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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe publication of this book has been instrumental inhelping us to review the field of education of the blind andthe different programmes literally all over the world. Mr.Stein is an avid traveller and he has traversed the globeinnumerable times. He has met and befriended socialworkers, educators, rehabilitation workers and blind stu-dents in his globe trotting. All these people whose namescannot be mentioned due to paucity of space deservespecial thanks as they have helped to contribute to ourlearning.All Mr. Stein's superiors, colleagues, friends at the Chris-toffel Blindenmission, The Royal Commonwealth Societyfor the Blind - Sight Savers, The Kowloon School for theBlind, The International Council for Education of Peoplewith Visual Impairment (ICEVI), the World Blind Union,Tapton Mount School in Sheffield deserve special thanksfor their role in Mr. Steinjs life.Several other friends like P G. Michael, Bill Brohier, AlanJohns, Susan Spungin, Larry Campbell, John Palmer,Elizabeth Chapman, H. Hewitt, Duncan Watson, SusanaCrespo, , Ramnik Halari, Rehmat Fazelbhoy, NarinderKumar, E. 0. Ireland, La1 Advani, Jagdish Patel, R. S.Chauhan, C. D. Tamboli, Swaran Ahuja, Suresh Ahuja,M.K. Chowdhary, S. P. Bahugana, Rajendra Vyas, GladysNyaga, Bhaskar Mehta, F. J. Porwal, M. R. Suryavanshi andArvel Grant perused the draft publication and sent theirpersonal tributes and specialized expert opinions. All ofthem deserve our over whelming gratitude for theircooperation.Infact, we are touched and thrilled that the draft was verywell received by all the people to whom it was sent. We


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received prompt responses and feedback inspite of theirpressing committments.We are particularly happy that all our friends and wellwishers have found this publication to be of immenselearning value - all these persons need special thanks forkeeping up our motivation, guiding and inspiring us.We are also greateful to Mr. Sajit S. for the cover design -Mr. Nainesh Purohit for computer setting - Mr. Damji Tank,Mr. Mudresh Purohit and Mr. Narayan Parmar for printing- Mrs. Leelamma Thomas and Mrs. Lalitha Nair forsecretarial assistance - Mr. Rajan Parikh for keeping ac-counts.We are also greateful to Mrs. Sneh Gupta, Mr. PuranKrishan Bansal and Mr. Ashwini Gupta, trustees of the Prof.Tirth Gupta Memorial Trust for bearing the cost of printingof the publication. We are extremely grateful to Mr. ArvindN. Lalbhai, Mr. Jagdish K. Patel, Mrs. Bhadra Satia, Mrs.Nandini P. Munshaw, Har ish M. Panchal and other officebearers of the Blind Men's Association for their guidance,encouragement, whole hearted support and cooperationin our endeavour.Last but not the least, we are greateful to all the blincichildren, the teachers and parents whose pictures andcase studies have been used in this publication.

Ahmedabad30 January, 1995 Bhushan PunaniNandini Rawal

PREFACE

Iconsider it a great privilege and honour to write the Prefaceto this book - W. Stein and Integrated Education. I admireand respect my dear friend Wolf Stein and I feel that thegreat work he has done so diligently and selflessly needsto be recorded, so that posterity and history recognize hisvaluable contribution o the field of education of the visuallyimpaired.Mr. Stein is, I feel, a citizen of the world - he transcendsborders of nations, castes, creeds and finds himself verymuch at home in the sophisticated scenario of the west asalso a small mud hut in a remote tribal village in India. Hecan communicate meaningfully with the most humble vil-lager, without knowing his native language. This is be-cause he speaks the language of humanity and love-whichis universally understood.He has travelled extensively in India and tried to preach thegospel of integrated education by demonstration and hisuncanny method of communication. He has enrichedagencies and professionals in the field of welfare of thevisually impaired by his experience and expertise. He is anemotional speaker and reaches straight out to the heartsof his listeners. His love for children and their well-being isevident in every word he speaks.He has motivated my young colleagues - Bhushan Punaniand Wandini Rawal - to such an extent that they are firmfollowers of the faith of integrated education and admirersof the 'father' as they fondly call him. I am proud of theirefforts in he compilation of this booklet and I irmly espousetheir views.


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P. G. Michael. Reaional Re~resentative, outh Asia Reaion..Christoffel ~lind&mission: the first lnbian with whom hetalked about integration. Mr. Michael, Mr. Stein feels, knewvery little about it, but he quickly understood the newdimension and its implications for India and soon he be-came a devoted follower and vociferous advocate of thenew concept. Together with Mr. Michael, Mr. Stein madethe first real break-through with integrated education inTamil Nadu in'south India.

Brothers in FaithEvaluating a child'sperformance with close fien d Mr. P.G. MichalIn a dinner meeting with the Minister of Education of TamilNadu, Mr. Stein had an opportunity to convince the formerabout integration and he gave them permission to embarkon a pilot project at Coimbatore. This is how it all started inSouth India. Needless to add that Mr. Stein had also toconvince the Board of the Christoffel Blindenmission or it.. .. .

Charisma & Charm Promoter of Integrated Education: Mr. Stein conductedW; tein @dresses the Quinquennial ICEW Conference n German y in 1987. several workshops over a period of two years for refreshing


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skills of the itinerant teachers working in the various in-tegrated education projects all over India. Theseworkshops were sponsored by Sight Savers (Royal Com-monwealth Society for the Blind) and coordinated by Na-tional Association for the Blind, India o examine the scopeand standards of integrated education programmes, to -expose the teachers to innovative teaching methods anddiscuss the problems faced by them in their day-to- daywork.Mr. Stein emphasized the vital role of teachers in workingwith a blind child, fashioning him with care and concern andenabling him to walk with his head held high in themainstream of life, as an indivisible part of the pulsatinggroup around. An itinerant teacher is thus not an ordinaryteacher bound by the limitations of time and curriculum, heis in Mr. Stein's words, "A philosopher and a horse-tamer"- A teacher who has the quest of knowledge, love forhumanity, innovativeness and the skills for taming his wardi.e. shaping his personality and over-all development.. According to Mr. Stein, a teacher's education is nevercomplete, the teacher begins to die the day he stops

5 learning. Learning is thus not a static, once-in-a-life timeexercise, it is a continuous yearning for knowledge.Experienced Educator: Mr. Stein has worked in both formsof education - special and integrated and has an in-depthknowledge of the inherent strengths and weaknesses ofeach. He believes that the 'itinerant teachef is the "newteacher" who has a multidimensional personality - that of acounsellor, consultant, investigator and artisan to name afew qualities. He strongly feels that a child has to bethoroughly prepared before he is admitted to a school, hecannot ust be admitted before he is mentally and physicallyequipped with the skills necessary for school.

Starting by teaching the child to learn to read and writebraille in the early days could have a detrimental effect onthe child. He would be learning an alien script withoutbecoming acquainted with familiar things. Mr. Stein cau-tions against this hasty plunge into braille and stresses theimportance of sensory training by activating the senses tocompensate for loss of sight. A child has to be taught .tactual discrimination and concept of dots through tactilematerial before being taught braille.Three Axioms of Education: Mr. Stein feels that a childshould be fully confident in his movement before he goesto school and hence the importance of orientation andmobility cannot be stressed enough. Mr. Stein swears bythree axioms for the success of integrated education:1. Education is education for life2. Life is different in dieren t parts of the world, educationmust thus be environment-oriented.3. The best education is that which enables the child tocompete, survive and live.The days with Mr. Stein could be reckoned to days spentin the company of a sage enlightened yet humble, whoselove of learning is his mission. As Socrates says "Lifeshould be inspired by love, sweetened by poetry andguided by knowledge" Who better personifies this state-ment than Mr. Stein?A Tribute: This publication is a humble attempt to puttogether the thoughts of Mr. Stein and enable workers inthe field of welfare of the visually impairea to learn fromthese thoughts and translate these experiences to suit theirown special needs.


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This publication is based on the thoughts reflected by Mr.Stein in numerous seminars, reports, letters and personalconversation. It is, however, not easy to put his thoughtsin the same emotional vein that is his forte, nor is it as easyto be as picturesquely eloquent as he is.This publication of his thoughts is our personal tribute to agreat "pedagogue"who initiated us in the field of integratededucation of the visually impaired.

