I usually think that the people around me have superpowers. Being together and socializing with special people who do their job in the best way and respect people is always a process that adds value to quality time for me. Today I would like to introduce you to Damlasu, who has been in my life since 2010. He works as a teacher in a private rehabilitation center. When I first met him, I was fascinated by his strength, love of education and his love for his students, and this admiration has grown to this day. Damlasu Teacher prepares and supports children with special needs for life. He continues this educational process with an incredibly strong motivation. I would like to thank him for taking the time to answer the questions in his busy work schedule.
1. Damla, I know you very well, but can you tell us a little about yourself? Who is Damla Teacher?
I am Damlasu Barış. I was born in 1988 in the Almus district of Tokat. In 1990, my family settled in Istanbul. I have been living in Istanbul since then. My father died in 2000. My father passed away when I was 12. Difficult times awaited us. Although my mother took very good care of us, the father's void was never filled. I have always felt the absence of my father very intensely. We always had a longing that never goes away. Yes, my mother gave us unconditional love and devoted herself to us, but that emptiness was a wound that never healed. The day has come, it has crusted over, the day has come, it has bled more than before. My brothers, my mother and I never gave up. Despite the difficulties, we always struggled. Looking at the process we've been through now, I'm very comfortable saying that despite everything, we succeeded! We won this life as detractors. I completed my faculty life at the Open Education Faculty. I am currently a person with two diplomas. Apart from the departments I completed on Social Services and Child Development, there is another department where I am currently studying. The contempt of people at the time has always carried us to the top. I am Damlasu Barış. I have a 12 year old boy inside of me. He never grows up and lives his life as he feels, smiling despite the pain.
2. How did you decide to become a special education teacher?
I chose the child development department because I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. Because I love children very much. But I had no idea what time would offer me. The job search had begun. My friend said, "Let's apply to a private education institution". It was a very sensible suggestion and we applied. After a while, we received a positive response to our application. I didn't have the slightest idea what to do. In the first period when I started working, I felt very helpless against them. I was giving lessons in the form of sessions to students with different disability types. Nobody wanted to support this issue and I started doing research. The more I researched, the better I realized that my path was long and difficult. I started to gain knowledge with different resources, books and internet research on types of #handicaps. I attended seminars organized about the education processes of disabled individuals. During this process, a special bond was formed between me and the children. I learned unconditional love from them without expecting anything in return. When I was a person who was hungry and thirsty for love, my Lord gave me the unlimited love I needed most. Years later, I realized that whatever we feel is missing in our lives, that deficiency is completed in the best way. I was hungry for love, divine power offered me. I am happy that I took place in pure, clean hearts, I am. The love of the children I teach has been my biggest motivation for my commitment to my work.
3. Being a Special Education teacher really requires a lot of motivation. When your students look at you, their love for you is evident in their eyes. How do you provide your own motivation?
A very good question.
I rarely call myself my students. Because they are my children. I have so many children! When I meet each of them for the first time, I act according to their mood. Whatever their real need is, I identify it and work towards it. As a result of these efforts, if my children are happy, I am happy too. Like everyone else, they want to be understood. "I'm here too" they say. Before each activity and experiment I plan to do, I always take their opinions. My children's approval of the activities and experiments is very important in this as in everything else. Because I know that no matter how valuable they feel, there is nothing they cannot do. Aren't people with disabilities like that too? My children's feelings are most important to me. When my children feel the value and care I give them, they participate more concentratedly in activities and experiments. This indirectly becomes an important factor in making their learning process more efficient.
But I would like to draw attention to this point. Even if my children do not do the activity I have given, I always approach them positively. I affirm positively as much as they can. I say, “It was very good, the next one will be even better”. I do not break my children's self-confidence. I'm not saying "you can't or it didn't happen". This is a very important detail, because if approached in this way, each child will show more of his talent and work wonders. Of course, who knows how to see.
. What would you like to tell us finally?
The heart goes where it belongs. I have an unconditional, unrestricted love inside me. I cannot distinguish children because I feel a special love for all of them. This gives me a different enthusiasm. I do not confine my interest and love to a narrow space. For me, there is no difference in the love I have for my children, but when I show them my love, I make them feel special.
#Special #individuals are always more emotionally different from people who are considered normal. I can explain this difference as follows; While objective beings can make people who are described as normal happier, only loving, hugging, being accepted and understanding can make special individuals happier. My special children's feelings are so strong that they can very well perceive who loves them or not.
80% of my private education life consists of love. Every living thing that sees love grows and becomes beautiful. Individuals who feel love in the education process adapt and develop faster. As I tried to touch the hearts of invisible children, they made themselves vineyards and gardens. Yes, my children are special and beautiful. The way they run towards me, smile and hug me when they see me is worth everything in this world. No financial power is enough to buy this love. Personally, I can't buy it. I repeat, love is very precious. If there is no love, a person dies, even if he does not die, he lives in a vegetative state. It's not hard to love as long as you're breathing. The only important detail is that it is unconditional.
If you are with special children, you cannot believe the strength of your patience. You don't get tired of saying the phrase "Look at my face". When you teach colors, you learn how colorful life is. You will experience screaming happiness at the first sound you hear. In fact, there is a famous saying, "Digging a well with a needle", and you understand what it means.
