17_5_4_EDU_Suvorov

"Whoever can study at a 'normal' class from high school, welcome. But not everyone can, so there has to be an alternative," said Russian psychologist Alexander Suvorov at the University of Navarra. Deafblind since childhood, he participated in the workshop 'Creating from Diversity', organized by the group of research VOICES (Voices of Innovation and Creativity in Education and Society) from School of Education and Psychologywith a lecture on the importance of educating the imagination in children with sensory disabilities.

"Inclusive Education can be formative or personalized," the expert explained. He considers himself the author of the theory of personality inclusion, outside the system educational. This consists of the integration of handicapped children with others without problems in environments other than high school; for example, in camps. Suvorov said he finds himself in a complicated status : "On the one hand, I always advocate for inclusive Education , but I am very much against it becoming an imposition to the detriment of other models," he said. For this reason, there is no single solution for all handicapped people, but rather their training must be solved taking into account each one individually, adding if necessary the inclusive Education with another specialized Education .

Also, the speaker indicated that they do not like to talk about 'disability' and 'people with physical or psychological limitations'. "Who among you does not have limited capabilities? You are neither gods nor superheroes," he questioned the audience. He clarified that, instead, he calmly uses the term 'handicapped' because the etymology of the word in Russian ('invalide') means 'war veteran'.

The science of imagination

In the same vein, the Russian defined psychology as "the science of imagination" and, in turn, his concept of imagination as an orienting activity. "We perceive our activity through a series of models of existence, of behavior, which we continuously create," he added. Thus, he pointed out that for him imagination implies the subjective perception of reality, in addition to the mental creation of images.

Finally, Suvorov offered a reflection: "Without mutual humanity, without shared action, it is impossible for the personality to grow". Everything, from the most everyday object to the most extraordinary music, allows for mutual understanding and comprehension. "Everyone's specialization brings nuances to his or her personality, but what is essential for its growth comes from the possibility of meeting with others in a shared culture," he concluded.