Ahmedabad ..16 November, 1994 Bhushan PunaniNandini Rawal

A DISTINGUISHEDCAREERMr. Wolfgang Arthur Stein is known the world over as theOverseas Director of the Christoffel Blindenmission withwhich he was associated from 1970 to 1984, playing a vitalrole in directing the efforts of CBM in combating blindness,helping the handicapped and highlighting the education ofvisually impaired children. He is, however, more loved asa humanitarian, pursuing the cause of visually impairedchildren unflaggingly and relentlessly.Born on 28 August, 1930 at Witten in a mining district ofGermany, he had experienced poverty and hunger as mostof his fellowmen did at that time. It was his determinationthat saw him hrough his primary and secondary education.He was able to complete his education and studies in socialwork in post-War Germany, working part time in steel millsand coal mines to finance his studies.After obtaining a degree in Social Work, Mr. Stein servedbriefly in an institution for maladjusted boys in Switzerlandand thereafter as Education Officer in Brunswick, Germany,from 1951 to 1958. In his assignment his focus of attentionwas the juvenile delinquents. After three years of serviceas Counsellors or Refugee Students in Brunswick andHanover Universities, he expanded his professional scopeby undergoing raining in education of the blind at Liverpooland Sheffield,U. K.At Tapton Mount School in Sheffield, Mr. Stein warmlyrecalls, he was fortunate to meet the headmaster, Mr.Freddie Tooze, one of the pioneers of integrated educationin England. Their encounter led to a long friendship; yearslater their paths crossed again when they helped developsome of the first integrated education programmes inAfrica. Following he U. K. training, Mr. Stein came to serve


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the Orient as the Superintendent of the "Ebenezer Schoolfor the Blind, Hong Kong" from 1964 to 1970. It was fromhere that he was invited to ioin the Christoffel Blindenmis-

The CartographerMr. Stein witlt 11is self-made ntap of tlte Kc~~vlootzenitlsulaMr. Stein's rich experience and knowledge has helpedCBM in emerging as a pioneering agency in the world todayassisting over 300 organizations in their fight against blind-ness and endeavours to rehabilitate the handicapped. Hehas ably guided institutions working in partnership withCBM in planning and launching meaningful and realisticprogrammes.In August, 1977 at the VI Quinquennial Conference of theInternational Council of the Educators of the Visually Hand-icapped (ICEVH) held in Paris, Mr. Stein was unanimouslyelected as its President for the ensuing quinquennium.Under his enlightened leadership, the ICEVH, which is theforum of the educators of the visually impaired, reachednew heights in planning programmes for educating andrehabilitating millions of blind all over the world.

The Vlll Quinquennial Conference of ICEVH, with over 500participants rorn 9G countries, held at Wurzburg, Germany,in 1987, was a superbly executed and managed one underthe personal supervision of Mr. Stein. It was as if he washosting the Conference at his own home - so warm andpersonalized was his hospitality.He joined Sight Savers (Royal Commonwealth Society forthe Blind) as International Rehabilitation and EducationConsultant during 1984. During his tenure he conducteda number of workshops for itinerant and resource teachersin India as he felt that only with intensive raining could theseteachers provide the specialized services that a small blindchild needs. He brought a new awakening regarding pre-braille activities, making of educational aids using locallyavailable materials and the constant need to keep learningnew things to enable education to become a dynamicprocess in the true sense af the word. He played a pivotalrole in promoting the itinerant model of integrated educa-tion

Great Role of MusicCltildrett of Blirtd Scllool i:z tiotzg k'otlg


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His work is not confined to any one country or continent.He has nitiated integrated education in quite a few Carib-bean countries, in Africa, in Asia, more recently in Can-ton\China, in Bulgaria and in-Romania.A widely travelled man, visiting almost all the countriescovered by the Christoffel Blindenmission and the SightSavers (Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind), atleast once a year, Mr. Stein is a silent dynamo, full of loveand compassion or the suffering humanity. He is a power-ful speaker, admired for his depth of thoughts, frankopinions, practical ideas and most of all his sensitivity andwarmth. Mr. Stein is a respected participant in major worldforums in the fight against blindness and activities for thewelfare of the handicapped.He celebrated his 60th Birthday on 28 August, 1990. Alarge number of fellow workers and admirers from all overthe world had he privilege of enjoying aegrand vening withthe "Father of Integrated Edu cation" as he is rightly called.His advancing years do not seem to show on him at all - heis in fact more enthused and creative than ever.

EARLY INTERVENTION AND THE VISUALLYHANDICAPPED CHILD

(Based on a Keynote Address Presented by Mr. Stein at the InternationalSymposium on "VisuallyHandicapped Infantsand Young Children: Birthto Seven" at Tel Aviv, Israel, 1981)1. The Opulent Occident:Allow me to begin my observations with a little digressionbefore I turn to the actual theme of this conference. Iconsider this digression necessary however, because t willmake many connections clear and place our specificproblems n a larger perspective and in a wider dimension.We live in great times. Such momentous and revolutionarychanges in human life as have characterized he past 30-50years have never before been experienced n any previousera of humanity. Man has, to speak in biblical terms,subdued he earth, in he truest sense of the word. It almostseems as if there were no more secrets, and the word"impossible" will soon disappear from our vocabulary.Scientists, technologists, and doctors have opened doorswhich for our ancestors were either taboo or regarded asfirmly closed. In half a century we have split the first atom,mastered the air, and now we are preparing to totallyconquer space.That which seemed infinitely far away to our fathers hasalready been brought within an attainable distance, andsince the first landing on the moon, a development hasbegun the outcome of which we cannot even guess. Thevisions of one Jules Verne already seem as fairy tales to usnowadays; we find it much easier to agree with Jung, who


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has said "The future has already begun!" In a simpler way,but still expressing a distinct feeling of elation, a member ofa new caste in our society, the "Jet-Set",said recently; "Lastnight I dined in London, I had breakfast in Bombay, lunchin Singapore, and my next dinner will be served to me inTokyo. It's great to live in times like these and great to beable to say: "We were there at the time!".Indeed, we were, we are here at this time! and we are notonly eye witnesses and participants of these wonders oftechnology, we also see ourselves as victims, stripped ofour own last secrets. Medicine, psychology, andpsychiatry go beyond those limits which for centuries wereregarded as inviolable taboos. Since the first hearttransplant was successfully performed less than 20 yearsago, it seems that the transplant of other human organs isnot a matter of time. The conquering of the last deadlydiseases, for example cancer, also belong to this develop-ment.On the horizon is genetic manipulation which may one daybestow us with a conveyer-belt production of brainsmodelled after Einstein. Our times, our great times! Shouldwe not oin in a chorus with the jubilant cry of that jet-setter:"We are here to experience it!" Like gods we have liberatedourselves, elevated ourselves -flown up to the stars. Truly,we are the crown of creation!2. The Dismal Disparity:Unfortunately this hymn of praise is not a world-widechorus! The dissonance arises from the fact that only asmall proportion of the human population of our planet hasa share of which we are so proud of and that theseacquisitions have by-passed more than two thirds of allhuman beings. Even more: there are signs and proof that

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in the last decades of our rapid development, our growingwealth and our improved standard of living, many of thesecountries which were already poor have become stillpoorer. So poor, that 70-80 per cent of their people leadan existence unworthy of human beings, below the mini-mum necessary for survival, the so-called "Poverty Line".For example, in lndia this means a yearly income of lessthan 50 US$.In order to demonstrate the large extent to which our worldis split into "Different Worlds", I will compare the followingfigures: the Gross National Product n lndia amounts o US$150, in the U.S.A. it comes to $5,590, in Bangladesh it is$90, compared to $4,480 in Sweden. Poverty has manyfaces, and its criteria are varied. Someone has claimed hata person in Europe may be classed as poor if he has nocar, in Asia he is poor if he has no bicycle, and in Africa ifhe cannot afford a paii of shoes. My definition is simpler:for me all those who cannot eat their fill at least once a dayare poor!It is of these poor people I am thinking, especially of themany millions of hungry children. I have met them in theslums of large cities in Asia and Latin America, in therefugee areas of East Africa, and in the arid regions of theSahel in West Africa. They are not yet "handicapped" n thesense of our theme, but there can be no doubt that it isprecisely these children who, because of inhuman livingconditions, form the large reservoir of those whom we call"children at risk". Just how much they are at risk is shownby a publication of the World Hea!th Organization, accord-ing to which in South-East Asia alone 100,000 to 150,000children go blind yearly from xerophthalmia.This statement leads me right into our theme: here it is nota question of old people who lose their sight late in their


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lives - here we are talking about small children and infantswho rose faculty of sight at a time when their lives have notyet really begun. At the same time we should rememberthat these visually impaired children represent only one ofthe diverse groups of handicapped persons: together withthe deaf, mentally and physically Randicapped they formapproximately 15 per cent of the child population indeveloping countries.The World Health Organization has said that the two maincauses of these handicaps are malnutrition of mothers andchldren, lack of vitamins, and to top it all a host of infectiousdiseases. If the goods of this world were more equally- distributed, a little more insight were shown on the part ofthose in positions of responsibility, and there was moreSolidarity of effort, 80 per cent of these handicaps couldprobably be prevented. Can we still talk about our "greattimesu inthe face of this? How great - or how small - do wesuddenly become faced with such knowledge? A well-known industrialist once said: "Nothing imposes moreresponsibility than wealth". Have we, the rich and privilegedof this world, assumed such responsibility ourselves?a Persons InNeed:Even if we are not prepared to share the problems of ourfeflow human beings in an underprivileged part of the world,one would at least assume that we have solved our own.Let us, therefore, examine our great, affluentand flourishingsocietysomewhat closer. Have the fantastic achievementsof technology, science and industry also contributed toraise our human life together, our attitudes toward ourneighbours, to a better, higher level? Do all members ofour society participate in this progress, do they all reallyenjoy and benefit from this zenith of human existence?Have we in fact already csksd ourselves why we need a

