Miss-Delectable
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The importance of inclusion: Why I learned British Sign Language | Teacher Network Blog | Guardian Professional
If you ask any of my colleagues they will tell you how important inclusion is to me as a teacher. I firmly believe, as all teachers do, that every child deserves the right to be treated equally and to receive the same quality of education as everyone else. I have worked with children from a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds, and with children with varying educational needs and abilities. I constantly adapt my teaching style, learning environment and activities to suit every child in my class.
I was fairly new to supply when I came to be working at a delightful school one week. I was intrigued when I got the phone call and was asked to cover a reception class for two days in a mainstream school with a Unit for Hearing Impaired children attached. My head was full of questions – What would this unit look like? Can deaf children speak? How do I teach a class of mixed hearing and deaf children at the same time? So with trepidation I arrived at the school. I shouldn't have worried though, the class was fully staffed with 1:1 learning support assistants who could sign and translated everything I said to the children. My relief was immense.
On this particular day I found myself yet again at the lull before lunch. The children were tired and hungry from the morning's activities and I had about 10 minutes to kill so what did I do?
I decided to play a game of the old faithful… Chinese Whispers (or Telephone as it's called in the US – see Wikipedia to find out why).
Now, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell you that Chinese Whispers may not be the most appropriate game to play when there are deaf children in the room. However, I was so busy trying to keep the children happy that the thought had not even entered my impatient head.
I told the children to sit quietly in a circle, the LSAs were oblivious to my plan and the children were shuffling excitedly in their seats. The game began, as before with me passing round a silly sentence to the child to my left. There were quiet giggles as the hearing children passed on the message around the circle and all was going well. Until, of course, it came to this particular deaf child. In my mind, the realisation dawned upon me for the first time and I caught the LSAs eye as she glared at me in surprise and said, "I'm not sure that this game was the best choice for this class". I could have died. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. Needless to say, I have NEVER played Chinese Whispers with a class, hearing or deaf, since!
On a positive note, the experience I had at the school with deaf and hearing children inspired me to learn British Sign Language. I signed myself up to evening classes and achieved my Level 1 and 2 BSL of which I am extremely proud of. I am more aware of the challenges faced by deaf children and adults and I enjoy attending signing clubs with my friends. I went on to work with deaf children in a mainstream school and spent two years teaching them Literacy and Numeracy, translating for them in assembly and working 1:1 with each child in their own class.
Who knows, if I had never decided to play that fateful game of Chinese Whispers, maybe I would never have learnt sign language and worked with the fantastic children at my school. You may be interested to check out the following excellent websites the National Deaf Studies working group and the Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children.
• Clare Gilbert is a supply teacher working for Protocol Education. She has a regular blog on Teaching jobs UK, teacher jobs in the UK - Protocol Education.
If you ask any of my colleagues they will tell you how important inclusion is to me as a teacher. I firmly believe, as all teachers do, that every child deserves the right to be treated equally and to receive the same quality of education as everyone else. I have worked with children from a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds, and with children with varying educational needs and abilities. I constantly adapt my teaching style, learning environment and activities to suit every child in my class.
I was fairly new to supply when I came to be working at a delightful school one week. I was intrigued when I got the phone call and was asked to cover a reception class for two days in a mainstream school with a Unit for Hearing Impaired children attached. My head was full of questions – What would this unit look like? Can deaf children speak? How do I teach a class of mixed hearing and deaf children at the same time? So with trepidation I arrived at the school. I shouldn't have worried though, the class was fully staffed with 1:1 learning support assistants who could sign and translated everything I said to the children. My relief was immense.
On this particular day I found myself yet again at the lull before lunch. The children were tired and hungry from the morning's activities and I had about 10 minutes to kill so what did I do?
I decided to play a game of the old faithful… Chinese Whispers (or Telephone as it's called in the US – see Wikipedia to find out why).
Now, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell you that Chinese Whispers may not be the most appropriate game to play when there are deaf children in the room. However, I was so busy trying to keep the children happy that the thought had not even entered my impatient head.
I told the children to sit quietly in a circle, the LSAs were oblivious to my plan and the children were shuffling excitedly in their seats. The game began, as before with me passing round a silly sentence to the child to my left. There were quiet giggles as the hearing children passed on the message around the circle and all was going well. Until, of course, it came to this particular deaf child. In my mind, the realisation dawned upon me for the first time and I caught the LSAs eye as she glared at me in surprise and said, "I'm not sure that this game was the best choice for this class". I could have died. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. Needless to say, I have NEVER played Chinese Whispers with a class, hearing or deaf, since!
On a positive note, the experience I had at the school with deaf and hearing children inspired me to learn British Sign Language. I signed myself up to evening classes and achieved my Level 1 and 2 BSL of which I am extremely proud of. I am more aware of the challenges faced by deaf children and adults and I enjoy attending signing clubs with my friends. I went on to work with deaf children in a mainstream school and spent two years teaching them Literacy and Numeracy, translating for them in assembly and working 1:1 with each child in their own class.
Who knows, if I had never decided to play that fateful game of Chinese Whispers, maybe I would never have learnt sign language and worked with the fantastic children at my school. You may be interested to check out the following excellent websites the National Deaf Studies working group and the Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children.
• Clare Gilbert is a supply teacher working for Protocol Education. She has a regular blog on Teaching jobs UK, teacher jobs in the UK - Protocol Education.