Last Wednesday, we went to the campus behind Meng Café. It was a very beautiful campus with great scenery. We were led by a teacher and was showed many classes and activities. The first class that we went to was a ukulele building class. There were about 15 students in the class (if im not wrong) with varying ages. They were tasked with putting the strings of the ukulele. I recognized that they have also decorated the ukulele with some kind of snow slime. They were very creative with the colors and overall decoration. Some children were having difficulties putting on the strings, and one kid kept failing over and over again and then he got upset. But the teachers were quick to react and help him. The second class is a paper art-making class. The students were tasked with rolling long sheets of colorful papers and glue them onto a sheet of paper. I observed that some of the students love the repetitive task of rolling the paper, it’s like their favorite activity. Some other kids are very hyperactive and start dragging me and my friends to see his art. It was a very fun experience interacting with the kids. The last class that we went to is a one-on-one class. The teacher was teaching the student how to cut the paper into a perfect circle and glue them into pieces of paper. She used videos and physical toys to familiarize the student with the item that she was going to teach him. In that class, she showed him videos of how to cut the circles and made him blow actual bubbles. The class was pretty short but was very condensed. The student frequently loses his focus, probably because we were invading his classroom.
Pic1. The student’s artwork
pic2. The shop inside the school
From my observation, I believe that technology can and will play an important part in their learning. One aspect that they can incorporate technology in the classroom is on the one-on-one session. The teacher can use an interactive screen to make the student interact more with the items and become more familiarized. It might work or it might not, but I feel like everything depends on the condition of the students. Because every material needs to be tailored to what each student needs in order for the teaching to be effective and efficient.
Overall, I have learned many things from the experience. The children were very delightful to interact with, and the classrooms were nice and very accommodating for the students. The teachers were inspiring and passionate. I feel like the school provides a very good education for the children. The visit made me realize that even though they might experience more difficulties in learning than regular children, they are also capable of creating amazing artworks and be a contributing member of society. The fact that some of the graduates’ work at Meng Café also proves the fact that they can be a capable and independent individual.