Jeravem G.

Ortiyas
BS Social Work
May 6, 2019
Word Count: 610
Reflection: Every Child is Special

Ishaan Awasthi is an eight-year-old boy who is constantly bullied by other people and

scolded by his parents and teachers because of being mischievous. He is often misunderstood by

others because of his ways and traits that are the exact opposite of his brother, Yohan. People

including his family perceived him as lazy and a trouble maker. Ishaan does not do well and often

receives failing grades in school. His teachers usually complain about his attitude and academic

performance. These professionals do not have enough patience in teaching Ishaan. They always

express annoyance and dissatisfaction with Ishaan’s performance. One time, he is caught by his

teacher not paying attention in class. Eventually, the teacher asked him to read something in a

book, and unfortunately, he was unable to read the text since he has troubles in identifying and

recognizing letters. Because of this event, the bullying intensified. Ishaan feels different from the

other children. Despite of having a poor academic performance, he has an astounding talent in

drawing and painting. He is a creative child who has an imaginative mind. His works are placed

at home.

Nandkishore, Ishaan’s father, got angry because he found out that Ishaan had cut his classes

to roam around the town. Ishaan was eventually sent to an all-boys boarding school named The

New Era. His father thinks that this could help and discipline his son. In due course, improvements

were not seen in Ishaan’s academic performance. He lost his confidence and his passion for

drawing and painting. He even suffered stress and trauma because of being separated from his own
family. Bullying and scolding by his classmates and teachers were still experienced. In the long

run, he became completely unmotivated, unemotional and distant from his classmates.

In Ishaan’s art class, they were tasked to paint, but because of being unmotivated, he did

nothing. Ram Nikumbh, a substitute art teacher, got curious with Ishaan’s actions. The teacher

observed and eventually recognized the special needs of the boy. He realized that Ishaan has

dyslexia, a neurological reading disorder. His perspective is very different from other teachers. He

patiently taught and helped Ishaan in managing difficulties and challenges caused by the disorder.

Nikumbh highly comprehended the behavior and mental abilities of Ishaan since he experienced

these things and he had a dyslexia during childhood. Applying correct interventions such as

continuous practice and problem solving were performed by Ishaan through the help of his teacher.

Ram keeps on helping and he does not give up until Ishaan feels that he is loved and accepted. He

always motivates him, and in turn, Ishaan starts to learn step by step.

In teaching children how to read, patience is really a virtue. One must learn how to be

sensitive and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the students. An efficient teacher must

also be passionate and dedicated in helping the students learn. Every student has his/her own speed

or rate of learning. Acknowledging the fact that every child is indeed special must be instilled in

each teacher. Therefore, another thing that must be recognized is the application of effective

teaching strategies. Creativity is also needed in the teaching profession. Lastly and most

importantly, loving and caring for the well-being of the students should be a priority. A teacher

must not only be concerned with the academic performance of the students. S/he should give

importance to the state of his/her students physically, emotionally and spiritually. One should be
a source of inspiration and motivation of the children to go to school in order to learn; hence, a

need to execute a fun and healthy environment within the class should be held into consideration.