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Alice is a beautiful, talented, kind and compassionate 10-year-old girl, who is facing great difficulty at her regular school in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek. Her school is an average district public school with 43 students per classroom, where teachers have no time for differentiated learning. As a result, students have created their own bullying based hierarchy system owing to the teachers’ lack of attention.
I’ve been to this school quite a few times and the things I have seen in the hallway have surprised me. The conversations I heard among the students were very hostile, and to an outsider like me, it looked like a real jungle where only the fit survive. Unfortunately for Alice she is not fit for survival in this harsh environment.
Alice is a functioning autistic student, who has never been diagnosed by her parents, although they have an understanding that their daughter is different. She has weak social skills and sometimes does not understand sarcasm, which leads to bullying from the other kids. She was also bullied through kindergarten; whose environment was not much different from her current school. To protect herself from the outside world, she creates her own little world that’s safe, where she can play with her imaginary friends when someone tries to break into that world she gets very angry and aggressive.
Alice is a conscious vegetarian, she used to eat meat when she was small as she assumed the animals did not have to die to produce meat, she believed meat came out from the animals like eggs from hens. Discovery of animal death to satisfy people’s diets has been very painful for her. Since a very early age she’s been interested in nature and found the beauty of it, and the peace it brings when she goes on hikes with her family. She is becoming a very spiritual minded individual.
She managed to pass the school entrance exam with the help of her aunt, a long time educator. She invested a lot of time and patience into her studies teaching her how to read and write. Alice is very adaptable and understanding of current society, she knows that money can buy the toys she wants, when she could not count yet she would perform for her grandparents and earn pocket money, then run to her older sister to check if it was enough for the doll she wanted, if it wasn’t enough, she’d come back and sing more to earn the money she needed. She is very passionate; she can start singing whenever she feels like, in the car, while eating lunch. Her voice is beautiful and very powerful. I think this helps her to go back to her peaceful place when she wants to distract herself from others.
She is in 5th grade now, she has very low grades in all subjects, but she enjoys learning Kyrgyz Language, English, PE, Art, and Music at school. Since she was very small, she would sing, and help her grandmother who is a seamstress with crafts. Her mother signed her up for the crafts club, where she designed various souvenirs that she would sell at school.
Overall, Alice is doing the best she can. Unfortunately, her school does not have any Special Education programs, and her parents cannot afford a private school that has enough teachers and a student-centered approach. Her English Club teacher who happens to be her aunt (the one who helped her to get into school) tried various techniques and realized she is able to learn when class materials and teaching style is used to meet her learning needs.
Alice’s learning difficulties include:
Difficulties memorizing;
Issues focusing and concentrating;
Unable to follow the speed of the class;
Difficulties with making friends;
Low motivation to learn what she considers hard, like Mathematics, Russian, and French.
From my experience teaching and observing the English club once, by speaking with her teacher and her mother, and based on literature I read, below are the activities that could be tried with Alice:
1.Vocabulary through songs, since she enjoys music and singing (helps with memorization);
2.Games --> Pictionary, Coloring, Fantasy Games – continue the story, Picture Stories, Competitions, Charades (helps with concentration);
3.Making her feel proud, positive encouragement (motivation issues);
4.She likes to read and then share what she read and adds some personal details or provides alternative endings, such exercises
should be encouraged;
5.Make her responsible for helping others; in teaching others;
Her English Club teacher decided to conduct an experiment when they finished the first textbook and moved on to the next, she suggested that Alice teach her mother using the first textbook at home. She was so inspired that she tortured her mother every evening teaching her English. When she would refuse to learn, she would criticize and scold her.
If she wins in a competitive game, she feels proud and helps others to finish it too. Thinking about the future, and finding ways to motivate her, the teacher asks her who she wants to be when she grows up, she always answers with a question: What is the pay?
I think she understands how the world works today, and the value of money, she knows her limitations, but I think due to her survival skills, creativity and adaptability she will do well in life, whatever she chooses to do. This story is personal to me since Alice is my little cousin.
As I mentioned many talents of Alice, here is the video with pictures of her own craft work and the song she sings for her mother. The song is in Russian, but you'll be able to hear the word "Mama" in it. Alice's music teacher encouraged her to go to a professional studio and record the song, and in the end, it turned out so well, that I decided to share it with everyone.
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