A Teacher's Reflection - Connecting Students With the World Outside

Wednesday, September 11, 2013 http://www.schoolbag,sg In my first years of teaching, I was assigned to teach Primary Three students. Though it was challenging, I enjoyed teaching them. In one of my classes, there was a boy named K* who was always quiet. He ke t to himself and would not interact with other children during recess, always standing at one corner of the lay area. I could ne!er get K to s eak to me. I later learnt that K was mildly autistic. In order to reach out to him, I started reading u on autism to learn some strategies on how to connect with and to manage an autistic child. I was determined to get K to s eak to me. In the middle of the year, I had to record the height and weight of the students. I made e!ery student read out their weight to me while standing on the scales. "hen it was K#s turn, he ste ed onto the scale. I looked at him and said, $K, can you tell me how hea!y you are%$ I waited atiently. He was quiet. I rom ted, $&ou are twenty....$ 'nd I waited. $(ight,$ he muttered.
T,dm (ng celebrates #"orld 1ed /ross 2ay# with newly enrolled students. Photo /redit0 -ing .han Primary .chool

't that moment, I was elated. 'fter ha!ing taught him for more than a year, I finally heard K#s !oice. 'fter that, K began to o en u . In the following months, I saw him s eak occasionally to his classmates, uttering a word or two in res onse to their questions. I was ha y that he was starting to make connections with the eo le around him. K taught me !aluable lessons in life. The first lesson: Be patient. It takes time for eo le to know you, to understand your intentions as a teacher, and to o en u to you.

The second lesson: Teaching goes beyond the classroom. ' lot of time was s ent reaching out to K and obser!ing him in his natural self during recess and after school. (ducation is about hel ing students make connections within themsel!es, with the eo le around them and with the world. The third lesson: It takes a village to raise a child. In my learning to manage a student with autism, I worked with teachers who had re!ious contact with him. I s ent time talking to his sister and arents to find out more about what he was like at home and how he beha!ed with his siblings and cousins. I worked with his family to hel him o en u and interact with his eers and with others) we e* lored how journal writing could hel K e* ress his feelings and these entries hel ed us understand him. This would not ha!e been ossible if I was working alone. I do not only teach, I learn. 's a teacher, I learn from the eo le around me + my su eriors, colleagues, students, the arents of my students and other stakeholders. Education is about helping students make connections within themselves, with the people around them and with the world... so they Take Flight

,dm (ng and her students e* erienced an authentic Korean meal during -ing .han Primary .chool#s #Twinning Programme# to .eoul. Photo /redit0 -ing .han Primary .chool

*Name changed for confidentiality Contributed by Felicia Eng, the Head-of-Department (Mathematics from !ing "han #rimary "chool$
The dedicated teacher belie!es that education is about hel ing students make connections within themsel!es, with the eo le around them and with the world. Photo /redit0 -ing .han Primary .chool