REFLECTION SCHOOL VISIT

SAIFUL AMIR TESL 1.2

On the 30th April 2013, The Education Department of IPGKBA has conducted a school visit for students form Program Ijazah Sarjana Muda Perguruan (PISMP) Januari 2013. The motive for such activity was to give more exposure to the student themselves so that they have a better and in depth understanding about the topic of children with special needs in Child Development that they have learned all semester long for this semester. So, in order for us to be more attentive towards this topic, we were directed to the Sekolah Kebangsaan Pendidikan Khas (Cacat Penglihatan) Jalan Batu, Jalan Raja Laut, 50350, Kuala Lumpur. As I first step into the school compound, I could sense a different atmosphere whereby the students there were very different from us but they were in a good way. I was pretty excited to see all the students then. Based on early observation, the school compound was pretty small and the number of students and teachers there werent as much as in normal schools. On the whole, most of the students there have the same learning disabilities of visual impairment. There are few others which fall under different categories. The first briefing from the teacher there was informative and useful. I was struck by the information given and I have learned quite a lot of new things which has never crossed my mind before. Based on the briefing, I have learned about the whole system of the school, how they conduct programmes for the children there and the most interesting one was about marking their exam paper. I can conclude that the activities and the class schedule were not so different after all. The students there can do the same thing that a child in normal school does. I was impressed by the way how the teacher in the school handles their students very well though it seems pretty challenging and burdening. I felt touched by the effort they have put in to educate the special child so that they will have the chance to succeed.

REFLECTION SCHOOL VISIT

SAIFUL AMIR TESL 1.2

Apart from that, I have gazed upon the causes and impact of particular impairments to development of children with visual impairments. There, I was exposed and focused more on their learning disabilities and their characteristics. As I first met the teachers of the school, I was amazed of their spirit to teach and educate the special needs students. I was informed that not every one of the teachers are specialised in special education. On the contrary, there are teachers who have no basic in communicating using sign language but were send to teach at the school. They took few months to acquire the language and they even took extra class to improve their communication skills. From their experiences, I learn that being a teacher is not as simple as we thought. We have to be ready to face any situation and we have to be able to adapt with the situation. Besides, a teacher should adhere to the lifelong learning concept introduced by the government. As a teacher, we have to be ready to learn and getting new knowledge. When I went into the class, I was touched when I saw the special needs students. They are going through a hard life as they are not same as other children. They are special thus they ought special attention and care from the teachers. That is one of the reasons why the number of the students in the school is far smaller than those in normal school. Moreover, I was able to observe the way the teachers were dealing with the students. Special needs students require different teaching strategies compared to those normal children. The teaching methods are different according to their disabilities. From the information gathered, I realise that a teacher should be aware of the students need. We have to detect the students way of learning as everybody has different way of learning. In order to give better education, the teachers have to play their role as a good educator and trainer for the children.

REFLECTION SCHOOL VISIT

SAIFUL AMIR TESL 1.2

After the visit, I realised that being a teacher is not only to teach but to care for the children. A teacher has to be alert of their students behaviour and growth as it helps us to determine whether the students are facing any learning disabilities. A teacher is not only a teacher but we play a vital role in nurturing the child. We are the second parents of the child thus we have to be responsible of the childs development process. I intent to learn more on the special need students as it will help me later in the education field. I might found students who are hyperactive when I start to teach later and at that point of time, I can apply the knowledge learnt to tackle my students. I also hope that the society and the government give more attention and care towards the special needs students as they are part of Malaysian future generation who should not be left out. In conclusion, this school visit is a success for me as I did learnt a lot on the special needs students. The visit was the best opportunity for us to gain knowledge and information regarding special needs students. We are rarely got the chance to visit any special children school thus we used chance given to absorb as much information as we can. The knowledge obtain will be very beneficial for me as future teacher.