Because this school instructor is visually impaired, he could connect better, and know the needs of the visually impaired students, seeing the problems they may face in their, day-to day life, because he’d, had to deal with them too, off of the Front Page Sections, translated…
The school instructor, Lee from Taipei School for the Visually Impaired, Lee is blind, as he was growing up, due to a misdiagnosis, it’d caused him the visual impairments. Back then, his own father gave him three options, learn to massage, play the violin, or to be a school instructor, after considering how being a school instructor can bring in the most stable form of income, he’d decided to become a school instructor. For him, this job, it’s not just dream-fulfillment, it’d also, allowed him to help students who are, similar to him.
Lee is a rotating counselor of special education, he’d gone into the schools to counsel the visually impaired students, in the past, the parents doubted his abilities because he is visually impaired himself, it’d made him feel, that whenever he’d made a tiny error, the others would excuse him for it, because he is, “visually impaired”.
the photo of the instructor, touring the schools to help the world understand the needs of the visually impaired persons better, courtesy of UDN.com
But, all of these words, it’d not destroyed his goals of counseling students, he believed, that he’s a better problem-solver than the instructors without the disabilities, to help the visually impaired students better. He was had a female student who’d walked out of the school with a guiding cane that got by other pedestrians on the roads whispering, “look, she’s blind”, it’d made her so upset.
While Lee used his own experiences, and, counseled her, and, gone along with the student to take the MRT with her, and the two visually impaired persons on the roads, it’d, caused the fellow travelers’ looks, and the parent who’d come along with them felt ashamed, but his, “this is only a process,” the girl’s mother changed her thought, and finally, let go; and the girl made changes too, and, found peace with her own, guiding cane.
The Department of Education in recent years, started merging the education systems, placing the specials needs students into the regular classrooms. But, there are, only, a handful of students who’d become, merged into the classroom settings. Lee told, that sometimes, there was only one visually impaired student in the whole of the school, but he’d, toured around the schools, and counseled the visually impaired students, letting them know, that they’re, not alone that there are a lot who are like you, facing the exact same, problems in your lives.
Lee had been teaching for close to twenty years, and, these years, although he’d felt accomplished, but felt, that the policies are, obstructing, and felt the hardships.
He’d mentioned, that he’d taught in the middle school settings, and, the textbook publishers, the book venders told, that they have the electronic files available to visually impaired students to use, but there are still, too many restrictions, he’d hoped that the schools can make a note of the needs of the visually impaired students more.
And so, this is this instructor’s path, to helping his students to learn, being visually impaired, it’d gave him the experience he wouldn’t normally have had, if he were seeing, he’d known from his own experience, how difficult it is for the visually impaired persons to get around, and how he’d been, trying to, prove to the outside world, that just because he’s visually impaired, that doesn’t mean that he isn’t, capable, to work in the field of education.