The School and Educational Center No. 1 in Lublin – because that’s what we’re talking about – organized the Open Doors Day. The interest was unexpectedly great. Why? Because the facility dispels myths about special education.
– In our school, primary school graduates who have been diagnosed with an intellectual disability or autism spectrum can study. In order to obtain such certificates, you need to contact the psychological and pedagogical counseling center. There, based on thorough research, it is determined whether the student’s difficulties are serious enough to be called an intellectual disability – says Katarzyna Siedlecka, psychologist at SOSW No. 1.
And he immediately emphasizes that intellectual disability is not a mental disorder or a problem commonly associated with a disease. – These are difficulties in school learning, which we call so for educational and therapeutic purposes. We observe the fate of our graduates and we see that they take up their professional and social roles. They do it brilliantly. It turns out that the difficulties appear only at the stage of learning at school. That is why it is worth taking up education in a special school, which is special only because we use special pedagogy methods that enable such education to avoid difficulties and develop potential.
The psychologist adds that Anyone who has experienced difficulties at earlier stages of education should report to the counseling centre for thorough research to determine what the problem is.
Those who have decided to do so talk about the school in superlatives. Emilia Gajaszek, a scholarship holder and Olympian, has already obtained the profession of a confectioner, but she is not leaving school yet.
– I have already turned 18, but I decided that it was still too early to go to work. I still want to learn. That’s why I’m getting the profession of a baker now. So I stay in gastronomic climates, because I like them very much. I also bake a lot at home. I specialize in preparing and decorating cakes – says Emilia. “This school is very nice and I feel very comfortable here. We have no barriers and we can do everything according to our own abilities. For me it is also very important that we are always helped by teachers who are really cool. I think that everyone will find themselves here, because there is a great atmosphere.
Currently at the resort more than 250 students are educated in a trade school and in a job-preparing school. They are both inhabitants of Lublin and the region.
– We offer excellent learning conditions. In a trade school, there are a maximum of 16 students or less in the first year. In a job-preparing school until 8 or less. We also have a dormitory where students from the region live, but if there are justified family or living situations, it is possible for students from Lublin to stay – says headmaster Marcin Rakowski.
