Teaching self-esteem to children with disabilities, focusing every day on their qualities and on the things they do best, so that they learn to look at themselves and others with different eyes: this is the goal of Chris Ulman, a teacher of Jacksonville, Florida, who opens his classes every morning praising all his little students one at a time.
Teach self-esteem to children with disabilities, dwelling every day on their qualities and on the things they do best, so that they learn to look at themselves and others with different eyes: this is the goal of Chris Ulman, a teacher in Jacksonville, Florida, who opens his lessons every morning praising all his little students one at a time.
Ulman has been responsible for three years a class made up of children suffering from various pathologies, ranging from autism to Down syndrome, neurological disorders and severe brain injuries. For some time, with the permission of their parents, documents their school days through videos posted on the Facebook page Special Books by Special Kids.
"They all come from segregated experiences, in the sense that they have always been separated from other students."
tells the same Ulman speaking of the boys who have been entrusted to him -
"Now instead they participate in school activities, dance in front of hundreds of other children and speak in debates."
According to Ulman, such progress depends on a different educational approach, based above all on empathy and self-esteem. To this end, every morning the teacher opens his lessons by expressing to each of his students his satisfaction in seeing him there and congratulating him on the achievements, be they school, sports or other. The important thing is that the student feels appreciated, understood and, consequently, stimulated to do better, learning, at the same time, to recognize the successes of his companions and to rejoice with them.
"My job is to reverse their psychological setting and help them have self-esteem." - explains Ullman - “Reminding them of the qualities they possess shifts attention from what they cannot do to what they know and can do. The children have become much more sociable and their communication skills, verbal and otherwise, have also improved dramatically. "
“Instead of focusing on deficits, I focus on talent. Instead of talking about peace, love and harmony, I show them peace, love and harmony. A child's reality is modeled on the experiences of his or her first years of life. If they have a narrow and tired teacher, they will think the world is narrow and tired. But if a teacher shows them peace, love and harmony, that will be the norm for them. "
Ulman's idea was to publish the book that would tell the stories, school routine and progress of his kids, showing them through their eyes and those of their parents. But, after receiving about fifty refusals from as many publishing houses, the teacher decided to use social media to communicate with the world and help people to identify with their students, better understanding their reality and needs.
"Ignorance can be forgiven."
- he concludes Ulman
"But there is no excuse for the lack of empathy."
Photo Credits: Special Books by Special Kids
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