by Rosalie Tieges - Founder TCDF
In the world we live and raise our children in we are constantly compared to others.
Compared to other people who seem more skilled, more beautiful, stronger, smarter. quicker, richer, nicer.
Constantly compared by others and certainly also by ourselves.
It takes a strong soul not to feel insecure.
It takes a strong soul to have the courage-and enjoy- being different.
So most people try their best to be normal.
Dreaming about being popular
And working towards leading an average life.
In Thailand, students are stimulated to be uniform. To not stick out. To not be different.
Children who cannot keep up in class get a seat in the back of the class.
Those who remain quiet will pass.
Those who make noise will get punished.
Most of them will be called difficult, naughty or even stupid.
They are just different from the majority.
Uniqueness is not stimulated in most societies and many education systems take care to tackle that in its prime.
Yet it is the people who are different who will think of new ways
Who will do things differently
Who will find new solutions
Who will change the status quo.
Who will surprise the people around them.
Who will make people notice them.
We are all scared of being different and it keeps many of us from shining.
Most of the children who enter our special school arrive scared and insecure not knowing how to behave and who to trust. They have been through a lot and are often taught they are good at nothing before they eventually drop out of public school and end up at TCDF’s Special School for Special Students.
Everybody's good at something.
Some are good at making others feel worthwhile
Some are good at creating beautiful things
Some are good at making something out of nothing
Some are good in seeing the beauty in small things
We are all special. But what we all seem to have in common is that we want to matter,
we want to be treated with respect, we want to live healthy and happily.
We want to count and make a difference to the people and the world around us.
The bottom line for every individual -whether it's our special needs students or ourselves as parents, children, brothers, sisters, friends, team member-.is to start asking these three simple questions.
What do I like?
What am I good at?
How can that be shared?
Because everybody is good at something.
We just need to dare to be different.