Special Schools
Selected quotes from interviews at the special schools-"First of all, the teachers in primary schools are not trained to teach these children. The classes are so large, that to teach hearing impaired in such a large class would be impossible. The noises, the mumbles, the students would not receive the attention they need. For now, it’s not feasible at all."- Teacher Most of the teachers I spoke with were at least somewhat wary of the current initiatives pushing for educational inclusion. Above, the teacher cites one of the primary reasons: the special schools are not only potentially better for students with disabilities. These schools often have more resources, smaller class sizes, and more highly trained staff. The above issues do not only affect children with disabilities: they affect all students.
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"The teachers will not know the strategies that we use. And since they don’t know how to teach them, they will think it’s a waste of time.” - Teacher
As noted in the Hospitals fieldsite page, a key theme of social perception of persons with disability is that of uselessness. This teacher feared the worst of educational inclusion as initiatives are proceeding at the current time. She believed that, if the attempts to mainstream children with disabilities into public schools failed, the fault would land primarily on the shoulders of the students who were already seen as "useless". In the context of the themes I have found in my research and the cyclic nature of the stigma present against those with disabilities, I do not find this fear to be invalid.
Some, they say they have use. Some who have love for them, they see their use. Those who don’t love them do not see- their use in the community. Some have love for them, they take care of them. When I was young, I saw them. But at that time, I did not know the details of deafness. It’s only when I started working here that I understood. It was the sympathy with those children that brought me here. Since that time when I know about their deafness, I feel sorry for them. Some parents just don’t care about them, they say since they’re deaf they have no use for them, but they have use! These children, they have use.- Carer for the boarding students
This carer, who watched after the children as they lived at the hearing impairment school, provided her own insight as to why there is such discrimination against persons with disabilities: lack of knowledge. She said that experience with persons with disabilities has demonstrated to her their personhood, something she had not previously recognized. While wary of educational inclusion like the other carers and teachers, she was somewhat hopeful that it could provide this experience that would change social perceptions.