At the Front Line: Pazardzhik and Koprivshtitsa

Movements to change social situations usually have people who lead the way. Kristen and I were very lucky on Friday to be exposed to two such movements in Bulgaria: the movement to advance education for children with disabilities in Pazardzhik, and the movement to free the Bulgarians from Ottoman rule in 1876, in Koprivshtitsa. For both, there have been those who organize.

Friday morning, Kristen and I had a lovely continental breakfast at the Hotel Primavera in central Pazardzhik, and at 9:45 Stoyan and Nersi picked us up in the resource center bus.  They drove us to the Pazardzhik Center for Inclusive Education, part of the national network of resource centers serving schools nationwide. This particular center was the first in Bulgaria to use goal planning for children with disabilities, similar to that used in the US for IEPs. Its symbol is a curved rainbow with birds. Here is where Stoyan is a supervisor.

This particular center is housed in the same building as a special school for children with mental disabilities (we would say intellectual/developmental disabilities in the US). Over the next year or so, the children in that school will be sent to other programs as Bulgaria undergoes a transformation in its special education structure. The Center for Inclusive Education will take over the rest of the building. At this location, a kindergarten and a secondary school are also within a block, all within walking distance of Stoyan and his colleagues.

We went in the building and were immediately greeted by Gari, who is the principal of the center, as well as the principal of the special school.  Gari made sure that we had coffee as well as cheese pastries for breakfast, which were delicious. I made sure to give Gari and Stoyan materials from the Northwest Down Syndrome Association, which is a parent led disability group in Portland, Oregon. Thank you to Angela Jarvis-Holland, Angela Frome and Abby Braithwaite for their materials.  They have wonderful photo-based items that promote the message of inclusion, and they are one of the best parent groups I know in the US.

The plan for the morning was that the Center would do a ceremonial opening of its newest sensory room, and that I would cut the opening ribbon with Gari, as guest of honor. The trick was that I also had to say "CHES-ti-TAR!" which means something like "best of luck on your efforts." We all went upstairs to the hall outside the new sensory room, where about 20 people gathered with balloons as well as a Bulgarian welcome bread with honey. Kristen and I had a little bread and honey, and then Gari did a speech about the importance of the center and the new sensory integration bread. Together, Gari and I cut the opening ribbon (in green, red and white flag colors) and said, "CHES-ti-TAR!" and everyone cheered. They gave me a piece of ribbon to take home to Access Living.

Then, we went into the sensory room where a Bulgarian TV crew showed up again to film the event. Maria, a new resource teacher, and a fiver year old girl named Pepi with Down syndrome, played on the equipment to demonstrate its purpose.  You can see the news clip at this link. After this, Stoyan introduced me to his colleagues at the beginning of a learning session for the teachers on sensory integration, and we took a tour of the center, the kindergarten and a quick visit to the secondary school across the street.

I would like to highlight the following points, especially for US people reading this blog:

...Just like US special ed teachers, Bulgarian resource teachers and staff are very caring and work very hard to support the growth of the children. They are paid relatively very little (about $350 US per month) compared to US teachers, and work hard with limited resources. Often, the teacher make or build things themselves that the children need, such as the equipment in the new sensory room. Staff built the swings and painted the room themselves, for example. Ready made equipment is not affordable.

...Stoyan's specialty is working with blind children, but here again, resources are greatly lacking even for students with potential.  The school cannot afford a Braille printer and paper, so for example Stoyan made a Braille curriculum for blind children with a manual hole punch. It took him six months to make. Magnifiers, especially digital ones, are extremely expensive also. BrailleNotes are too expensive.  I would very much like to see if there are ways that the US can assist to provide support because there is no reason these children should be left behind.

...Right now, inclusive classrooms mean that for mainstream rooms, only about up to three students are included.  Total class sizes can range from 10 to 35. Like US teachers, Bulgarian teachers have paperwork obligations (and no one really likes paperwork!). But the resource teachers also have to teach regular teachers about inclusion, and some are resistant. Others are already supportive.

