MLS Jan 2018 Local Attachment MLS local report final | Page 38

we sometimes have a few students with autism and other special needs and
we experience physical and emotional fatigue. The lack of understanding
in interacting with these students often results in us using the same
pedagogy we would have used for the other students in class. The lack of
understanding and acceptance from the classmates and parents give rise to
other problems that the teacher needs to resolve. When I saw these
children being placed in an environment where they are accepted by peers
and teachers, where teachers believe in their potential, I was reminded of
Dr Ng’s `teacher’s heartbeat’. At SPED school, `examinations’ are unheard
of. Results are meaningless. Yet, teachers still set targets for each child and
want to value-add to that child.
School: A part of society
From 2019, children with special needs can no longer stay at home but be
included in the compulsory education. Schools in the mainstream are likely
to receive more children with special needs. In a society where merits are
often academic results, parents are more likely to place these children with
special needs in mainstream rather than SPED schools where there is no
formal national examination. For these children who are not provided with
the appropriate learning environment and teachers who are not trained to
teach them, minimal learning may take place. Further, the child may
struggle to find his/her self-worth. Teachers in the mainstream need to be
more informed of such children and learn strategies on how to interact
with them and teach them. Schools will also need to address personal
assumptions and beliefs that teachers and parents may hold of these
children. Like what Assoc. Professor Levan Lim said, `Building an inclusive
school is not just about `building the hardware—the ramps, the lifts, the
buildings…but the harder part is the software—the people---and that
requires a lot of work, the `heartware’ (SingTeach, Issue41).
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