"Year of the Child" or a "Year of the Handicapped"?.Couldit be possible that such proclamations are issued to forceus to think of those whom we so often banish from ourconsciousness?Let me speak clearly: our rich, prosperous society as-sumes more and more often an attitude of rejection or atleast of ignorance to wards all those who form a disturbingelement in our prosperous paradise.They neither fit into our image of perfection, nor can theyhave a place in our competitive system: the ill, the weak,the handicapped, the old, the dying.In this context it is interesting to follow advertisements onthe radio or television, for by now we are aware of the powerof such advertisements in forming our opinions. In them asociety is suggested to us, or at least an ideal picture of thissociety, which consists of happy, healthy, vital, active andwealthy people whose average age is perhaps 25. Thepharmaceutical industry probably represents the only ex-ception, as its advertisements extol the virtues of medicinesand miracle Cures which promise eternal youth, vitality andhealth for those among us who are no longer young.Let us be honest with ourselves: we would like to push hemout of our sight, all those who disturb our image of a perfecthuman society! For that reason they must be forced intoisolation from us- the aged and feeble into old people'shomes and infirmaries, he dying nto sterile hospital rooms,the blind, deaf and physically handicapped into specialschools, the mentally retarded into institutions andasylums. We tell ourselves, "That is the State's businessand responsibility. The State must take care of them". Weforget that we are the State. If the State fails, then we failtoo.


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Page 20 Page 21We must develop a new conception of our human com-munity so that there is room not only for those who con-tribute to its knowledge, progress and wealth, but alsowarmth and affection for those who are weaker and haveless to give. We must all have a sense of responsibility forone another. These basic demands on social consciencecannot be laid down by law. All of us as fathers, mothers,brothers and sisters of the human family must make in-dividual contributions to this development.Despite the bleak picture I have just presented, there ismuch existing upon which we can build. There are ex-amples in the world which can encourage and stimulate us,which can show us how to strive for that better humancommunity where each individual can have the right to fullmembership and participation.4. The Visually Handicapped Child: Early InterventionAnd Parental Involvement:Now we must consider a task which has been given to thisconference: to look at the needs of young visually hand-icapped children. We who are here, you and I, want to giveblind and low visioned children a better start in life and inthe society in which they will live. We understand howimportant it is to begin this process early, as early aspossible. We know that during the first years of a normalchild's life everything can still be won or lost. This is evenmore strongly true of the early years of a handicappedchild's life. Too long we have held on tightly to the conceptthat what we call "education" begins at ages 5, 6 or 7. Wehave been thinking primarily of educating a child to becomean "academic being" rather than a "social being".Today we know that learning, and education begin at birth,and that parents represer? the key figures in the learning

process of a small child. Let us not therefore take our ownroles too seriously, because by the time children comeunder our care and responsibility, a decisive part of theirdevelopment as human beings has already been con-cluded. We must arrive at a new recognition and evaluationof the important role parents play. Whenever a child comesunder our protection, his parents must remain our mostimportant partners.But parents often feel helpless and unprepared, which isunderstandable. We train people to be teachers,psychologists, and therapists at our universities. Where dowe train people to function as parents? There are noschools teaching parenting. It is , therefore, not the leastsurprising that parents often find themselves unable tocope with their children's problems, especially if thechildren are handicapped. An experienced educator sayson this subject:"Many handicapped children are not aware of theirproblems during the first few years of their lives. It is theirparents who suffer most. They are ignorant of the fullimport of their child's condition, and may be harbouringmany misconceptions. Most parents are terribly shocked.Some refuse to accept the diagnosis of the doctor. Blam-ing themselves or others for their child's condition, somereject the handicapped child totally. A large percentagemix guilt with pity and overprotect the child. Full accep-tance is not an easy matter for any parent."Nearly all parents need help at some time during the earlyyears of the lives of their handicapped children, and mostof them are glad to accept assistance. It is not so vital thatwe as counsellors and teachers be concerned with usingthe most scientific methods and techniques when handlingthe children, but rather that we make every effort to use the


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best possible ways of helping the parents. Such help maybe given in a different form in a developing country fromwhat is offered in a prosperous society. In all cases,the most important thing is the activation of the family'slatent strength for sharing and helping one another so thatall members may live in harmony and joy with the hand-icapped child.

On no account should our only answer be the in-stitutionalization of such children. Iam aware that in certaincases where especially severe handicaps are involved, ashort or long-term stay in a special institution cannot beavoided. In spite of this, I declare myself to be a strongopponent of special institutions where they only serve asedternatkes or as excuses for the failure of both family andsociety. This is equally true for handicapped children atpm-sdwol or school age.For a brig time now we have known about the so-called"t-tospitdkm syndrome", that is, he deficiencies childrenMng n institutions show in almost all areas of their personal&vebp rmt. Nevertheless, the tendency still exists toi da te handicapped children in institutions. Iwould like toquote from Professor Hellbrigge, a teaching paediatrician,who has created in my country a model integratedprogramme for handicapped and non-handicappedchildren, "Only if we promote the social,development of achild, no matter in what way he is handicapped, at theearliest possible stage, and give him the opportunity atpre-school and school age,to know the world of non-hand-icapped people ..Only ifwe give the non-handicapped childan opportunity early in his life to know and accept thehandicapped child in the context of his social developmentwill we be able to realty solve the problem of handicapped

persons in our society."6. Social Integration:Such integration is possible in our prosperous sock&!$and in developing countries - indeed, in the latter it is n donly possible but imperative. How else could the greatmass of handicapped children in Third World countries everhave a chance of education? In India, to mention dniy oneexample, there are over 130 residential schools for theblind, yet we know that these schools can offer service toonly one child out of thirty in that country. If only for financialreasons, we must ask how many special schools must st$be built to guarantee all visually impaired children the rightto education.But I am not so concerned with the financial side of theproblem. My main concern, our main concern, must be tohelp build a social structure in which handicapped andnon-handicapped persons can live together. Prosperityand health must not be allowed to obscure the fact thatGodhas created this world for all of us, a world in which everyindividual must have his place.One of our philosophers said that handicapped peopleneed society, but society needs its handicapped membersalso. Any society's ethical, moral and spiritual value canbe measured according to whether it not only tolerates6handicapped members, but fully accepts them.If our riches should one day all be taken away from us,thesense of community, of solidarity, the feeling of respon-sibility for our neighbour would survive and become aguideline and compass for future generations.


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Thus the duty of all educators is not merely to fulfill profes-sional but to challenge hem selves,and others, THE NEW TEACHERto build new and better society. Over and beyon d all 1. integrated Education - m e New Challengeprofessional deliberations let us resp ond to, and accept,this challenge. lntegrated education has been initiated and has grown

steadily in the developing world. Mr. Stein believes thatworking in integrated education n Asia and Africa is not ustanother teaching job based within the sheltered precinctsof a classroom . it is a challenging responsibility, embracing' the c are and welfare of score s of visually im paired childrenin a wide area. It can be one of the roughest and toughesteducational assignments hat can be ound anywhere in theworld. Its possibilities are immense, its horizons wide, yet,because of the very areas in which it has to Operate, thedividing line between success and failure is sometimes verythin.lntegrated education depends for its vitality, indeed itsexistence, on the "know how ", competence and tenacity ofthe men and women who pioneer this work in the field.They are the people who have to dem onstrate convincinglyto governments, missions, voluntary agencies and, mostimportant of all, the families who have visually impairedchildren, that these children are trainable -tha t this trainingcan be imparted effectively in ordinary schools and that,from the point of view of the class teacher, it can be donewithout upsetting the norm al balance of work in the school.1.1Qualities of a Leader:What are the qualities that a succes sful leader in integratededucation must possess? One of the most important iscertainly a firm belief in the value of the work that one isdoing and the ability to see a project through to a satisfac-tory conclusion . Another is the vision to see this form of


