Giving model lessons to visually impaired

HYDERABAD: A small collection of tubes, wires and beads are tucked away in a corner as 80-year-old Egbert Dawson walks among the life-sized models of various biological systems he has created over 11 years.“I preserve whatever I can find. You never know what might come in handy,” says the biology teacher. These relief models are specially designed to aid biology education for visually impaired students.“Initially, it was very difficult to teach the concepts related to different biological systems like the circulatory system in animals or the various parts of a flower. Though these topics are discussed in a text book, it is difficult to explain them to a student who cannot see. Hence, I started making these models for explaining things better,” said Dawson.After retiring as a biology teacher at Vidyaranya School, he shifted to an apartment close to the Devnar School for the Blind at Begumpet.That is when his association with teaching visually impaired children began.“I learned Braille gradually and labels on the chart are in Braille so the students can identify the organs better,” says the biology teacher, who is currently working on a model of the life-cycle of the malarial parasite.Mohan and Akhilesh, students of standard X say how the models have been of great help. “Though physics is our favourite subject, the models created by Egbert sir helps us understand the structures better than the text book.” The brightly-coloured models mounted on cardboard have been fashioned out of old gas tubes, rags, beads, strings and other household scrap. Ask him about the attractive colours and he says, “There are many partially-sighted children here. With the help of bright colours and relief models, they can understand the subject better.” Each life-size model takes close to a month to complete.The thick glasses bear testimony to the efforts- “I work during the free periods and craft the models on my own.” Even students from nursing colleges visit the school for taking a look at the models.“We display these models in various exhibitions where normal children can see them. But they have to be repaired continuously and I don’t have the time,” complains Dawson. However, he adds, “I haven’t been able to do much. I would like to cover a lot of other topics and for that I need time.” His dedication in developing teaching aids for the visually impaired is a small effort in trying to integrate these students into the mainstream and provide them better understanding of subjects.