Judith McKenzie
Judith is a lecturer and researcher in Disability Studies at the University of Cape Town. She has worked in rural areas focusing particularly on community based and interdisciplinary projects.
Location South Africa
Activity
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an open minded approach such as yours is a good place to start.
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Hi Sandy- it seems that there is a problem of awareness where you are. I hope that during this course you will learn how to forge links with the community and with parents. In the mean time i would encourage you to think about why parents seem to be in denial and how this might be addressed.
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Judith McKenzie made a comment
Welcome every body. As participants you are an equally important part of the course as the educators. I would encourage you to share with each other and learn how other people do things as well. enjoy the
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We are developing teacher education programmes at University of Cape Town. Maybe you have additional points that you would like to share with us Andrea that we could helpfully include in these prgorammes.
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Hi Neelam - sadly it is not always the case that teachers in special schools are trained for the work. There needs to be much better training to work with children with disabilities in both regular and special schools.
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This is a good question as it does not mean the same to everyone. I like your definition though - you place the emphasis clearly on the educators and the education system rather than just on the child with "special needs"
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Very true, Andrea. Self-esteem amongst people with intellectual disability is such a problem. It sounds as though your programme might have something to share with others. Have you ever thought of explaining how these children feel to their teachers?
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Hi Anatoly I think there are many advantages to inlcusive classrooms but it is important that children are getting the right kind of support so that they can reach their learning potential whatever that might be. So there is always that balance that the teacher has to achieve and it is a challenge but it can be done.
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Judith McKenzie replied to James R
Thanks James for these encouraging words at the outset.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Kagiso Seabo
Hi Kagiso - you are right. If children are not adequately supported in primary school they may never make it into high school at all. i hope this course helps you to address these barriers.
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Hi Mickey good to have the sciences in here as well. Children who are blind or deaf often have difficulty in getting access to STEM subjects.
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Judith McKenzie made a comment
Hello all. I am so excited to see all the newcomers on this course and i wish you all the best as you come on this journey with us. Please feel free to comment and to share ideas. you will find that you learn so much from others and it is very interesting to hear from people with the same interests all over the world. I think i have dealt with exclusion a lot...
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Judith McKenzie made a comment
Thanks to these remarkable people for sharing. What a diverse world we live in- we should be learning from this rather than putting more obstacles in the way.
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Hi Louise I think that there is something to be learne from our own experiences of exclusion and to consider how these painful experiences can help us to understand others and make their lives better.
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So it is not only about disability but about treating every person with respect and giving them the chances to learn and develop.
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Go Ciska go! We look forward to your contributions.
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There you go! Bullying again - what can we do to overcome this and to instill respect for each and every person?
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It sounds like you have been the victim of bullying by people who fear something that is different to what the social norms dictate. Children with disabilities have this problem but it extends so much further. Thanks for sharing your experience and the fact that you have overcome this negativity.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Ana Costa
We look forward to your contributions and hope that we can offer something useful to you as well.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Victoria Tait
I agree that inclusion is not just about resources but about something more fundamental.
How do we value human beings and make this not a patchy thing dependent on the goodwill of a few dedicated individuals but rather a way in which we conduct ourselves within educational and other contexts? -
Judith McKenzie replied to Julia Furniss
Hi Julia I hope that we can meet your expectations and I know that we will also be able to learn from your experience. It s great to have you on the course.
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Judith McKenzie made a comment
It seems as though everyone is learning a lot from each other's assignments as well as the feedback on their own. I would like to challenge you to think about how one could use this peer review process within schools to promote good inclusive practice amongst teachers. Any thoughts on this?
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Have a look at CBR manuals from the World Health Organisqtion and you will get some ideas on training - maybe you can start something in Uruguay.
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Hi Katja - Louisa works under supervision of a therapist. This extends the reach of therapist in a process of task shifting. The CBR practitioner helps with basic tasks under supervision. This is an important strategy in a country where we do not have enough therapists.
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This sounds like a wonderful resource. These families are fortunate to have such a service available to them. I would be interested to know where the children go when they finish at school and whether they participate in any community activities
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I think you express the point very well, Maria. It all depends - it is not just the disability that determines what a child is able or not able to do but rather the whole context in which they live and other important aspects of their lives.