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is the continuation of a process that began right after birth.At school it only takes a more formal shape. And a newkey-figure enters the child's life: the Teacher! His role isdescribed in more detail later in this publication, but it isimportant to note that he does not replace he mother. Theteacher must recognize her as a partner in a joint effort toprepare he child for life and to be fully integrated in society.Thus this transition should be a smooth and1naturalprocess. For the child, it is also the beginning of a fascinat-ing journey. From now on, the teacher will take his handand lead him into a new world, the world of search anddiscovery, of knowledge and experience.3. History of Education of the Visually Impaired3.1 First Sc hool For The Visually Impaired:Mr. Stein traces the origin of the first school for the visuallyimpaired to a letter by Dr. Diderot during 1748 which waspublished in a French newspaper in Paris. Interestinglyenough, it was a letter meant for educators but was writtennot by an educator, but by a physician. The letter bears hetitle, "A letter about the blind for the use of those who cansee". and in this letter, for the first time , somebody revealssomething about the real personality of the human being.behind blind eyes.In this letter which is totally unknown among the educatorsfor the visually impaired in many parts of the world, Diderotreveals that what a wonderful friend he had discovered inhis blind neighbour, a man who, to his utter surprise, wrotepoetry, appreciated music, even played some instruments,who had many manual skills - a man who was longing forfriendship, a man who wanted to be wanted, and who wasindeed wanted by others. This was a very different kind ofperson than one that we sometimes in our distorted minds

form about the poor blind man -the blind beggar, the blindmusician or the blind child that is worthless.This letter highlighted the potentials of the blind as wit-nessed by Dr. Diderot and made society look afresh at thisneglected segment of society.It was during 1784, that Mr. Valentine Huay established thefirst school for the blind in the world in Paris. Louis Braille,a student of this school invented the embossed six dotsystem of reading and writing, now popularly known as theBraille System. In India, the first school for the blind wasstarted at Amritsar during 1887 by Ms. Annie Sharp, aChristian missionary.3.2Beginning of Special Education in India:Miss Annie shard- the initiator of education for the blind inIndia. It was a woman; not a man, not provided with"colonial" or other governmental powers, just a lady with avision, a determination. She was willing to make certainsacrifices o leave her family, her friends, her home country.She had set her mind at a goal: To teach, train blind childrenin a far-away country, in India. What made her do that? Wedon't really know. For Christians there is an easy explana-tion: God charged her, directed, guided her.Yet, she must have had inspirations of a very human nature;the understanding and knowledge of human needs, thenotion of desires and despairs of those on the dark side ofthe road, the conviction that life gives us the rare chanceto make it meaningful f we live it not only for ourselves, butfor others. She must have sensed that there is a rewardfor every sacrifice, a reward not in cash or kind, but thesatisfaction of an enriched, enhanced, fulfilled life.


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Miss Annie Sharp, incidentally, did not just "work for theblind": She lived with the blind people in her care, sheshared her life with them. Her seemingly unimportantventure didn't cause headlines, public attention. Thatshould not surprise us: Most humanitarian acts were donein quiet, solitude, seclusion. In the same quiet manner, ayoung missionary lady from Germany, Louise Cooper, leftfor China in order to work with a small community of blind.people near Canton-just two years after Miss Sharp's In-dian adventure began; in ess than ten years a young pastorby the name of Ernst Christoffel would follow them toestablish the first homes and schools for the blind in theMiddle East, Turkey and Iran. None of them ever receivedpublic recognition during their life-times.3.3 Advantages Of Special Schools:This system of special education, that is, educating visuallyimpaired children in schools specially created for them,became very popular and for some time remained the onlymedium of education of the blind. At that time there wasabsolutely no inkling of any other possible system of educa-tion. The special schools had distinct advantages whichenabled their proliferation and acceptance as a mode ofeducation.While conducting a seminar for the itinerant teachers atAhmedabad, Mr. Stein pointed out a variety advantages ofspecial schools including availability of specialized trainedteachers, access to wide range of special equipment, andwell organized and clean environment. As the size of eachclass is small, each child gets individualized attention andthe special teachers devote adequate time for each child.These schools lay adequate emphasis on plus curriculumi.e. braille, activities of daily living and orientation and

mobility. These schools have developed adequate facilitiesfor development of other skills i.e. music, chair caning,weaving etc. He considers these schools ideal for the poorchildren as boarding and lodging is generally free. Similarly,these schools emerge as a shelter for the abandongd blindchildren.3.4Limitations of Special Schools:Mr. Stein considers'that it is fair to say that the residentialsystem reaches out to only about 3 to 5 per cent of visuallyhandicapped children of India. That, as a matter of fact, isa similar picture in almost all developing countries. Or, ithas been the same picture until very recently, let us say,until 10 to 15 years ago when in many of these countrieswhat we are still planning has become a reality - integratededucation.So, it is for reason of numbers that we should promote andembark, set our sails on the ship called "integrated educa-tion". But we have also heard that there are other reasons.How does one find a blind school! Somebody once said:'Just find the building with the highest walls around it1.Thatis the blind school. Mr. Stein has seen blind schools allover the world and they virtually all look the same. He hasyet to find a blind school without that high wall around it.For over 200 years, in spite of all the good and ail wonderfulthings that have been achieved by blind schools, n all these200 years they have also added to that phenomenon thatwe call the blind group set apart. That is in fact one of thebiggest problems of blindness - not belonging to the com-munity. If we are ready not only in our minds but also in ourhearts to receive our blind brothers and sisters in ourcommunities, we have to prepare them and that prepara-tion begins very early in ife. It begins even before hey enter


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Page 32 Page 33school. Unfortunately in most cases we only reach themwhen they are above school-age.Mr. Stein has been reading lots of material of the fore-fathers of education of the blind and then very often he h ascome across the phrases, "We must lead them out of theirdarkness." That m ight be true and that might be a g oodapproach. But no where ever we read the phrase, "We mustlead them into our societies."3.5 Beginning Of Integrated Education:lnspite of the various advantages of special education, it,was realized that the visually impaired children were iso-lated from their families and society. lnfact it was this singleprinciple that made professionals and parents o pause andappraise afresh the relevance and merits of this system.3.5.1 Scotland Project: The origin of integrated educa tioncan be traced back through the years. More than ahund red and thirty years ago , the first organize d system ofintegrated education was introduced in Scotland and wasreplicated for a s hort period in other pa rts of the U nitedKingdom. It was a venture well in advance of the social andeducational thinking of the age and aimed, according toone re cord "at preserving the ho me life of visually impairedchildren and overcoming the economic problems of thetimes". After a prom ising start the proje ct failed "throughlack of interest on the part of the teaching profession andpublic".3.5.2lnitiation in America: Little was he ard of the co-ed uca-tion of visually impaired and seeing children, thoug h furtherhalf- hearted attempts were made in England between1860-70. At the turn of the nineteenth century, Dr. R.B.Irwin made in the U nited States the first successful attempt

at the integra tion of visually impaired and sighted childrenin the sch ools of Cleveland, Ohio. His work o btained littlepublicity but he persevere d with it over the years. Thescheme was taken up seriously in the 1930s in Marylandand later,in Kentucky. It was after the Secon d World Warthat "integration" or "inte grated education" grippe d p ublicimagination and came into its own. Today, over half theblind children in the U nited States are e ducate d in regularschools.3.6 Impetus To Integrated Education:It is interesting to n ote that integ rated educa tion receivedits main impetus not so much through the initiative ofteachers and social workers (though there were excep-tions), as much as the response to the request of parents,many of them who o bjected to se nding their children longdistances to special schools. This, coupled with the factthat it was much cheaper to educate a visually impairedchild in an ordinary school, probably contributed to thepopularity of the schem e with the public. At the same timemany professional worke rs realized hat for a great num berof blind children, the regular schoo l was proba bly, from thewider educational aspe ct, the best environment.3.7 Who Initiated Integrated Education:According to Mr. Stein three groups of individuals playedan impo rtant role in initiating integrated education :3.7.1 Visually Impaired Persons Themselves: Many visuallyimpaired persons themselves were not satisfiedwith thesystem of special education, they wanted t o stay with theirfamilies and study in regular schools along with othersighted children. They took the initiative in encouragingintegrated education.


