Every child is special. Yes I strongly agree that every child has his ownpersonality.

Every child tries to

endeavor and focus best in his life. Primarily,every child has his own dreams. But the main factor to
ponder is, for us tounderstand his dreams. And the truth is, we lack stability, patience
andunderstanding as far as the child is concern. The movie, Every Child Is Special, was about a
certain child namedIshaan Awasthi. Ishaan was a talented child; he can think outside the box
andpaint with such passion and creativity. But he was not understood by histeachers; he was only
thought of as a mischievous and a very naughty boy.He was often called an “idiot, duffer, lazy and
crazy”, even hisparents didn't understand him. They only thought that the boy wasmisbehaving
because he did not want to go to school. It is perhaps thestructure and restrictions of the normal
expectations of the school systemthat rub him the wrong way, because one day, after having been
punishedby being sent by the teacher to stand in the hallway, he goes AWOL andwanders the
streets, savoring the exciting sights of tourist-film India. Heappears to be somewhat hyperactive. If
his parents attempted to have himtested, it may be that he never sat still long enough to get a
diagnosis. After finding out that Ishaan will be kicked out of school after the school year, hisparents
decided to send him to a boarding school where Ishaan sufferedmore from his strict teachers. These
incidents crushed Ishaan’s confidence inhim and he became depressed, very depressed. He did not
speak to anyone,not even to his mother or his brother. No one would even try to help himbecause
they did not try to understand him.Luckily he met Ram Shankar Nikumbh, the temporary art teacher,
sawhimself in Ishaan, he stayed persistent to help Ishaan in his studies and hislife. Through his
unconventional teaching methods and graceful presence,Ishaan’s attention was caught up. Ram did
everything to understand Ishaan’s
yhanni's web

I kNow ONE PERSON who will NEVER give up on me -GOD

Sabado, Enero 14, 2012

My Reaction Paper: Like Stars on Earth

Like Stars on Earth

Summary:

A nine-year old boy named Ishaan Awatshi, is always failing miserably in his second attempt to
complete his third grade in school. But he is a child who is imaginative and also creative, but once he
sees words or mathematical problem, they are backwards and as if the words and numbers are
dancing. After that he begins skipping school to avoid trouble or bad test results, his headstrong
father and worried mother decide that the only way to get him to take academics seriously is by
sending him to a strict boarding school (New Era Boarding School). Ishaan doesn't understand why
his parents did this and now this young boy without a family continues in boarding school and yet
again, the teachers and students don't understand what his problem is. Things are no different at his
new school, and Ishaan has to contend with the added trauma of separation from his family.

One day a new art teacher bursts onto the scene, Ram Shankar Nikumbh, who infects his students
with joy and optimism. He breaks all the rules of how things are done by asking them to think,
dream and imagine, and all the children respond with enthusiasm, all except Ishaan. Nikumbh soon
realizes that Ishaan is very unhappy, and he sets out to discover why. He also went to the house of
the family of Ishaan and talked to his parent what is the problem of the child. Ram Shankar Nikumbh
also talked to their principal that Ishaan needed time to learn because he has dyslexia. He gives him
his time, patience, care and he ultimately helps Ishaan find himself.
As time goes by, Ishaan had a great improvement and he even won in the painting contest. In that
time, at the end of the school, his parent went there and has a great evaluation about their child.

Reflection/ reaction

We all have individual differences, as well as Ishaan in the movie that has dyslexia. He is a person
that just cannot seem to get anything right in class but are more interested in his surrounding like in
the arts, animals and playing games. Though he cannot cope up easily with his class, he has a talent
that anybody can’t have.

As a future teacher, do not dismiss a person because they are not performing at the same level as
everyone else. As we all know, every child has individual differences. Look for the underlying cause
and work for it. Dismissal of Ishaan could have caused him to become much worse and he might
have ended up being a drop-out. However, with a little dedication and some individual attention, he
was able to strive hard and his above average intelligence showed. He also was able to express
himself through his paintings which were very mature for his age. Sometimes what a person can
offer to the world is not mainstream or one of the major interest areas such as science or
mathematics. Encouragement should be given where children excel, though it may be art or
another.

