Reflection on the field trip
The special school behind Meng Cafe
This school is another special school and it is a little bit different from the last one we visited. The first thing is the playground. When we entered the campus, the first thing came into my eyes is a small playground. There are many playing devices on the playground, and it is outdoor. We observe two clubs’ events in the academic building: ukulele decorating and paper rolling decorating. We observed a ukulele decorating event firstly. There were around 8 students in this class. The faculty told us that they invite people from outside to provide these courses to students, and this course is an elective course. Students will choose elective courses according to their interests. I mainly observed one girl and one boy. The boy is emotional. He really wanted to attract our attention and showed his work to us. Every time he failed in connecting strings to ukulele, he became angry and shouted out loud, then he looked to us. I think he really wanted to show himself to us. Another girl was shy. I noticed that when we went into the classroom, she headed down and had a few conversations with students and teachers. I tried to talk with her but she conveyed her dislike towards me to me. So I just left but I still kept an eye on her. There is a girl from our group who got the girl’s love. They had a good conversation and that girl smiled a lot. So I think for these children with intellectual disabilities, they are in a different situation and they have different personalities. But they still want to have a connection with us.
The second class is also an elective course. Many students sat around a big desk. They were rolling colorful paper to decorate a painting tougher with teachers. Those kids enjoyed a lot. I can tell that some of the students are very open-minded and energetic, they won’t sit quietly and doing things in their spare time. But rolling paper seems to have a great attraction. Young told us that those kids can release themselves by doing repetitive works. That inspires me a lot. Maybe we can use some technologies to help them calm down and keep track of their attentions. For example, we can use some meditation-relevant things to help them keep moods. Besides, I also realize that those kids have great talents in art. I saw many artworks in that classroom and they are all made by kids of the school. Maybe we can design something for their interests. Also, when I left I saw one child going downstairs, he took a long time and his body suffered. I think a physical computing device will be a big help for them.
Overall, I think those kids are really happy. Their worlds are simple. They welcome us and embraced us. It makes me feel warm-headed.
Meng cafe:
There are 7 employees in Meng Cafe. The cashier looks like a normal person. She could use a computer really good and she is good at communicating. But she suffers from cerebral palsy and she cannot move quite well. We order a cafe and nothing special about our interaction with her. My second interaction with one of the employees is that I ask one girl to clean the water on the ground.I noticed that that employee hadn’t talked to me even though I said “pleas” and “thanks” to her. She just did what I told her and we have no interaction in oral. I think some of them might have trouble communicating with customers. Generally, I think those kids are very cute. They have their thoughts and they are very talented in their own area.
