Helping the Handicapped

To ensure that handicapped students receive appropriate education and vocational training, the Taipei City Government has established a special Chi-tsung school for the blind, deaf and mute. One of the most enthusiastic teachers at the school is Miss Ku Tu-hsien, who has been on the staff for 13 years. After she graduated from the Taiwan Provincial Pingtung Junior Teachers' College, Miss Ku first taught at a primary school. One day, when she was visiting the Chi-tsung school to call on her uncle, she saw how much in need of care the handicapped students were, and decided there and then to devote her life to helping them. Over-riding objections from her family, she insisted on doing what she thought was right for her. But the problems were manifold. First of all she had to learn sign language to communicate with the deaf mute students, and try to imagine what was going on in the silent and dark world of those who were blind as well. To help her students communicate, Miss Ku tried to enter their world and bring them out into her world. It was not long before she hit upon a novel mode of expression for her students, through the medium of dance. But imparting this ability proved to be a particularly arduous undertaking, demanding the utmost in Miss Ku's patience and devotion. Many of her students, for instance, could not hear the music and had no notion of the rhythm. For Miss Ku, however, these were just obstacles to be overcome on the way to initiating her students into the pleasure of dancing. She used sign language to convey the tune, the tempo and the emotional mood of the music, ranging from fear to joy.

Another problem was that even assembling the students could take 10 minutes. In the case of normal students it is only necessary for a teacher to call them by speaking more loudly or using a microphone. The attention of handicapped students, however, must be attracted visually by using sign language. The reward for Miss Ku's hard work against overwhelming odds came when her handicapped students successfully entered a dance competition against normal students, and even won some prizes. Some observers thought it was unfair have handicapped students compete against normal students. But the headmaster and teachers at Chi-tsung always emphasize that handicapped students should not be isolated from society or become dependent on others. Instead, they should be encouraged to turn their liability into an asset, to be independent, and compete on an equal footing with their normal brothers and sisters. More formal reward came for Miss Ku when she was awarded the Youth Medal in 1970, and selected as one of the nation's outstanding women in 1971. But her fame did not cause her to cease her devotion to teaching the handicapped. Further contentment came for her when she met the man who was to become her future husband, Mr. Tien, soon after her 30th birthday. Mr. Tien, a successful businessman, met Miss Ku during his charity work as a member of the Lion's Club, which included donating equipment to the Chi-tsung School. Later, Miss Ku and Mr. Tien fell in love and were married, and today are the proud parents of a three-year-old daughter.