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(This is true in India as well. Most of leaders of integratededucation like Jagdish Patel, Lal Advani, Rajendra T. Vyas,Ramnik Halari, Rehmat Fazelbhoy, Bhaskar Mehta, K. A.Thaker, Narendra Kumar, Harshad Jani, Anil Patel, T. AshirNallathambi, M. K. Choudhary, C. D. Tamboli, AnuradhaMohit are themselves blind persons)3.7.2 Progressive TeachersOf ~ h e " ~ i s u a l 1 ~mpaire.d:Theydiscovered that the special education was not the rightanswer to the education and complete development of the.blind. They felt that the visually impaired persons weremissing a lot in life by being isolated from the mainstream.Hence they thought of initiating integrated education.3.7.3 ParentsOf the Visually Impaired Children: Parents didnot wish to send their blind child away from home to aspecial school far away. They felt that the child would bemuch better off if he stayed in the family and in a familiarenvironment. They also realized that their blind child couldbe educated along with the sighted children with someadditional efforts and they encouraged integratededucation.Mr. Stein emphasizes that one must never underestimatethe importance of involvement of visually impaired personsand their parents in the planning and implementation ofprogrammes of education. In fact programmes plannedwith the active cooperation of parents are immensely suc-cessful as goals set are more realistic and practical.4. Advantages of lntegrated Education:Mr. Stein feels that special schools and integrated educa-tion are not mutually exclusive, they are not substitutes foreach other, they are infact complementary to one anotherand each one helps t~ supplement the other. Special

schools will always exist for visually impaired children withan additional handicap; or for children who come frombroken families; or who are destitute. lntegrated educationis, however, the only option for reaching out to thethousands of blind children in remote rural areas indeveloping countries. Mr. Stein points out the followingadvantages of integrated education:4.1Social IntegrationWhat has integrated education to offer visually impairedchildren in Asia and Africa? It offers congenial companyinstead of physical isolation; the uplift and prestige ofbelonging to a group busily engaged in enriching theirminds instead of endless mental stagnation; the knowledge

,that one is "wanted" and is part and parcel of a progressiveand lively young community instead of being thought of asan oddity that for most purposes is inert or even "dead".These are but a few of the joys that properly organizedintegrated education can bring into the life of a visuallyimpaired child.The social benefits in case of integrated education areimmeasurable - it swifiiy removes stigma, prejudice orindifferent attitudes of the sighted towards the visuallyimpaired.4.2Mutual Sharing:Socially and administratively the system has equally impor-tant advantages. It has, for example, been shown con-clusively in Africa that integrated education is a two-wayprocess: it not only trains the blind child but, because itworks in the midst of communities, it educates the localpopulation in more understanding attitudes towards thehandicapped. Many people who have seen these


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schemes at work feel that on these grounds alone theintegrated education schemes should be developed.4.3 Wide Coverage:lntegrated education is the last weapon to reach out to thevast number of visually impaired children -the bleak sfatis-tics indicate that there might be as many as half a million ofthem in lndia.Administratively, it provides a logical and practical meansof dealing with large numbers of visually impaired childrenat a realistic cost. lntegrated education, then, is the latestweapon in attempting o assist the estimated 6,70,000 blindchildren in the world and the 20,000 children in common-wealth countries who lose their sight every year and whowill never be served by special schools. The few residentialschools can hardly touch the fringe of the problem.Academic achievements in case of integrated educationmay not be as high as in case of special schools, but formost of these children in lndia - and in most developingcouritries for that matter - it is a question of some educationor none.Mr. Stein stresses that the ultimate goal of integratededucation must be to reach out to the young blind children,the earlier, the better.4.4 Low Cost:lntegrated education can offer them a chance in life. At thesame time it educates the community, and it operates at afraction (about one-third) of the normal cost of educating avisually impaired child in an institution as admitting such achild in a regular school does not require any additionalinitial investment in land, building, fixtures or infrastructure.

The existing infrastructure in the regular school is madeavailable to such a child. The major cost incurred n specialschools is that on boarding and lodging of the inmates, thisis taken care of by the family of the visually impaired childin case of integrated education.4.5 Equality of Opportunity:Sometimes one hears the question, "Why educate thevisually impaired when we have insufficient facilities for oursighted children?" Whilst one can fully appreciate theproblems developing countries face, two factors are oftenforgotten. Firstly, because of the very nature of their hand-icap, visually impaired children are more in need of helpthan most others. Secondly, as the general pattern ofprimary, technical and higher education moves rapidlyforward, it is short-sighted and unrealistic, both economi-cally and socially, to exclude the handicapped.4.6 Proliferation Principle:At the very least, pilot schemes for integrated educationcan be started in most territories - schemes which can beexpanded and improved as the economic progress of thecountry gains momentum. The system of integratededucation is very simple and can be easily replicated n thedeveloping world.4.7 The Warning Bell:In the next ten to twenty years, integrated education will inmany areas revolutionize he pattern of education or visual-ly impaired children. But let there be no mistake: integratededucation is not an infallible formula which claims to solveall immediate problems of education of the visually im-


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paired. Sound organization, close supervision, goodpublic relations and a large measure of common sense areprerequisites for an integrated education scheme. It haslimitations, yet it can, in a selected area and with keen,capable staff, bring new hope to scores of blind children ina remarkably short space of time.Mr. Stein also cautions that integrated education projectsmust not become "reception centres" for all school leaversfrom residential schools irrespective of their .ability to pur-sue an academic career.5. Models of Integrated Education:5.1 Explanation of Different Models:Three main models of integrated education dependingupon socio- economic conditions, geo-political environ-rnent, general education system are prevalent in develop-ing countries. In some areas, a combination of differentmodels has been introduced. Factors which influence theirselection are the local ncidence of blindness, geographicalscatter (whether an area is rural or urban), the availabilityof teacher training facilities and local attitudes to blindness.Each system has one common element: the inclusion ofsmall groups of specialist teachers. A specialist teacher isa teacher who has volunteered to undergo a special courseof training in the education of visually impaired children. Hemay eventually be responsible for 8-10 blind children,depending on the system he is working in. The specialistis the unifying force, tactfully drawing together the interestsof a visually impaired child, the class teacher and the schoolas a whole. Each of the systems has as its aim: theintegration of a visually impaired child with the mainstreamform of education.

Model I: Co-o ~e rati ve vstem:A group of visually impaired children selected fromamongst the other visually impaired students attending aresidential school attend specific lessons at a local regularschool. The residential school serves as a "ResourceCentre" n terms of provision of braille material, tactual aids,plus curriculum and both schools maintain a close co-operation.

Mr. Stein is, however., not in favour of this model. He feelsthat it is not integration in the true sense of the word. Asstudents return to special school after attending somelectures at regular school and they tend to isolate themsel-ves, this model does not result into meaningful ntegration.Visually impaired students have a limited involvement withsighted students and the process of information sharingand understanding between the two groups is very limited.Mr. Stein, however, opted for the "Cooperative System" asa meaningful proposition for Canton in China during 1991.This decision was guided by the fact that the know-how andcompetence of the Canton teaching staff did not warrant


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embarking upon itinerant programme for the time being.The concerned teachers have had only very basic andrudimentary exposure to this kind of work. Mr. Stein looksat the co-operative system as a fore-runner for an itinerantprogramme to be started when more teachers have beenadequately prepared.Model II: Special Unit Svstem:A group of blind children, 15 or maximum 20, is accom-modated in a "Resource Centre" which is attached to astandard school. After intensive preparation the blindchildren attend lessons with the sighted children; at theresource centre they find all necessary special equipmentand braille materials. Two or three specially trainedteachers help them with their problems and teach themspecial skills such as braille, mobility, etc.

I IIt is of course to be seen if resource teachers can "give thebest to the child". Often it has been stressed that theteacher/student ratio in the itinerant programmes shouldbe 1 5 or at the maximum 1 7. Even if we consider the morefavourable working conditions of the resource teacher in

Tamil Nadu, his case-load should not exceed 10 clients.In India, this model is also termed as Resource Centremodel of integrated education. Most of the integratededucation programmes in Tamil Nadu have adopted thismodel. Most of the city based integrated educationprogrammes generally follow this model.With this model, integrated education was introduced inAfrica after a batch of specialist teachers had been trainedat Montfort College, Malawl. Even today, the special unitsystem is practiced in Malawi, Tanzania and in some WestAfrican countries.Model Ill: InIn this system, a visually impaired child lives at home withhis family in his own community and attends the nearestregular school and studies with the sighted children. Aspecially trained "itinerant teacher" assists 5 to 7 of thesechildren in the areas where they need help and individualtuition. This teacher goes from one village to another andimparts the specialized services to visually impairedchildren in their own homes.He also maintains a close contact with the class-roomteacher and the children's parents. In one of the schools,preferably in a central location, he is provided with a"Resource Room". Here all special equipment and braillematerial is kept and individual teaching is given to thechildren.This is the most ideal model for the integrated education ofvisually impaired children. However, its success dependson the appointment of a competent itinerant teacher andthe provision of a resource room.


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5.2A Comparative Study:The Christoffel Blindenmission has spearheaded SpecialUnit System of integrated education in Tamil Nadu. Todayover 2000visually impaired children are integrated n nearly110schools. Resource Centre plan is adopted and almostall children live in integrated hostels. Thus, it is mostly aresidential programme. Most of the teachers are qualifiedhaving a post graduate degree in special education fromVidyalaya Home Science University.

