Children with
special educational needs refer to children who have learning difficulties. These
children may face challenges like solving problems, as well as maintaining relationships
with others. Some examples of conditions that contribute to the difficulties
that these children face include dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, and hearing
impairment.
Special
education teachers play a crucial role in helping children with special
educational needs. In order to provide effective guidance, they have to find
ways to gain their students’ trust and unlock their potential.
The role of a
special education teacher is by no means an easy one. On top of completing
certain training courses as part of the requirement, these educators need to
have the patience and perseverance to communicate and guide these students
through their learning journey. These educators provide equal chance for every
child to shine, and that is the very reason why they are worth celebrating.
Inspiring
Story of Ms. Ling Fong
One such
person is Ms. Ling Fong, and her selflessness and kindness can be witnessed in
her inspiring story. Ms. Ling Fong has been working as a special education
teacher at SMK Datuk Peter Mojuntin, Sabah for the past 13 years, where she
specialises in guiding and nurturing students with hearing impairment.
Her career in
educating students with special needs was a chance encounter. Ms. Ling Fong is a
graduate who specialises in economics education, but due to the low demand
quota for teachers in economics, she was offered a spot to teach special needs
students instead.
To do this, she
was sent to attend a 3-month course to obtain relevant skills and knowledge
required, and started her career as a special education teacher at a school in
Johor. After two years, she made an application to pursue
her career in her hometown of Sabah, where she eventually relocated to teach
students with hearing impairment at SMK Datuk Peter Mojuntin.
As a teacher
to students with hearing impairment, Ms. Ling Fong faced significant challenges
in the beginning of her journey in the school as she was not
well-versed in sign language back then.
However, Ms. Ling Fong rolled up her sleeves and dove
into the task of guiding and nurturing these students. She sought the guidance of
her students to accept her and trust her enough to teach her sign language. Within
six months, she was able to obtain the basic skills of sign language and was
able to communicate effectively with her students.
One of Ms. Ling Fong’s former students, Jesnih Wilna
Sani, nominated the special education teacher for the Anugerah Inspirasi
Guru McDonald’s 2021. In the nomination story, Jesnih described how Ms.
Ling Fong guided them in a poster competition organised by UNITAR, where they
had to design a poster and present to the judges.
Despite her students being the only group to consist
of special needs students, Ms. Ling Fong never doubted that her students could
compete on the same level with other students and thrived in the process. Ms.
Ling Fong decided not to be their sign language translator for the
presentation, all in order to encourage her students to be confident and
complete the presentation themselves.
As part of the preparation for the presentation, Ms.
Ling Fong came up with the idea of a “shadow theatre” video recording inspired
by Britain’s Got Talent. This enabled her students to present their ideas
through an expressive art form.
Their poster design and shadow play performance
managed to captivate the hearts of the judges and audiences. They eventually won
first place in the Sabah state level and third place in the national level.
“To us, the thing that made us most happy is neither
the medals nor the prizes. It’s the fact that Ms. Ling Fong never once had
doubt in us. She was always confident and believed in us.”
-
Jesnih Wilna Sani
Inspiring
Story of Mrs. Suzuna Binti Baharuldin
The selflessness,
kindness, and perseverance – positive traits of special needs educators are
also embraced by Mrs. Suzuna, a Program Pendidikan Khas Integrasi (PPKI)
teacher at SK Taman Tun Dr Ismail 2. Mrs. Suzuna has been a teacher at the
school for more than a decade, guiding and nurturing students with learning
disabilities such as dyslexia.
As someone
who is very fond of children, this motivated Mrs. Suzuna to pursue her career
as a teacher for students with special needs. Mrs. Suzuna is a firm believer
that by guiding children with special educational needs, it enables us to hone
our special abilities in ensuring a brighter future for students with special
needs.
With her
educational approach of kindness and compassion, Mrs. Suzuna managed to change
the lives of many children with learning disabilities. One of them is Muhammad Danial
bin Adam, who was diagnosed with dyslexia and was transferred to SK Taman Tun
Dr Ismail 2 a few years ago, as the school had the facilities needed and ran
programmes for students with special needs.
Danial
recalled how uncomfortable he felt in a new environment during his first day at
a new school. He had no friends and he felt small. However, he remembered how
he was warmly welcomed by Mrs. Suzuna, who helped him get settled in with the
rest of his classmates in a short period of time.
In his eyes,
Mrs. Suzuna is the reason he found his love for mathematics and started
excelling in the subject. In fact, Mrs. Suzuna was the one that introduced him
to numbers. Due to Mrs. Suzuna’s patience in teaching, while also gently
guiding her students to understand concepts and eventually lead them to find
the right answers, Danial now cites mathematics as one of his favourite
subjects and finds learning a joyful process.
“Teacher
Su believes in me, even when I doubt myself. She told me that I can read, I can
count, and (that) I can excel in every single task that I’m doing.”
-
Muhammad
Danial bin Adam
Ms. Ling Fong
and Mrs. Suzuna are a reflection of consistent practices in perseverance,
patience, and belief in the younger generation, regardless of abilities,
talent, and whether someone is born on a specific spectrum. It is about giving
every single child a chance to shine and succeed in his/her own right and
believing in the human spirit.
All of us are
dealt with our own set of cards in this lifetime, and sometimes, just
sometimes, it takes just one person to believe in us and make us realise our
potential.
Special
education teachers deserve all the recognition in the world, as they are the
silent heroes who are constantly giving encouragement to students who find it
difficult to believe in themselves in the first place.
Every day,
these teachers do not view these students as students with disabilities,
but instead, they see them in their own light – students with special
abilities.
In
conjunction with National Teachers Day, let us appreciate these silent heroes
who are the source of motivation for students with special needs.
To read the
inspirational stories of teachers nominated for this year’s Anugerah Guru
Inspirasi McDonald’s, head over to https://www.anugerahguruinspirasimcd.com/en/view_nominate. Winners of this year’s award will
be announced in mid-May, in conjunction with National Teachers Day.
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