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There are many different reasons for exclusion as you point out and we need to look at all marginalized groups to make real inclusion happen.
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This shows that inclusion is not just a classroom issue and needs to be considered across all educational environments - glad that you can join us and possibly make museums more accessible to all.
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Hi Paula. Angelica told me you would be on the course so it is very nice to meet you. It is great that you come from the arts and teaching dancing. Sometimes we get so focused on academics that we forget the holistic needs of the child. Also it can be therapeutic to express oneself through the arts.
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This very interesting Veronica. These children are so often neglected in education so it is great to hear of the work that you are doing. I would love to hear more about this.
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Thanks for pointing this out. The peer group is very important in inclusion and teachers need to set an example on how to welcome children with disabilities into the school and classrooms.
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Judith McKenzie made a comment
It is very interesting to meet you all. I hope that you will enjoy the course and that you will interact and discuss with each other. I think you can see that there are so many different experiences that people have had with inclusion and we can learn from each other.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Kristie Beukes
Hi Kristie - good to see that you are enthusiastic about the topic but still unsure of what inclusive education might mean. I think you will learn in this course is about how to differentiate the same curriculum for a range of different learning needs. this will be explored in week 5.
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Hi Sophia - any university is free to use this course as part of their teacher training. if you would like to recommend it to universities, please do so. we would love to hear from them if they find it useful. .
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Hi Noel - you remind us of an important aspect of inclusive education - it is about inclusion in society in general and not only in schooling.
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Thanks for sharing this Christopher. You raise an important point about the long terms impacts of segregation and these also affect non-disabled people who can grow up without any contact with disability at all. It is a human experience that they are not exposed to and this .limits their understanding not only of disability but also of diversity in general.
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Judith McKenzie replied to saudah azzahra
Hi Saudah,
please share with us how you find this course. I hope that it will be relevant to your context but if not you can suggest ways in which we can improve. I think that it is important when starting on the inclusive education journey that you get the basic principles rights and this is what we are aiming to do in this course. everyone will apply it... -
Judith McKenzie made a comment
Welcome to all our late comers. I don't think that it will be a problem to catch up if you allocate some time to the course each day. As always don't forget to read the comments from other participants as they are very valuable.
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Hi Evans - that sounds like quite a challenge. Are you able to cater for their "sharp brains" in your centre? Do you think that they should go to a regular school or not? What do you think would need to happen in regular schools in Ghana to accommodate them?
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Judith McKenzie replied to Alexandre Rigobelo
Thanks for this inspiration from Brazil. It is truly a unique country that combines huge challenges with remarkable people. With the diversity of your population inclusion could be a way of life.
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Hope you will share the TAFE experience with us - we have much to learn from it.
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I would love to hear more about your project for right to education - I know that it is very much needed.
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Maybe some of the teachers would like to join this course.
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Lets keep in touch Malcolm. we are hoping to develop more online courses on disability inclusion that might fit in with your project. also consider using this MOOC with your teachers who are training now. We have suggested learning groups for teachers in low income countries where they come together at a place with bandwidth and then discuss the sessions after...
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Judith McKenzie made a comment
Thanks for all the comments - lets keep them coming. We have found that one of the best parts of this course is the debate and dialogue that occurs between participants and with educators. So please share your views and you will help others as well as learn a lot in the process. I sense a lot of excitement at the beginning of the course and I would urge you...
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I wonder Edith what happens when there is not a special school is available. I suppose the child with a disability will be at home and out of school.
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I agree Theresa. I think it probably needs to be adapted to your purpose and your context.
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Judith McKenzie replied to shantil coetzee
Ever thought about getting a group of teachers together to do some of this work, Shantil?
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Judith McKenzie replied to Alex A. G. Taub
I like this idea a lot, Alex. Often these support staff spend a lot of time with kids and they know a lot about what happens in the playground, on the buses etc. The support staff are often subject to a different form of exclusion in schools where their work is not valued. Doing something like this would give them an important role in the school and also add...
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Judith McKenzie made a comment
I think that Ann has a special leadership style. She is clearly in charge and driving the process but she is making sure that everyone is involved and she accepts that this could take a long time. Inclusion is a process and not just an outcome.
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Hi Gcinile have a look at last weeks session on parents and you might find some ways that teachers can engage with parents.
