Gauree.Malkarnekar@timesofindia.comPanaji: Almost 30 years ago, when Mahadev Shinde began his training as a special educator in Maharashtra, all he knew was that he wanted to become a teacher. The family from Satara was struggling financially, and Shinde could not afford to join a regular teacher’s training institute.Now, having trained hundreds of special students in Goa in basic life skills, academics, and sports, mostly during his 22-year association with the Gujarati Samaj Special School in Aquem, Shinde has been declared one of 48 National Teachers’ Day award winners for this year from the country.“I always wanted to become a teacher, but my family could not afford the training financially. I joined a company for work and it was at 23 when a friend suggested that I join one of the two training institutes for special children in Maharashtra, where the training was free. I took two days to think over it, and finally decided to take the risk by leaving my job,” said Shinde.During his training, Shinde was barely prepared for what was to come. “When a student got hyper, I did not know what was the trigger. Today, I understand that each student comes with his or her own issues and dreams, and needs individual strategy. During training, there were 21 categories of disabilities to choose from. I took training for intellectually-disabled children. But, when I got my first job in Pune, again I was faced with 150-200 students with cerebral palsy, and most had severe mobility issues,” he said.But the teacher took it up as a challenge, and within a year, he was given charge as officiating principal. Soon, however, in 1999, his senior directed him to go to Goa to help set up Lokvishwas Prathisthan’s institute for special children.“I came to Goa thinking I would spend two years here helping set up the institute, but the management of Lokvishwas Pratishthan gave me every facility I asked for, and within two years, 95 students enrolled. Today, there are close to 200 students,” said Shinde.Five years later, Gujarati Samaj Special School in Aquem would come calling. Ever since, Shinde has served as an invaluable resource for any special school being established in Goa from Keshav Seva Sadhana in Bicholim to Astha.He prepares revised activity books based on the syllabus for special children each year, providing it free of cost to special educators across Goa and beyond. During vacations and weekends, Shinde also visits the homes of students who have severe mobility issues and cannot attend school. Shinde helps guide their parents on life skills, academics, and provides therapy.“During my early years in Goa, I saw that there were barely any sports teachers for children with special needs, and that these students were missing out. So, I started taking up sessions in mini javelin, athletics, and floor hockey, among others, during weekends, vacations, and after school hours,” said Shinde.He travelled with the floor hockey team to Austria in 2017, and five of his six students won gold medals, with one taking home a bronze.“It is very important to introduce activity-based learning for children with severe disabilities, teaching them through games and play, because they can easily lose focus. I couldn’t have been happier with the choice I made leaving my job to train as a special educator back then,” said Shinde.
