Last Friday was the United Nations' International Day of Persons with
Disabilities. In 1992, the UN established December 3rd as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. And each year the day focuses on a different issue. This year's topic was “Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world.”
(you can find all the events that were held here).
But what has this to do with education? Well, it made me think of one of my previous classmates which had hearing difficulties. Although she wore a cochlear implant, she had faced many problems when she was at school. She learned from a very young age sign language and even she could read other people's lips. Nevertheless, teachers had to make special exams for her and needed to be aware of her difficulties in order to overcome them. When she told me all about this, I decided to learn Spanish sign language, so I could communicate with her and any other deaf person. I am not an expert, but at least I could make a few sentences, and that made me realise how difficult was for a non-hearing person to communicate sometimes.
The new generation of teachers can bridge the gap due to new technologies. I am delighted with how much we can do to help all of our students. However, it is crucial to have in mind that not every student's need can be surpassed with new technologies. We must do our best in order to bring all of our students closer to each other, no matter which (dis)ability they might have.
Comments