Új Pedagógiai Szemle

In 1994, the Öveges József Secondary School in Budapest became the first in Hungary to provide targeted support for secondary school students with learning disorders. The paper reports on the DISZ30 – three decades for secondary school students with learning disorders conference and tableau exhibition, which the school held to recall the milestones and lessons learned over three decades.

The author of the next presentation, in a very personal speech, looks back at the ten years spent at the Öveges József Middle School (Öveges József Középiskola) preparing the learners with dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia for their final exams educating them outside of classroom settings. She shows why this gave great pleasure as a human and why this was greater success as a Hungarian teacher than teaching less problematic learners. When the children experienced strictness with love, when they realised that having a paper stating that they are partially disables does not mean that they are immune to the consequences of their actions, the teacher was able to adapt to their way of thinking, and is able to jolt them out, they will produce excellent results: their writing improved, their spelling and memory got better. Self-development activities, hiking groups, open-air school, folklore programmes, folk dancing and handwork all helped the underprivileged children to earn self-esteem, integrate and become successful. This study shows the story of a dyslexic boy who finished in the academic year of 2000/2001, who became a folk dancer and poem reciter. Due to the denial and shame of the parents he did not get an official paper about his disability, and hance did not get special treatment in certain exams. Thanks to the environment and special education methods employed, he finished university and as a grownup he spends all his time reading and writing books.