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Judith McKenzie made a comment
Thanks for all the great suggestions. It seems that the most important thing is to give parents a time and a space to talk to teachers and to each other. This will include problem solving not only in the classroom but also in community situations. I would also like to point out that family support is an ongoing necessity. As their children grow older parents...
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Judith McKenzie made a comment
Bear in mind the role of the family in answering this question. Does special schooling support the family? If so I think it can be very helpful but if it breaks down the family bonds we need to consider whether the cost is too high.
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Judith McKenzie made a comment
It seems that this video has been important in developing an understanding that we all have a role to play in inclusion. Relating this to Crain's input on social inclusion we can understand why inclusion is important and how it impacts upon society as a whole
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Judith McKenzie made a comment
What wonderful suggestions people have made here. I would like to challenge participants to think of both formal supports (from professionals or organisations) and informal (those from the extended family and community). For example, how do you think that churches could help? Are there community associations that could offer some assistance?
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This is a critical point you raise here Jonathan that often leads to people talking past each other. What is the essential purpose of education? Is it to get the school leaving certificate of that country to go into further education or is also about what sort of society we want to creat and how this is made up of individuals who share certain values. It is...
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Judith McKenzie replied to Aysha M
This is a touching story Madeleine. What I like about it is that you have avoided blaming the mother and you are looking at ways to get through to her and to support her. Too often parents get blamed for not supporting the child without understanding of the parents difficulties and their needs for support.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Claire Özel
Thanks Claire for this useful link. Anyone interested in higher education should really have a look at this and also engage further with Claire. We don't have a lot about HE on this course but everything is relevant to HE but you just need to make the application.
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Judith McKenzie made a comment
Maybe these definitions will help understanding the map:
Signature is when the state expresses a willingness to enter into the convention and to continue the treaty-making process. They are not at this stage legally bound by the convention.Ratification is when a state indicates its consent to be bound to a convention. The convention is then integrated...
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Judith McKenzie made a comment
I have found these comments very interesting but I would like to re-emphasize the low income context here. We need to recognize that in some countries there are no or very few special schools and the idea that disabled children should only go to special schools often results in them not attending school at all. At the same time such special schools as there...
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Hi Phil, what you are saying makes sense. Once children have learned those disability related skills they should be able to enter the mainstream. However, this happens very seldom and I wonder why. Possibly because there are ongoing needs that regular schools feel reluctant to cater for or perhaps it is just an attitude thing.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Ishrat Ali
I agree that this book is very helpful and we have worked with this book as a basis for our course. If you look in the resources section you will find the link or just google it and you can download for free.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Frauke Ferber
Glad you found this useful Frauke. I think you have understood that it is the schools and the education system that needs to change not just the children who don't fit into the traditional classroom.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Aysha M
I agree with you Jonathan. Families are exposed to larger social problems as well. So I would like to suggest that a major part of promoting inclusion should be focused on supporting families.
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Judith McKenzie made a comment
Welcome everyone to the course - it is wonderful to see such a diverse and enthusiastic group. I want to encourage you to read the comments regularly and to share experiences and information with each other in this way.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Portia Qithi
There are many elements to this as you will see during the course. But something that is critical in the classroom is being able to differentiate the curriculum, that is to modify the activities in the class to meet different needs. More on this in week 5!
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Judith McKenzie replied to Zoe Wells
Hi Zoe your research with families sounds highly relevant. Please share any resources that you think might be useful when we focus on families in week 2.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Joanne Newton
We look forward to working with you, Jo.
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Good to se you again Bridget
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Judith McKenzie replied to Adri Combrinck
Hi Adri - nice to have a local person joining us. I hope you will be sharing your experiences and possibly any links you might have to the amazing work done at Carel du Toit.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Claire Özel
Thanks for your story Claire. You must have interesting experiences of inclusion at a tertiary level and I hope that you will share them with us. You remind us that inclusion is not just about small children but that it goes on into higher education as well.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Ofentse Shillo
It is nice to see education students joining us Ofentse. I hope that you find this course a useful supplement to your course work.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Vivien Chichi
Vivienne, may I suggest that you encourage members of your school to join this course? It is hard to bring about inclusion in a school on your own. If you could get a group of you at your school together and you could form a study group to share your thoughts and possibly plan for future action in might be very helpful. Good luck!