As the movie continues, I see how Ram Shankar Nikumbh, made a way on how he will be able to
help Ishaan find himself. We can also use that method to be make our learner improves, and put
our whole heart to take care to them, to give them the attention they needed and let them find their
selves. As a future teacher, we should also know the strategy and technique to make our students
to become independent. We should also get the support and extra guidance that they need.

In this story, every person will cry, even when you are deaf and you only have a subtitle. It’s a story
that can affect everyone who watched it.

"Go as far as you can see; when you get there,

you'll be able to see further."

-Thomas Carl

The movie started with Ishaan’s flunking grades and him being perceived as lazy and a troublemaker. He
doesn’t seem to answer questions or examinations right, and doesn’t seem to read properly when he’s
being called to do so. Because of this, he’s being always laughed at by his classmates and being called out
of class by his teachers.

Ishaan lives with his father, mother and brother. His mom tutors him at home but it doesn’t seem
to help him that much. Nobody from his family knows nor wondered about his disorder that needs
immediate attention. Ishaan may be doing bad academically, but in his home you get to see his artworks:
drawings on the walls, paintings on papers and other creative outputs — he’s a gifted child with artistic
talents.

One day, Ishaan had cut his classes without parental consent and went roaming around the city
alone. He rode transportations alone, ate alone, and wandered the streets by himself. He loved it so
much that he convinced his older brother, who’s way smarter than him academically, to write him a
letter that excuses him from class. The next day he showed it to his teacher and she let him go.

His father found out about it and, just like how any parents would react, he got mad at him. The next day,
his parents were in the school office with the principal and teachers, telling them how he’s behaving in
class and his academic status. The principal, then, told them that they may not accept Ishaan anymore,
and that there are special schools out there that may help him for his betterment, since Ishaan have
already repeated many times the grade that he’s in and nothing seemed to have changed.

His father decided to enroll him in a boarding school, though in disagreement with his mom and
brother. He was left there alone with the other students with their parents not around. The same thing
happened to him, he’s being laughed at and bullied by his classmates and even by his teachers.

One time, during his art class, though he’s very good with arts, he didn’t do anything when they
were told to paint. He started getting uninspired doing things because of what his family have done to
him. His teacher, Ram, later on noticed that Ishaan never did art in his class. He also heard from other
people in the faculty that Ishaan is doing really bad academically and they were laughing at him, and that
was the start of him getting curious about what might be wrong with Ishaan.

He started observing him and looked through his notebooks from other classes to figure out why he
is behaving badly. Later on, he came to a conclusion that Ishaan might have a disorder, which is dyslexia.

Ram visited Ishaan’s house and discovered how talented Ishaan was artistically. He also let Ishaan’s
parents know about his condition, and that it needs attention. Ram told them that he would open-
heartedly help Ishaan to cope with his disorder.

Ram have patiently helped Ishaan with his reading disorder and learning difficulty, which was visible
on the next events when Ishaan was starting to do good not only in arts but in his academics. Ram have
helped him a lot and changed his life forever. At the end, there was an art competition held around the
campus and Ishaan won, and he was really grateful to Ram for all the things he had done for him to be in
that place.

Our society today is not the society that people would want to be in if only they had realized it. People
are so quick to judge when you are out of what they perceive is ‘normal’. Normal people these days are
skinny and flawless girls, and muscular and good-looking guys. If you’re chubby, you’re being laughed at.
If you prefer the same sex, you’re being criticized. If you’re sick, instead of people helping you cope with
it, they bring you down.
People like Ishaan is special, who needs love, support, understanding and attention. In my opinion, I
hated what his parents had done to him. They should have noticed that there is something wrong and
immediately attended to it. Instead, they threw him away to a dungeon with no one to connect to, and
no one to understand him even emotionally. They abandoned him instead of being there to support him.
A lot of worse outcome might have had happened if Ram wasn’t there to notice his condition and helped
him. He’s only a child and God knows what he might do to himself, since he doesn’t fully understand
what is right and what is wrong yet.

