ from one grade to the next without any real progress for Bulela, two teachers have worked together and supported each other, to create a future for Bulela. The onus is on the rest of Bulela’s teachers and the education system to accommodate him to reach his full potential. If they do not, he will become another statistic.
At Inclusive Education we celebrate stories like these. We realise that our greatest resource in education is our teachers, and teachers are resources to other teachers.
*Please note that names in the story have been changed.