I Whereas Sight Savers (Royal Commonwealth Society forthe Blind) has promoted the itinerant model of integrated

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education mostly in the Northern, Western and Easternstates of India. The Ministry of Human Resource Develop-ment has also supported this model of integrated educa-tion.Mr. Stein paid field visits to both these programmes, con-ducted seminars of the special teachers and discussed hesalient features of these systems with the organizers.Based on his detailed anal.ysis of functioning of thesesystems of education, he submitted a Report on a SurveyMission on Integrated Education Programmes. The taskhad been defined by the Christoffel BlindenmissionRegional Office as a "critical evaluation of the syllabus forthe resource teacher training and CBM-supported in-tegrated education programmes for the visually impairedchildren".In view of his overall involvement in integrated educationprogrammes in India, the assignment offered additionalopportunities to Mr. Stein, for example to compare theresource centre model, its service delivery strategy,monitoring and supervision practice, standards of perfor-mance with projects under itinerant system of integratededucation, but also to examine the pros and cons of ahostel-based integrated education programme and itsfinancial implications.The following observations regarding salient features aswell as merits and limitations of different systems of educa-tion are based on this survey mission report.5.2.1 Limitations of Special Unit System:5.2.1.1 Lack of Total Integration: While the Tamil NaduResource Centre Model seems appropriate for this part ofIndia, there is still an essential element of "total ntegration"


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missing - the active participation of parents. The resourceteachers admitted that they rarely have contact with theirstudents' homes or their parents and the child-parentrelationship is limited to vacations.Mr. Stein, however, prefers that the child, especially theyoung child, grows up in his natural environment and as aclose family member. For this reason alone he is more infavour of the itinerant model as practiced in Northern andWestern India and supported by Sight Savers (Royal Com-monwealth Society for the Blind) and the Ministry of HumanResource Development, Government of India.5.2.1.2 Tendency to Transform into Special Schools: Ac-cording to Mr. Stein, generally these resource centres donot remain limited to 20 or so blind children, the demandfor their services increases and they tend to become spe-cial schools. The objective of integration is defeated in thelong run as the group of blind children keeps growing andthey tend to cluster around in their own little isolatedgroups.Moreover, the advantage of low initial investment, costeffectiveness, active community involvement and completeintegration which are the principal objectives of integratededucation are not fulfilled in this model. For countries withresource constraint and large number of visually impairedchildren, this model is not practicable. It is advisable onlyin areas where there are very few schools and majority ofthe sighted children study in boarding schools as a regularfeature.5.2.1.3 Comparatively Expensive: Because of the muchhigher salaries of graduate teachers, cost of hostel accom-modation and other expenses the special unit systemprogramme is almost as expensive as education in special

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schools. Therefore, this model cannot possibly be repli-cated in other much poorer states of Inriia and otherdeveloping countries.5.2.2 Outstanding Feature of Special Unit System:5.2.2.7 In Consonance with Prevailing System of BoardingSchools: In Tamil Nadu - quite different from states inNorthern lndia - many schools, particularly at secondarylevel, provide hostel accommodation for many of theirstudents. The CBM regional office has taken advantage ofthis system by integrating visually handicapped childreninto these boarding schools.5.2.2.2 More Intensive Coverage: As compared to hisitinerant colleague in Northern India, the resource teacherin Tamil Nadu has an easier Job. He finds most of his clientsin one place which eliminates the problem of transportation.As communicationwith the regular teaching and hostel staffis easy, the resource teacher can draw up a minute time-table which corresponds with the educational and socialneeds of each individual child. Statistics of two resourceteachers with 5-6 years of experience show that during an8 hours working day, 6 hours are devoted to educationalsupport and 2 hours are spent on sensory training, teach-ing of social skills and orientation & mobility at the primarylevel.During school hours, the resource teacher is available tovisually impaired students almost all the time. Whenever aproblem arises, help s nearby. In he resource room a childfinds lot of special material and equipment; readers andtranscribers supplement the special teacher's efforts. Manyof the teachers stay on after school hours to assist withstudent's home work, they teach daily living skills, mobilityand orientation.


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5.2.2.3 Congenial Company: In case of resource centremodel, lack of home contacts is to some extent compen-sated by the congenial company which visually impairedchildren enjoy in the school's hostel. Here they always findplaymates, someone to chat with, a helping hand, whennecessary. In such company, there is lot of "incidentallearning", stimulation in many extra curricular activities,exposure to healthy competition, and also subtle correctionof bad habits and behaviour.5.2.2.5 Com plete Integration: Mi. Stein was able to watchvisually impaired children at the hostel in differentsituations- their presence was almost unnoticeable as they behavedand per-Formed ike the rest of the children. Never did Mr.Stein see them as an i~olated roup, they were mingledwith sighted children all the time. Every now and then heobserved sighted children giving them a helping hand -during meals, in a post education lesson, but they do notseem to overprotect them.Likewise, heads of schools and regular teachers madefavourable comments on the integration of visually impairedchildren. One headmistress remarked, "We are learning alot from visually impaired children. Their determination anddrive has a distinctly positive and stimulating influence onthe rest of the school population.

I 5.2.2.6 Outstanding Academ ic Performa nce: Academic1 achievements of visually impaired children are above, average. Classroom teachers report that they come well-prepared for their lessons - the result of ntensive work ofspecialist teachers and their cooperation with classroomteachers. "Drop-outs"among blind children are very rare.I 5.2.2.7 Requisite Qualification of Teachers: The resource! teachers trained under resource centre model meet the

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government's requirements under the Central Scheme ofIntegrated Education of Disabled Children in terms of oneyear recognized and specialized teachers training.Whereas the itinerant teachers trained for the itinerantmodel of integrated education, at present, do not meet thisrequirement. Most of them have had 6 weeks to 6 monthsof special training only.5.2.2.8 Pub lic Accepta nce: From all these comments it canbe concluded that integrated education is no longerregarded as a "pilot project" but that it has been firmlyestablished in these districts of Tamilnadu. It is now fullyrecognized by the education authorities, the public at large,the teaching staff in regular schools, and what is perhapseven more important, in the hearts and minds of thousandsof school children who have happily accepted their hand-icapped peers.5.3 Integration More Important than the System:While thus hostel based resources centre model may notbe replicable elsewhere, its principles can serve as anexample and stimulus to other states in South India andelsewhere. Whether they choose to adopt the itinerant, thecooperative or the special unit system is irrelevant- as longas a progressive education policy allows visually impairedchildren to grow up and to learn in the midst of all children.Taking all these positive facts into account, also consider-ing the special educational setting in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Steinis inclined to agree that the resource centre programme asit is practiced in Tamil Nadu comes fairly close to thedesired goal of "open education".

I


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6. lmportance of Resource.Room:The resource room serves as support base for visuallyimpaired children. It can be built, furnished, or equ ipped inmany different ways. In developing countries, economy isoften the determining factor. Mr. Stein has seen resourcerooms in verandahs, in the corner of a teacher's commo nroom, e ven in a headm aster's office.It is quite natural that visually impaired ch ildren frequentlyvisit the resource room in order to seek help from thespecialist teache r. Very yo ung children, before being fullyassimilated into the regular school classes, will have tospend m any hours there, mainly for the purpose of learn ingbraille.

ink-print material into braille; for c arrying out d ifferent ac-tivities in respec t of plus curriculum; for p roducing specialmaterial to facilitate the learning of the blind children; forproviding individual coaching and sensory training in agroup; for conducting meeting of the parents of the blindstudents; also as a demo nstration to the gene ral public.Mr. Stein puts a word of caution that resource roomsshould not becom e a permanen t "refuge" or blind children.Many a times, resourc e rooms are often over crowd ed withchildren who linger, chat and play - thus disturbing thosewho are working. This should not be permitted.7. lmportance of 'Plus Curriculum'

Under the Central Scheme of Integrated Education ofDisabled Children initiated and supported by Central Min-istry of Human Resource Development, provision has beenmade for providing financial assistance for establishingresource rooms at the central location under the itinerantmodel of integrated education. These resource roomshave already been established in central places in thevarious ptoject areas. Such resource rooms are in-strumental in strengthening reading and writing of braille,understanding of course curriculum through embossedand relief maps etc. These room s also provide an oppo r-tunity for the blind stude nts from s cattered villages to com etogether under ope roof and also enable the project holdersand the itinerant teachers to undertake comparison be-tween d ifferent students for the purpose of improvement.Thus such a resou rce room is emerging to be an integralpart of itinerant model of integ rated education and it servesdifferent purpose s viz. for storing special equipmen t suchas braillers, tactile maps, mobility aids; for transcribing

Research has revealed that 90 per cent of information isgained from the environment only through observation.Moreover, most of this information s gained through sightin the first six years of life. One can easily imag ine howmuch information the visually impaired child is deprived ofdue to loss of sight. It is however possible to develop other, senses to comp ensate for this loss.