Every child is special’, I agree, and might I just add, all of us are special. We may be different from each
other in different aspects but there is surely something within all of us that falls under the term ‘special’.
That something special is what makes us unique and defines us who we are. Ishaan may be special in a
different way, but people have to perceive that his disorder is just a disorder, and people have to
overlook it. Instead, people should start noticing what’s special about everyone — it may be the talents,
skills, personality, and whatnot. People like Ishaan did not ask for a disability, they were given that
because they were believed to be strong enough to handle it, and that’s what people should look at
rather than looking down on him because he isn’t ‘normal’ and not acting ‘normal’.

Scott Hamilton, a humanitarian and a cancer survivor, once said, “The only disability in this life is a
bad attitude.” Learn to understand and appreciate things out of the norm. Be kind, for some people are
fighting a really hard battle that you’re lucky you’re not going through.

The substitute art teacher did all of that: he bonded with the child. He
delicately let him know of his difficulties and simultaneously
complemented him for his talent/ creativity when he told the class about
genius famous people (like Einstein, De Vinci..) who also struggled
reading and writing and even failed school. 2. As a child that was most of
the time ridiculed at by teachers and peers, the art teacher gave Ishaan an
opportunity to "shine"- show his talent in front of the whole school. He set
up an art contest especially for Ishaan….. 3. Once the young art teacher
recognized that Ishaan has a problem (failing all subjects, shutting himself
away, refusing to talk..) – he makes a caring effort and checks his
notebooks, goes to his home to get deeper background about the child. He
does not blame Ishaan for being lazy, nor does he dismisses his "situation"
as being stupid/incompetent/having low intelligence. He investigates. He
tries to reach out for Ishaan. And so – he informs the parents about
Ishaan's dyslexia. He explains his "bad" wild behavior(that it is easier to
say "I don't want to" than admitting "I can't) and he reprimands the father,
later on in the movie, for not providing support, warmth, security and
reassurance for Ishaan. "a kiss, a hug , this is caring. So what if you failed.
I am here for you anyway…". In short, the teacher explains (although
harshly) how important it is to acknowledge the gifts/strengths/abilities a
child has and not look only for top scores, nothing but excellence. 4. The
young teacher worked not only on literacy. He also dealt with Ishaan's
physical problem to perform certain actions (i.e. his gross and delicate
motoric abilities): getting dressed, playing with a ball, working with
plastic sticks, writing the number 8 in different sizes. The mother: Ishaan's
mother invested a lot of time and effort sitting with Ishaan, explaining and
checking his homework. Of course, it was futile.

Perhaps the most significant aspect of the film is its ability to help the viewer understand and
sympathize with the difficulties of the young protagonist and the heartache and frustration of his
parents. Younger students may need help understanding that the father is not just mean; he loves his
younger son but cannot understand why he does not behave and think like his older brother.
Students in your class who struggle with learning differences will recognize many experiences and
emotions they have had. Students who handle academics with ease will learn more about the
struggles, and strengths, of their less academically inclined classmates.
Doctor, author, and educator Mel Levine has spent a lifetime studying the physiological, neurological,
and psychological reasons for learning differences and discovering practical ways for classroom
teachers without training in special education to help students understand their own minds, discover
their own strengths, and shore up any weaknesses. The name of the institute he founded, All Kinds of
Minds, speaks to the fact that all of us, whether teachers or learners, have unique brains and learning
patterns.
Like Stars on Earth is a remarkable film in its ability to drive that message home, to teachers, to
parents, to mainstream students, and, above all, to students who struggle.