To study science, flowers are planted so they can be touched and smelled. To read, we use Braille, the tactile reading and writing system. Numbers and geometric figures, on the other hand, are simply objects. An example? Eggs. Everything must be accessible to everyone, without distinction: a journey that several children travel together in a special room. In a multi-class classroom at the Ollastra primary school, where there is a young blind student, the teaching method is not traditional.
To prevent the young student from feeling different from others, a team of teachers revolutionized their teaching methods. It's not a project, but a daily practice, continually studied. This method was recognized in Macerata, during the "Premio Inclusione 2022," the final event of the "Nessuno escluso" (No One Excluded) initiative. The award was presented as part of "Inclusion Week," an event promoted by the University of Macerata. The Scientific Committee awarded the prize, stating that "the daily routine of a multi-grade elementary school classroom is transformed into an inclusive and multisensory experience, in which each student can access knowledge through different sensory channels and in which everyone is enriched by developing empathy and social awareness."
Teachers Gianna Fara and Rita Delogu, from the Villaurbana Simaxis Comprehensive Institute, accepted the award in a room packed with students, university professors, and researchers. Also on the team were teachers Serena Carboni, Gigi Mirai, Anna Giugliano, and Federica Matteoli. The head of the comprehensive school, Giuseppe Scarpa, said: "We are truly proud that our efforts have been recognized as an example of excellence in the scholastic and social inclusion of people with visual impairments and others. It's an experience that makes every moment truly appreciated. The idea is always to think universally, and never just in terms of a specific situation."
