Penny Robertson founded the Australian International school in Indonesia in 1996 (now the Australian independent school) with a group of educators parents. The first campus Pejaten had 11 students. Today, Penny is known throughout Asia for his work in inclusive education, and in April received the SENIA Asian Advocacy Award 2015 (for special education needs of Network in Asia) to joint earcos and SENIA teachers' Conference held in Malaysia .
What Advocacy Award Asian SENIA means to you and why is it important?
It is a great honor to receive the award for the defense of special needs education network in Asia; I am delighted. To see the organization SENIA grow so quickly and gather as many people working for inclusive education is very exciting. When interested professionals come together to share and exchange ideas, it acts as an accelerator of change, and change is often quite fundamental.
How did your journey into advocacy for special needs begin? What was your experience in education?
I was a geology professor and teacher of high school science in Adelaide until my second daughter, Shona, was born with Down syndrome, who was the beginning of a long journey and very interesting for the whole family. Shona started early intervention when she was about a week, and it turned out to be a whole new learning experience for me too. The whole process of breaking a task into simple manageable pieces makes teachers with special skills education to better convey the essence of any subject. I was a teacher before my daughter arrived and I became a better teacher after enjoying the early intervention program my daughter was enrolled.
How did you get to be in Indonesia originally and how long you were here?
The work of my husband took us to Jakarta with UNDP in 1994. I stayed in Indonesia until I retired. I still visit regularly and have close ties with many communities, including the Australian International School community.
When we arrived in Jakarta I was rather surprised that no international school would accept my daughter as she had to attend her local primary school at home in Australia. My situation was not unique as I soon met many families whose children are locked out of the premises in Jakarta, the schools could afford to be very selective because of the demand on the scene during the boom Asian economic.
A small group of us formed a yayasan and we have borrowed money to pay the rent on a house. Sabam Siagian, who had just returned to Australia as an ambassador of Indonesia, has agreed to become our legal protector ( Pengawas ). 19 years later he is still in that role. We opened the school in July 1996 with 11 students and five teachers. He rose quickly to over 300 students, but at the end of 1997, the economic crisis had occurred and we lost 60% of our students during the Christmas break. I was forced to retire five years ago when I turned 60, that expatriates can not get a work permit beyond this magical age!
Since you founded AIS in 1996, what changes have you seen in Indonesia regarding the inclusion in education?
Changes in inclusiveness were enormous. They were very slow at first that acceptance of the disability community was not great when we arrived in 1994. It was a bit like the level of acceptance of the West 30 years ago. The attitude within the community has changed so much; visibility and even the available services are increasing day by day. It is encouraging to see all these changes and we have met many people who work every day to develop new services and build a community of support. The biggest challenge is still the acceptance of the community, and media stories of people with disabilities to make their way in life do much to make people aware of their situation and change community attitudes.
What do you think of the major obstacles facing inclusiveness in education are in Asia / the world? Are they present in Indonesia too, and do you feel they are surmountable?
Probably the biggest challenge, both here and in the world, is public education. People seem to fear that their child in a class with children with special needs means that their child will not receive the attention they deserve. There is also the fear that disability can be "catching up" or that the behavior of the child with a disability may have a negative impact on the behavior of their child. In fact, research has shown that this is not the case at all. Children who are in an inclusive classroom are actually better, because the teacher has honed the skills that benefit all children; and students who are involved in peer tutoring demonstrate an understanding of the skills they learn that those who can not explain it to someone else.
In Indonesia, it was relatively easy to implement inclusive education programs, as we had many Indonesian teachers that were opened to the special training needs we set up at the school and they were a great source of support for our overseas trained teachers in the Australian program.
Training courses special needs now exist in Indonesia and that is a very positive development. The formation of parents' organizations, which provide support for each other, the implementation of early intervention programs and the establishment of special education network in Asia are all positive developments.
The area you are working in must be very difficult at times. What you
My children would say it's because I'm stubborn - which may explain in part why I took on the challenge of creating an opportunity for children with special educational needs, but I had a very strong, the interest acquired in the form of a 13 year old girl, no school and no hope of a secondary school based. I also have a strong belief in social justice and I guess my circumstances allowed me to lead this belief in achieving a better quality of life and greater acceptance for a number of children with special needs.
What are some of the things that you consider your greatest achievement in your work in Indonesia?
The school's establishment was my most memorable achievement. No matter what difficulties we experience, as frequent changes in regulations and changing reporting requirements, every time I walk through the playground and see the happy faces of students playing together all cultures , all ethnicities, all religions and ability, I feel a real glow and a sense of pride.
lobbying for the United Nations to mark World Day of Down syndrome, March 21 (ie 3-21 or trisomy 21) each year has also been a highlight of my life in the syndrome Down.
What would you say to exceptional children today parents about their education?
I would say to parents that all children benefit from being in an inclusive education framework and I am very eager to see more schools take this policy. However, inclusive education must be done properly, and that means ensuring that all teachers have the skills required. This takes time, and this means that the change does not happen as quickly as we would all like. However, parents have a role to play in that they need to be advocates for their own children and must notify the school of their children access to education is a right for all children.
Now I can rejoice in the fact that my daughter with developmental disabilities have the skills to get a job she likes, get married, live in his own apartment, put his thoughts and dreams on and organize his own money. When she was born 34 years ago, I would not have thought possible. I am extremely proud.
Thank you, Penny. To contact, please email penny.robertson@ais-indonesia.com . Sightseeing www.senia.asia or Down Syndrome International for more information: www.ds-int.org