I decided to apply the knowledge learnt about reflective practice. I went out of my way to assess the reason why my IEP
learner Lina** visited the latrine frequently and most of the time she is always passing gas in class.
On Monday 6th March this year (2017) I decided to take my lunch together with the pupils in the school dining hall so as to see how Lina feeds. I was curious about her feeding pattern. The
lunch menu for the day was Githeri (a mixture of boiled beans and maize). I
sat at a table away from Lina where I could see her properly as she took her lunch.
To my surprise, I observed that the girl
does not chew the food and she was struggling very hard to swallow the maize. I noted that she only pushed Githeri with her tongue (sic) and I
felt so sorry for her. You could see from her facial expression that she struggled chewing and swallowing the food.
I kept asking myself questions (sic) like, do her
parents know that she struggles to chew food? Do any one of the teachers know this
problem? I wondered how much the girl has suffered since she joined the school in 2014. I thank God for realizing
this, since I could help by informing the cooks of her problem and I requested them to
serve her with rice instead of Githeri.
The same day I requested them to serve her with rice. She was given and even though she couldn't chew well, she was able to swallow with less difficult.
After two days or so I asked my staff mates to join me in the dining to observe Lina, since it had been
bothering me ever since I saw her. So, some five colleagues and I joined the pupils in the dining hall
during lunch. The same cook whom I had informed earlier of the girl's
problem served her with Githeri again.
My staff mates were also surprised to see how the girl struggled to
swallow without chewing. We saw her as she used her incisors to crash the maize
into two pieces and struggle to swallow with her eyes closed. We all
discussed the issue and agreed that the girl should be given
special meal.
I learnt that most of these deaf pupils (I teach deaf children) have other difficulties. For as teacher s we should try to investigate the reason(s) as to why the child is behaving in a given different
manner. I decided that I should keep on
observing these learners not only in classroom but also in the field as they
play, and in dormitory, so that I can find out other problems they may have and sought for solutions or remedies where possible.
In
my way forward, I decided to inform the head-teacher about the problems so that
he authorize for special meals for the young girl, Lina, so that she will enjoy meals like
others and be in class most of the time.
I know that when this is implemented the frequency of going to the
toilet will reduce and even passing gas in class will reduce and the other pupils will not ridicule her again. Hence she will be able to concentrate in class.
1)*the name of the teacher has been concealed for confidentiality
2)**the name of the child has been concealed to protect her identity.
3) some minor editing in italic have been done