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I hope that you will find useful information here both for a family member and as a teacher. We have tried to cater for both groups.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Portia Qithi
It is indeed a shame that schools are still like this when we have had an inclusive education policy in place for over 10 years. It is people like you Portia who are going to make it more of a reality in schools.
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I am pleased that you found this helpful George. There will be more to develop your understanding of disability in week 2.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Alison Mansell
It is good to see you on the course Alison. Experience has shown that for inclusion to work it should be understood and supported across the school. This means that it is not only about teachers but also administrators, support staff, bus drivers and the whole school body. For example, when parents apply for admission of their child with a disability they are...
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I agree that relationships are central to inclusion - what happens between people is often more significant than what a person is on their own.
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Thanks for pointing out this slippage Mary. I think you make an important point about difference. Social inclusion is not about all being the same but about accepting and celebrating difference
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Judith McKenzie replied to Aysha M
Hi Aysha - I could not agree with you more. That is why we have structured the course beginning with the family. If the family does not include and accept their disabled child in the first place then it will be really difficult to go any further.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Ute Weilandt
Hi Ute - you can turn off the subtitles and download the transcript. There is an icon to turn off the subtitles on the right hand side of the video screen if you mouse over the bottom of the video. Look at the downloads at the end of the session and you can download the transcript there.- Hope this helps.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Katia Popov
Please let us know what you find helpful in this journey from the course.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Yoko Kawazoe
I hope you will enjoy this course as you have the other UCT courses. I like your mention of technology because I believe that we can do much more with technology to include children with disabilities and enable them to reach their potential.
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That is exactly what we hope that this course would be able to do Faye. It is not easy changing mindsets and let's hope that this course can help just a little.
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Judith McKenzie made a comment
Hello latecomers - we hope that you enjoy the course which will be accessible for you to finish. The discussion might be a bit quieter since most people have finished now but you will still find their comments interesting.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Shavaughn Brooks
thanks for your enthusiastic participation Shavaughn. Peer interactions are often the best way to learn.
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Thanks for this Jogymol. I hope it helps with your work and that you can share it with others. That is why we did it!
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good question, Kimberly. One thing you can be sure of is that it does not happen overnight but takes time to build.
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Judith McKenzie made a comment
Thanks to you all for sharing about your own CoPs. It is inspiring to see how you as participants are already doing so much where you are. I would encourage you to think how participants on this course might continue this great dialogue that we have had over the past 6 weeks going into the future. Any ideas?
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Judith McKenzie replied to Iva Kodesova
Perhaps a bit like a learning support team? One could think of this team as a CoP.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Margaret Linegar
i think that it requires some sort of joint responsibility to keep it going. you cant just leave it to one or two people or it might just fizzle out.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Rukhsana JEEWA
This sounds great Rukshana. Maybe you should write a blog and share with us how it works. It could be replicated elsewhere.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Kim Lawler
I agree Kim- it depends on what you need at the time. some teachers have talked about the need for emotional support which would most likely come from informal groups but you might also want advice on something very technical which would require a different group.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Shavaughn Brooks
Thanks for sharing these great ideas Shavaughn
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Judith McKenzie replied to Tegan Allen
Who needs to learn here? the child with autism or the other children in the class? surely they should be taught that teasing is not acceptable. This is a good lesson in life that they ought to learn.
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How do you think you can make it happen though?
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Judith McKenzie replied to simon peter gana
Make sure that they understand about disability as an issue of social exclusion among many others. good luck with your training, Simon.
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Judith McKenzie replied to louise batchelor
We have appreciated your enthusiastic participation right the way through the course Louise - good luck going forward and focus on developing that community of practice in this last week.
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Judith McKenzie replied to Shavaughn Brooks
Hi Kimberly and Shavaughn - have you though about an online community of practice?some of you have had really interesting discussions on this course and might want to continue in the virtual space. do you have any thoughts on this and whether it would be practical?
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Judith McKenzie replied to Rebecca Older
I agree that the emotional aspect can be very draining. It depends on how you set up a CoP so that you can get the support that you need. Would it make sense to meet every so often with a group of teachers that is going through the same struggles as you and share not only your professional learning but also some of the emotional ups and downs as well?