...The children, whether Bulgarian, Roma or Turkish, are SO cute. In general the children I saw were well behaved and the teachers had taken steps to work with children who have behavioral issues.  Most children I saw were between the ages of 3 to 7.  Like US children, they like to play, sing songs, learn stories, and volunteer in class.  They take naps in the afternoon on little beds and breakfast and lunch is provided to them so they are fed.

...Bulgarian schools have work to do in terms of physical access. I have seen some ramps, but more schools need to be made accessible so that children with physical disabilities (and parents with physical disabilities) can get in.  In fact, this was one of the requests of the Edelweiss school in Velingrad. They want to include more children with physical disabilities so they need ramps.  However bathrooms also need access improvements, and most doors are what Americans would consider narrow.

...The Bulgarian educators I have met take great pride in their work. They share joy with the children, and I think they hug and pet children more than American educators do. The classrooms are usually decorated with many colorful posters, toys and books, and the sensory rooms are filled with creative touch and visual options. I was very impressed with Stoyan's interactions with the children he works with---you can see the love, patience and encouragement, and the children respond.

To me, with educators like there, the hope for Bulgaria's youngest children seems very bright. And yet over this week I have also heard of the crisis in disconnected young people leaving school, or receiving poor educations for a variety of reasons. I hope that the communities around the schools can maintain this sense of positive hope and joy.  As my friends at NWDSA say, kindergarten is the front line of the disability movement. Here in Bulgaria, in the kindergartens, I see hope. It is written in their eyes, and it is a resistance against everything that keeps Bulgarians oppressed.

As Stoyan took us on our tour, Pepi's teacher Maria joined us because Pepi had gone home. Our plan for the day was next to visit Koprivshtitsa, a mountain village famous for its National Revival architecture. We asked Maria if she would like to join us, and she said yes right away. So Maria joined Stoyan, Kristen, Nersi and me, and away we went in the resource center bus to Koprivshtitsa.

The day was foggy and rainy, and the road through the Sredna Gora mountains was winding and steep.  We made a pit stop in a town with a monumental sculpture featuring one of the Mongolian rulers that ran this area long ago. After some two hours we arrived in Koprivshtitsa, tucked in a mountain valley famous for sheep herding and for its preserved homes, which were saved by wealthier people who paid Turkish invaders not to burn their houses to the ground.

Stoyan and Nersi led us on a walk through this wonderful town, stopping especially to note sites of historical interest from the April Uprising of 1876, which was an effort to push back against the Ottoman empire after 500 years of rule. The April Uprising contributed to the re-establishment of Bulgaria as an independent nation in 1878.

In particular, Koprivshtitsa was the home of Todor Kableshkov, a young man who was a main organizer of Bulgarian resistance against the Turks. He was a clerk and a mailman and this made him wealthy for his day. Yet he also called his fellow Bulgarians to arms, and in April of 1876 a conflict with Turkish soldiers forced the hand of Kableshkov and his fellows. They engaged with the Turkish army on a bridge in Koprivshtitsa.  Because it was unplanned, they were unable to muster reinforcements for the region.  There had actually been planning since the year before for an uprising, but things moved faster than anticipated.  Kableshkov was able to flee and fight broke out across Bulgaria, but he was ultimately captured and committed suicide at the age of 25. He is buried in Koprivshtitsa near his home.

Kableshkov was famous for writing a letter signed with the blood of a Turkish governor.  It called upon the local revolutionary council to take up arms against the Turks. Here is the letter in English:

Brothers!
Yesterday Neceb Aga arrived in our village from Plovdiv, and asked to imprison some people, including me. When I heard about your decision, made at the Council of Oborishte, I called up some brave men and after we got armed, we headed towards the konak and attacked it, killing the müdür and some policemen... Now, as I am writing this letter, the flag is waving before the konak, rifles shoot and the church bells echo simultaneously with them, men are kissing one another on the streets... If you, brothers, happen to be true patriots and apostles of Freedom, then do follow our example in Panagyurishte...
Koprivshtitsa, 20th April (old style) 1876 T. Kableshkov

And so, Todor Kableshkov was one of Bulgari's most important community organizers, helping to lead a wave of change for Bulgaria.  And in this Stoyan and his colleague are similar---not using guns but knowledge and creativity to create a better future for all those in Bulgaria.