Dear Global Ed Readers,
Some of our most read education blogs are about working with children with special needs. Here we have a blog from Dr. Phillipa Fabbri, an education consultant hailing from South Africa. Philippa is passionate about ensuring that all children are provided a quality education. She carries out her work in her roles as Founder/Director of Elsen Academy, and CEO of Education Services a helpdesk and resource for parents and teachers.
I was recently asked to present a talk on the saying “How do you eat an elephant – just one bite at a time” meaning that any “big” project or venture is possible, if you break it down into manageable steps. The problem I’ve always had though, is that I always tend to “bite off more than I can chew”. Have you heard of that one?
Philippa Fabbri, PhD.
My story begins when, as a young teacher in the late 90’s, I was feeling very overwhelmed and helpless because there were students in my class (and in my remedial practice) that were also feeling overwhelmed and frustrated because they weren’t making good enough progress. Their parents were also feeling overwhelmed and hopeless because they didn’t know what to do about it all. I knew that an hour a week of remedial therapy, or extra lessons, wasn’t nearly enough to fill in the learning gaps.
Credit: Tom McCallum, 2022
So, I started exploring down this rabbit hole called “special needs education” and I’m still exploring, but on the way down, I achieved my honours, masters and now finally my PhD in Inclusive Education. But I’m still learning and I don’t think I’ll ever stop.
Back to our elephant…
The head – What do I know about?
I know that 1 in every 5 or so children have a learning barrier of some sort…common, broad issues…like dyslexia, ADHD, autism, language delay, speech and language impairments, and so on. I also know that the education system doesn’t adequately prepare teachers to help students, nor are classrooms equipped to accommodate different learning styles and abilities. I also know that parents are often at a loss on what to do, where to go or how to help their child who is struggling in the classroom.
The heart – What do I need to change?
I can’t just sit and wait for change. It’s not going to happen fast enough for me. I can’t put up with a rigid, cruel and mostly old-fashioned system that is failing so many of our children. The same conveyer belt that we travelled along back in the day, our kids are travelling along. The difference is that the pace is much faster and they have so much more content to have to learn. Maybe you were one of the lucky ones that did well at school and flourished but our kids today are struggling. I had this burning desire to DO something.
In 2005, three ladies met for a coffee and decided to start a school! But not just any school, a school for children with learning disabilities/barriers. And I was one of those ladies. I knew nothing about how to start a business but we took that first elephant bite together, it was a huge bite…and swallowed.
Source: India Didac, LinkedIn
The Hands – What do I need to do?
I knew nothing about business, bank accounts, budgets, hiring people, drawing up policies, creating systems and structures, fundraising, marketing…but head down, jump in…sink or swim. I swam!
We registered a NPO and a school and started in the Sunday school classrooms at our church, with 13 brave children and their parents, we downloaded and printed workbooks, we arranged our desks into discussion groups not rows and lines, we used multi-sensory learning experiences and we listened to what our students were telling us about how they learn and what they need to understand the content. They taught us just as much as we taught them.
Another mega-bite.
The Gut – What keeps me hungry?
As a student myself, I had my share of issues at school…from severe anxiety about every new school year starting, getting a new teacher, and even starting at uni, I was a nervous wreck. In primary school, I couldn’t write neatly and often got into trouble for my messy writing, and struggled with maths. I hated the story sums.
I saw classmates at school, victimized and bullied for not being able to read properly, not walking properly, looking or acting weird, getting into trouble for being cheeky or disrupting the class…struggling to cope, and I never want to witness any child feeling overwhelmed and frustrated because they didn’t fit in and felt lost. No child should ever feel not clever enough, not good enough.
The Legs – What keeps me going forward?
There’s still a lot to do. Teacher training. Creating places of learning that are pockets of excellence with a more inclusive mindset, Parents need to be brave to seek out these pockets of excellence or if you can’t find them, create them. If your child is really thriving and doing well on all sides, emotionally, socially, academically and physically, that’s worth celebrating. But if you are noticing that one or more area, is losing its sparkle or your child is changing who they are to try and fit in, that’s a red flag right there. In 2022, I took another huge bite of the elephant and established another company to address these issues. I wanted a place where parents and teachers could come to find information and solutions for learning or school-related issues. Teacher workshops and training, parent talks at schools and academic assessments and individual learning programmes can be provided.
Source: Twinkl Originals
A Call to Action
So, what’s your elephant? Is there something that you know a bit about or a lot about? Can you see a need or a problem to solve? Does that “gap” or “need” make you restless or angry or upset? Are there others who feel the same way as you do? Get them together in a room over coffee, talk about it together and take that first bite.
To connect with Philippa Fabbri — education consultant and remedial reading specialist based in Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha, South Africa) and is the Founder/Director of Elsen Academy, www.elsen.co.za and CEO of Education Services www.educationservices.co.za a helpdesk and resource for parents and teachers. She can be contacted on facebook www.facebook.com/classroomsupport and Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/philippa-fabbri-0189/
Citations:
McCallum, T. (June 23, 2002). How do you eat an elephant? Open Leadership, Storytelling. https://tommccallum.com/2022/06/23/how-do-you-eat-an-elephant/