It is necessary that teachers must ensure that th e visuallyimpaired child, irrespective of whether he is in a regularschool or a special school, must be taught skills to com-pensate for los s of sight. 'Plus Curriculum ' are the addi-tional skills that a child needs for coping with blindness.Plus Curriculum skills include sensory tra ining in resp ect ofhearing, touch, smell, taste, and use of residual vision;training in o rientation and mobility, activities of daily living,and braille reading and writing including use of abacus,handwriting; use of recorded books; and typing etc.Mr. Stein stresses that before a child is taught braille, it isessential that he develops g oo d tactual ability, discrimina-


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tion, dexterity. Adequa te time shou ld be spen t to see thbthe child is able to co pe with the ability to rea d braille. MIStein sugge sts that J. Kirk Horton 's book on 'EducationVisually Im paired Pupils In Ordinary Sch ools', publishe d bUNESCO, could be used as a guide.It is usually seen that the biggest problem is that implemenling agencies identify blind children very late, that is aftithey are past their school age. By that time a number tdecisive years have already p assed : They have "missed hboat", and the only solution then is to organize a horn'teaching programme for them with the focus on providin,practical skills.8. Early Intervention: IIt is a common knowledge that most visually impairelchildren come too late to our attention. Usually they aradmitted at the age of 7,8,9, perhaps even later. Man y(/them are still not ready for school, mainly the result (tparen tal ignora nce and negligence. It is in these preciolipre-sch ool years when such a child needs lot of he lp whicmany parents can not give. They need profession;guidance of how to cope with their child's special need!Our specialist teachers are the only people qualifiedrender su ch g uidance. Therefore, organizers of integrateeduca tion sho uld includ e early intervention services in theprogrammes.9. Teacher Preparation:Two prominent educators of the visually handicapped, 0Stanley Bourgea ult and Dr. Jeanne Ke nmore, have beeinstrumen tal n developing he training course s,for eachelof the visually im paired at Ram akrishn a Mission VidyalayiCoimb atore an d H oly Gros s College, Tiruchirapalli respel

tively in India. Their p rofessional backg round , cou pled withmany years of overseas experience had made them firmbelievers in "open education" and this conviction m atchedthe Christoffel Blindenmission Regional Office's determina-tion to promote integrated education in Tamilnadu. Con-sequently, the syllabus for both teacher training centreswas designed to p repare these teache rs for precisely theeducation setting they are going to meet in their teachingroles; resource room - based integrated educat ionprogramme.For many years it has been reco gnized that these teachersneed to acquire skills and competence over and abovethose required in regular classroom teaching. On thewhole, the Vidyalaya and Tiruchirapalli programmes pro-vide for the training in this bro ad spectrum of skills - quiteaformidable task to be accomplished n a 12-month period!In order to make this more transparent for the reader n otdirectly involved in matters of special education - for ex-ample administrators, organizers and prom oters - Mr. Steinhas listed below the range of skills to be acquired by theresource teacher during this training programme (Ref.:Susan Spungin - "The Teacher")

a. Know ledge of comm unication skills and utilization ofdevicesb. Und erstand ing the educationa l implications of eyeconditionsc. Skills in curriculum developmen t and adap tation.d. Skill in public education.e. Skill in guidan ce and counselling.f. Know ledge of how to utilize local, state and nationalresources.g. Ability to do teacher consultation.h. Skill in orientation and mobilityi. Understanding of the sociological and psychologi-


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cal needs of ch ildren. A resourcetitinerant teacher has to perform a variety ofj. Skill in record ke eping functions in add ition to the functions performed by the classk. Knowledge and procurem ent of educational equ(teacher, he has to work as a friend , philosopher and guidement. to the children, parents and the class teacher. Mr. Stein1 Knowledge of child growth a nd development. VeV rightly defines such a teacher as a "New Teacher", whom. Background in general education. is a person with versatility and a m ulti-faceted personality.n. Ability to develop and provide supplementaHe is a person who does not work in a C ~ ~ S S - ~ O O ~rdevices, e.g. readers, tutors . class activities etc. according to a prescribed time- plan. He has to cater too. Skill in classroom observation. different students from different classes in different villagesand has to travel from one place to another, unlike the

The heads of the two training programmes, Dr. M.NSregularteacher-Mani in R amkrishna Mission Vidyalaya and Prof. Prabhakin Tiruchirapalli, bo th very competent and diligent educ 10.2Role Of A Teacher:tional leaders, are fully aware that this immense rangeiskills not only needs to be con veyed to the teacher studen Mr. Stein says that the New Teache r is expected to performduring a relatively short span of time, but also must t the following roles over and above his teaching assign-"digested",absorbed and understood n depth by each ar ment:every one of them. In other words, regardless of ttvolume and richness of the curriculum, it all depends ( 10.2.7 Promo ter of the Concep t: The new teacher is ex-how m uch of it becomes the full "possession"of the teach pected to prom ote the idea of integra ted education andand h ow he can translate it into action in his daily work wi complete integration of blind children. He identifies visuallyvisually impaired children. impaired children and arrange s their sch ool admission. Healso acts as an agent of change for transforming societal10. The New Teacher: attitudes by highlighting the potentials of the visually im-paired.10.1DefinitionOf A Teacher: 10.2.2 Counsellor: He acts as counsellor and providesMr. Stein advocates the definition of a teacher as given1 counselling o the pa rents and the comm unity. He also actsSocrates, "A Teacher shou ld be a Philosopher and a Hofias a teacher consultant to the class teacher and peerTamer." A teacher must be a scholar, a thinker, must k e~ goup. He also provides counselling to the individual onon refreshing himself with new er skills. A teacher m ust n continuing basis. He provides career counselling to thelive in an Ivory tower, he must be practical and realis! students completing the school education.skillful in moulding his students and convincing the co~munity. Mr. Stein stresses that education is a continui~ 0.2.3 Trainer: He provides training in orientation &and dynamic process, the moment a teacher stops leal mobility, activities of daily living and braille to each anding, ,he begins to die. every child. He should give greater attention to correction


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of poor posture , mannerisms, observ ed in certain children The rirsourcel itinerant teachers mainta in and foster goo din order to achieve a swift social development of the child. relationship with their counterparts, the class teacher andMany children because of their background and home the heads. of regularenvironment have a great difficulty in social comm unicationskills. The tendency of addressing children with visual s c h o o l s .impairments as "blind" rather than their names sh ould be Frequentc o n t a c t sdiscouraged. All children have names and shou ld be calledby the m a-nd it is the responsibility of the teacher in seeing a n dthat this is adhered o. He is also expected to give guidance d ia l ogueto visually impaired children in various local trades and with themcrafts. has built apartnersh-iP 010.3Case Study: m u t u a ltrust andThe young task force of specialist teachers in India im- , understapressed Mr. Stein in many ways, in particular with their "t nding - allenthusiasm, diligence and com mitment. Their firm belief in , f o r t hethe value of the work they are d oing and the vision to see , benefit ofthis form of open ed ucation breaking dow n the ba rriers of v i s u a l l yignorance and prejudice which surrounded the lives of SO Lending Erpertise im pa i redmany blind children is contagiou s. Con~u ltation ith Itinerant Teacher children.

For this cause they are willing to make sacrifices: Often heyarrive one or two hours before school starts, almostregularly they stay on after school hours - to transcribeBraille materials to tea ch special skills for w hich they findno time during the day. One lady teache r even lives withher visually impa ired children at the hostel.The teachers also impressed Mr. Stein with special skillssuch as braille writing. Hardly ever has he m et braillists asfast as the teachers in India. Likewise, most of them han dlethe Abacus very well. They spend many hours on m akingtactile materials including good maps, diagrams andmodes. Obviously this is the result of systematic trainingof the teachers.

Noticeable, almost exceptional is the loving, and caringattitude towards their children. This builds another soundfoundation for the success of the prog ramm e. It is alsoproof of the fact that these teachers have been carefullychosen.1 1 . Blind Children and the Community11.1Importance of the H ome And FamilyThe basic nee ds of the visually impa ired have been, andstill are in many parts of Africa and Asia, d irected solelytowards the struggle for survival. They have be en depend-


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0 Ca, o w . 5c 3 a , w$ m 3 Wc u p ,:,, .srsc\i gr vi-w ..a r m Cc r $-0$ c m 2o a r eC E ' ~ "m m E 3-, - 3 " g.- D E k


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3. Select the 3 best children on the basis of followingcriteria:a. Level of orientation & mobilityb. Language development in respect of speaking aswell as understanding ability: For establishing this,ask simple questions:i names of family membersii name of the villageiii routine activitiesiv name of items of daily use, etc.c. Ability of the child to identify the world aroundd. Level of sensory development, etc.

4. Arrange for the admission of these selected best 3children and start pre-braille activities.5. Take the next 3 blind students and initiate the above

process when these 3 first ones are reasonably wellsettled.6. While the children in the first and second groups arebeing covered, the itinerant teacher should pay regularvisits to other children at home o teach them initial skills.7. The children who are well settled in the regular schoolshould be used as demonstration to others.During the first year, major emphasis should be socializa-tion of the blind children. The academic developmentshould not be the only target.13.Stages for Preparing a Child for School:After, the 3 best children have been identified, the followingsteps should be followed before the child is admitted intothe regular school as enumerated earlier.

