What I learned from the UNICEF website (2011) is that children from Tajikistan were finally able to get the diphtheria vaccination. This taught me that one of the challenges that these children face are disease due to lack of immunizations. Another common challenge that I saw children facing was lack of funds. One child could only attend school one day a week because that is all that the family could afford. Another challenge that I saw was that most of the states did not have inclusive classrooms. This meant that children with varying abilities either did not go to school or went to a special school. One family even opened up a center so that children who could not attend school could still get the education that they deserved.
With children not being immunized and not being able to receive an education, their development could fall behind. Children who are not receiving the proper education due to having varying abilities are just keeping that group down. Luckily for them, one family decided to open up a center for children to go to so they can learn and grow. Money issues can also bring about stress which causes emotional problems and for some developmental delays because they cannot get to school.
On a personal reflection, I learned that there is so much more that I can do for children around the world. On a professional level I have learned that I need to stand up for the rights of more than the children in my country but in the other countries as well. I never realized how powerful inclusion classrooms could be until I realized that in some countries children is not allowed to attend school if they are disabled. I believe that all children have the right to an education and as time goes on, I hope that others countries start to understand this as well.
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You are right, Charlotte. They simply are not there. You could go to any school in Beijing and I am pretty sure you would not see anyone with a disability. There may be children with learning disabilities but not because they are included rather their families deny there is a problem and pay the money to have them be educated. Teachers are not trained and the curriculum is not adapted.
ReplyDeleteSo where are they? That is the question that UNICEF is traveling worldwide to find out.
Thanks for this information on Eastern Europe and the flicker of hope that is in this one center.
Personally, Charlotte,
ReplyDeleteI think that there are plenty of things that we could do to further assist children who are disabled. Believe it or not, there are schools in the U.S. who don't value the disabled; some classrooms aren't inclusive and they try to justify this by saying that it has cause their test scores to be on the rise. It is shameful.
Great post. It is so true that as educators, we need to remember to stand up for children in other countries, not just our own. Inclusion is such a big deal and so important. It is important that we learn to advocate for inclusion all over the world and in our own back door.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed your post! It takes courage and a big heart to try to reach out to children across the world. I feel that it is not fair for innocent children to have to deal with obstacles that prevents them from exceling in schools and life. 'the windows of opportunity need to be widespread in these poverty stricken areas. Thanks for sharing that valuabale information and have a great day!
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