Bi-Jun proves she can
WHILE slowly eating her roti canai,
Wong Bi-Jun looks up occasionally to steal glances at the boy sitting opposite
her.
“That’s her boyfriend,” Bi-Jun’s class teacher
Maureen Loughery Hussein joked.
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New friends: Bi-Jun now has the opportunity to make new friends
and interact with others in a normal school environment. |
The other classmates erupted into laughter while Bi-Jun grinned and looked
shyly away.
This is Bi-Jun’s first month at the
Just two months ago, her mother was devastated when no school wanted to
accept Bi-Jun, branding the child as handicapped.
Her mother Evelyn Tan sought the help of StarMetro
to highlight the child’s plight and to voice her struggle and frustrations of
trying to admit her daughter into a mainstream school because she believes that
Bi-Jun can cope in a normal school environment.
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Keen
learner: Inquisitive as she is, she also pays attention in class. |
Bi-Jun suffered from a rare life threatening birth disorder when she was a
baby. Although she has recovered, the intensive ventilation and steroid
treatment she received has caused a delay in her development.
“I’m humbled to know that there are so many parents out there who share the
same predicament and that I’m not alone. Many have offered great advice and
solutions to help me,” Tan said.
Tan came across an advertisement in the papers about a newly established
international school and decided to give it a try.
A few days later, Bi-Jun began her formal schooling at Tanarata,
which currently has three other special students in the class.
Asked what she loves most about being in school, Bi-Jun pointed to the
playground and her friends.
“I like the playground cause I get to play with my
friends,” she said.
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Swinging time: Bi-Jun loves the playground in
the school where she gets to play with her friends and she always gets on the
swing whenever she can. |
Bi-Jun is very active and inquisitive in school as she constantly questions
her teachers and is curious to explore new things that she sees and learns.
“I hired a shadow aid teacher to be with her in class to help her through
the lessons but for subjects like music and physical education, she gets to be
on her own so that she can learn to be independent,” Tan said.
The school is tucked away among lush greenery and the atmosphere is also
very conducive for Bi-Jun to explore the outdoors and learn about the
environment.
“For Science, I take the children out for more practical learning like
getting them to plant a tree or to look at insects,” teacher Maureen said.
Maureen, a trained special needs teacher, said Bi-Jun had improved
tremendously in the short period since she started school.
“She has progressed a lot and learnt more about acceptable and unacceptable behaviour when interacting with others,’’ Maureen said.
“The most important thing for special needs students is for them to learn to
control their frustrations as well as to pick up social skills. We put goals
for each student and the current goal for Bi-Jun is to polish her social
skills,” she said.
“Bi-Jun brings a lot of colour and life to the
classroom because she is a very happy and funny child. She loves making jokes
and she’s also very talkative. Having Bi-Jun and the other special needs
student in a normal setting enhances the schooling experience for others,”
Maureen said.
Tan is very happy that the school has the programe
for special needs students and that Bi-Jun can finally learn to integrate with
normal students.
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Teach me, teacher: With the right guidance and focus,
Bi-Jun can complete her work better without getting distracted. |
“She loves eating in school now with her new friends and she has put on some
weight, which is great. She also works very hard in school because I promise to
reward her when she get a lot of stars from her
teachers,” Tan said. “The school is still small and it feels like a
close-knitted community where the parents are very supportive and this is
really good for Bi-Jun.”
Tanarata principal Barnali Guha founded the school
with an ultimate aim of setting up a special needs centre.
The centre has yet to be established because of shortage of trained
personnel.
“When I received calls from parents like Evelyn, I don’t have the heart to
turn them away so I admitted a few. We still get calls now but I don’t have the
capacity to take in more special students at the moment,” Guha said.
Bi-Jun looks forward to going to school now as she proudly tells everyone
that she will show her family her paintings and artwork that she does in school
everyday.