13.1 Sensory Training:The first step should be i.e. activating he remaining sensesof hearing, touch, taste and smell etc. As far as possiblesimple techniques and locally available material should beused for this purpose.13.2 Pre-Braille Training:The next stage is imparting pre- braille training. Mr. Steinemphasizes that teaching of alphabets straight away mustbe avoided. Some teachers approach his subject by teach-ing braille writing first. According to Mr. Stein this is utterlywrong. Braille reading competence must be achievedbefore braille writing is taught. More attention should begiven to pre-braille activities. Various Montessory aidsshould be introduced at this stage.The teacher should recognize the importance of preparinga child for learning braille. To expedite understanding ofbraille, he should prepare stimulating braille material suchas flash cards, work sheets, bingo cards, and other tactual-ly stimulating material.13.3 Teaching ofBraille:The pre-braille training should culminate into teaching ofbraille. Mr. Stein advocates a scientific approach to teach-ing of braille which is:

a. reading of braille should be the first stepb. beginning should be made with the recognition ofdotsc. writing of braille should be the last stage.


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He suggests administering of the work sheets -as sug-gested by Kirk Horton in his UNESCO publication onEducation of the Visually Impaired. There should be properemphasis on pre- braille activities. Writing of braille in thebeginning should be avoided.13.4 Reading Readiness TestAs part of the sensory training, the teacher should prepare :the visually impaired child for braille reading. For this theitinerant teacher should administer the Reading Readiness

1Test. This test can be developed, using card-board, scis- ,sor, glue and paper. Three shapes viz. round, triangle andsquare should be cut into larger and smaller sizes. Theshapes should be pasted on paper in the following se-quence:a. Large size circleb. Large size squarec. Large size Triangled. One large and one small circlee. One large and one small squaref. One Large and one small triangle

Increase one small circle, squares and triangles each in thesubsequent work sheets till their number reaches six. Thelast three work sheets should have six small circles,squares and triangles each.In the beginning, it is advisable to use flash cards. Thesethat the sighted children could also participate.Once the child is able to identify these work sheets clearlyand discriminate between the different shapes and sizes,he is ready for learning braille reading and suhcequentlywriting. .

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.Teacher-EvaluatorChecking braille reading skills13.5. Method of Reading Braille:Mr. Stein feels that it is very important that the visuallyimpaired child learns to read braille in the right manner. Headvises that both index fingers should be used for readingbraille. The right index finger "reads" while the left indexfinger follows to re-confirm and to locate the next line."Butterflying" ype of reading should be avoided.13.6 Braille W riting:Mr. Stein advocates that teaching of braille should beinitiated only after the child has acquired reasonably goodskills in reading of braille. Mr. Stein advocates use of A4Handwriting Braille Frame for writing of braille. The specialfacility of this frame - one can write inter-point braille on it.Wherever this special facility is unknown - a tremendous


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PI Page 62 Page 63amount of costly braille paper is wasted. The A-5 pocketframe also has the in ter-poin t braille facility.Proper use of inter-point braille frame should be givengreater attention during teacher training. Usage of oldamerican frame which constitutes a wooden board andsliding 2-line metal guide, popula rly known as Braille Slate,should be discouraged.14. Introduaion to School

It is very important that the following procedure for admit-ting a child to school is followed in the right order:1. Orientation about the class ro om and the school: Theitinerant teacher should take the blind child to the schoolone day in advance and orient him about the classroom, toilet, staff room, prayer hall, place for drinking

water and other facilities at the school.2. The itinerant teacher should approac h the Principal andexplain the whole approach to integrated education.Otherwise the Principal may have doubts about thesuccess of the programme.i. The itinerant teacher should contact the class teacherand take him into confidence. He should explain to himthe programme and his role in the programme. Theclass teacher in turn may introduce he visually impaired

child to other students in the class. The itinerant teachershould give his address to the class teacher to enablecontact when necessary.4. The itinerant teacher must realize that he is not asubstitute to the class teacher nor is h e superior to thelatter. The class teacher is the person who is respon -

sible for the performance and the development ofvisually impaired child alongwith the rest of his sightedstudents. The itinerant eacher, however, should alwaysbe available whenever a problem arises and the classteacher seeks his advice.In the in troductory pe riod of a blind child in the regularschool, it is the itinerant teacher's duty to assist theclass teacher in t he understanding of the needs of theblind child. He should also familiarize the regularteacher with the abilities as well as limitations of thechild. He should b e acquainted with the various equip-ments and aids that a blind child would be using in theclass room.

5. The itinerant teacher should advise the class teacherabou t the seating position of visually impaired child. Ifpossible, the child should sit in the front row. Thetende ncy of making blind children sit with their backs tothe wall facing the class should be discouraged. Theblind children must be seated as far as possiblealongwith the rest of the class. As in many Indianschools the children sit on he floor, the visually impairedchild sh ould be provided a small writing table for writingand reading braille, she would be in a better position toman age a bulk y braille book an d also write with the helpof the table.Rec omm ended size of the writing table is:Length of the Top : 18" (45.4 Cms)Breadth of the Top: 12" (25.4 Cms)Height in the Front: 12" (25.4 Cms)Height in the Rear : 14" (35.3 Cms)The size may b e varied according o regional conditions


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Page 64 Page 65and n eeds of the child.Mater-ial oft h eWriti-n gTable:Struc-ture ofi r o nbars of1centi-meterthickn e s sw i t hsunmi c a o rform-i c a o f12 mil-limeterthickness on the top. Arc w elding may be u sed for the metalstructure. The top sho uld be fixed using screws.

7. The itinerant eacher should maintain a daily diary show -ing details of the teaching activities with child on thatparticular day. He should also write quarterly pro gressreports to be included in each child's individual file.8. The itinerant teacher should meet the child's family

regularly, counsel them, inform them of the child'sprogress and involve them in the rehabilitation planning.The frequency of visits to the blind child by the teacher willdepend upo n the needs of the child and his learning ability.Visits may be redu ced or increased depe nding on this.Visiting Routine of the Teacher: There are no blue-printsregarding he frequency of visits to the child by the itinerantteacher. Newly admitted children may need as many asfour to five visits per week, once well settled dow n at school-a weekly visit or on ce a fortnight - might be sufficient.Once-a-week visit pattern at the school o f the child for thepurpose of teaching braille is not advisable as the childmisses a lot of time an d work in his class. Teaching of brailleshould be preferably done at the'ho me of the child. When -ever visiting a child at sch ool, the itinerant teacher shouldmeet the H eadma ster first, and sign in the log bo ok whichkeeps a record of the teache r's arrival and departure.Mr. Stein feels, how ever, that there cannot be a blanket orThe itinerant teacher should also explain to the class umbrella approach toward s the educational needs of a

teacher the special equipment which blind child uses. blind child. Each child is differen t, is an individu al in its ownHe should also thecontents the Kit and right, has its own like s, dislikes, le\,els of learning, d ifferentthe use thereof. ethnic and family backgrou nds, thus each child needs an. individualized training programme - tailor-made to suit its6' The itinerant teacher should encourage pairing Of a specific requirements. A goo d teacher is one who feels forvisually imp.i:ed child with a sighte d child who sh ould andwith the child andwho is a partand parcel of the child.shelp the former while going t o toilet etc. life. Such a teacher w ould b e able to very ably deliver the


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good s, that is "Takinga bl ind chi ld by he handand eading 'him ...... into life." ;Record keeping must be tidy, concise, precise, regular.$Up-dating t frequent intervals qives a better, more com-I .prehe nsiie pictGe of the child: All recordin g shou ld be

15. Ca se Analysis: compiled in an individua l file. Date of entry should not beforgotten! Narra tion of special events, incidents of minorA thoro ugh case analysis and proper recording is the and major importance in the child's life will enha nce ourfoundation on which we build the teaching and training lecordingsprogram me for each individual child. The pre-planned check -list of skills is a very use ful tool, a15.1 Importance of Record Keeping: guide in all investigations. When comp iling this list, col-Mr. Stein feels that recor d kee ping is not an administrative leagues who are not involved in the education and trainingproced ure! A thoro ugh case analysis is the p latform on bf the child may also be consulted for their own additionswhich the teachingttraining p rogram me of the individual to this list.child is built!

75.1.2 Dialogue with Parents: The recorded data on the-15.1.1 Information About the C hild: The case analysis tells child also helps us in the dialogue with parents. Let us notus who our c hild is. It gives us useful information about the forget that they are important partne rs in our educationalchild's b ackgrou nd, his environmen t. It gives us use ful efforts. Therefore, home visits and results of discussioninformation on his eye condition, previous schooling. It is kith parents should also be recorde d.an assessmen t of the total personality of the child. It tellsus what he can and what he can't do, what his gifts and 15.2 Basic Information:talents, but also wha t his de ficiencies are. Mr. Stein suggests that the following informa tion should beOnce the child has been ad mitted to Our programm e, We :ompiled for every blind child:want to keep track of his development and progress, notonly academically but in every aspect of his young life. All 1 , Namethis need s to be recorde d so that gradually a compre hen- Village AgeDistrictsive

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visual impairment in India