I was taken around a deaf school for instance and was very impressed with
the quantity of teachers they had (1 for three students). Since I am not
that familiar with Special Education in this country, I could not say how
many other differences there are. One other important thing I remember
was the government's effort to relocate families closer to the school if
they wanted to be closer to their children. They could then work closely
with the family members and have them volunteer time at the school.
Marc
On Mon, 9 Feb 1998, Ellice A Forman wrote:
> Dear Marc,
> Thanks for the information about Special Education in Cuba. Were you able
> to glean some details about their programs and figure out if they are
> different from what we do?
> Ellice
>
> On Sun, 8 Feb 1998, Marc Camras wrote:
>
> > Ellice-
> >
> > I wanted to comment on your message about Vygotsky and special education
> > in the Soviet Union, albeit somewhat indirectly. I was in Cuba this past
> > summer for a conference on Special Education and was impressed on a number
> > of levels. The first is that my hosts were all followers of Vygotsky and
> > in working in the Ministry of Special Education were applying his
> > theoretical principles to their work in Special Education schools-focuing
> > very much on a child centered approach were improving the lives of these
> > children was higher on their agenda then dealing with the causes of the
> > problem. Unfortunately, and as is the case with much of Cuban society, I
> > saw first hand that even with a great special education system, those with
> > disabilities are not integrated into any kind of productive system after
> > their schooling. Cuba does not have real possibilities from an economic
> > standpoint for many of its citizens, yet if this changes and I imagine it
> > would at some point, they might be able to more successfully integrate
> > their special citizens into society.
> >
> > Marc Camras
> >
>