We are back... This time all the way from the UAE

We are up and running again... Writing from the UAE.

After a very busy and confusing 2020 and 2021, we are finally back in school with our kids. Yes, this means after almost 18 months of home based learning for our kids and the same time of online teaching for us. This meant moving across the world from Namibia to the UAE and changing our plans to go to China. But it has been really exciting and educational so far.

Yes, there will be those of you reading this asking: "Namibia, Where is that?" So here is some information to help you.

Just to the North West of South Africa is a little country, bordering South Africa. That is our home country. One of the most beautiful countries we know and love. (Yes, there might be some prejudice in that statement, but after hearing from colleagues here in the UAE that Namibia is one of the most beautiful countries they have visited, then that is something huge.

Our Namibia is a beautiful country with a vast variety of different areas. Down south we have sheep farms, where the yearly rainfall is approximately 150mm per year. Then you can find the Namib desert stretching from the South of Namibia straight up to the North, covering most of the coast. There are some interessting stories about the skeleton coast. Here is a video you can watch. Then in the north you will find the more rural part of Namibia. But here you will also find the greener part of the country, where the elephants roam freely. The Ruacana waterfalls can be found here. This is only to mention a couple of unique attributes to our country.

We love and truelly miss Namibia and our families a lot, but we are excited to see what the UAE has to offer.

We are both teaching at a school here. Learning, experiencing and broadening our teaching experiences every day that pass. Here we are faced with children with special needs within the mainstream classes. From autism to down syndrome, speech delay and general developmental delays, just to name a few. Yes, there are children in the special education classroom, whom cannot be in the mainstream classrooms. But my focus for this post is those that can.

In the coming weeks I will be posting about the different types of special educational needs. I will be describing and learning more, alongside you all about these different disability.

From what I have learned so far is that these children are really special, and each in their way. From the couple of autistic children, none of them are the same. I have learned that classes can function with an additional shadow teacher for each of these students. The shadow teacher or the para-professional is a shadow for these students. They prompt and assist the student where necessary. But that is enough said about the shadow teacher.

I am looking forward to writing each week about one of these types of disabilities and at the same time educating myself and you, the reader, about them.