More special education teachers to be trained

By Shamar Blunt
Erdiston Teachers’ Training College (ETTC) Principal Dr Colin Cumberbatch, wants a greater focus on special needs education in this island’s schools.
Dr Cumberbatch, in an interview with Barbados TODAY, as the college officials completed their final preparations for the upcoming graduation ceremony, said that despite advances in education in Barbados, there are still lingering problems in the area of special needs education.
“We have a growing problem in Barbados when it comes to special needs education. We have more and more of our children who are trending towards having educational deficits, what we call students with exceptionalities who need that specialised [teaching]. What Erdiston is trying to do in that regard, is to get a greater cadre of teachers trained, to be able to deal with children with special educational needs,” he said.
Though the experienced educator said that there has been much talk over the years from several stakeholders for the need to implement a more inclusive education structure in schools, such a change would require a relook at the current classroom module which many schools follow.
“We are talking about inclusive education… I would love to see it happen, but we cannot adopt inclusive education without bringing the whole package. With inclusive education you have to have someone in that classroom that is going to work specifically with those persons who are struggling. You cannot expect a teacher to have 25 children in a classroom, five or four special needs children, and be able to teach the entire class and the special needs students.
“We need to have teachers’ aides in the classrooms who would give that specific attention to those children,” he explained.
Dr Cumberbatch also noted that literacy levels among young children is also an area that needs attention. He cited a need for a ‘literacy-rich environment’ and a different approach to how literacy is taught in the modern classroom.
“Specifically when it comes to literacy, we need to change our approaches to it from all angles. We see how vehicles have changed, we are not walking about with donkey carts any more. We’ve made all of these advancements but our classrooms still look the same way.
“We advocate for literacy-rich environments. The first thing young children learn are Chefette and Kentucky, and that is from [their] environment. When you walk into the classroom and you see blank, sterile walls, you know that this is not a literacy-rich environment. This is not the type of environment that is going to encourage children to learn… We need to change the focus.”
shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb