Natia Sherbakova has been working with students with special educational needs since 2015, when inclusive education faced a great challenge - quality education for students with special educational needs required not only raising public awareness, but also changing attitudes, school administration, and teacher’s and parent’s mindset.
Natia Sherbakova's experience is not limited to school teaching. She quickly realized that every teenager on the street had a different need and required an individual approach. It was in this quest that she became acquainted with the essence of inclusive education, which led to her future profession. Because of this choice, she was awarded the status of Senior Special Teacher in 2021 and became successful both academically and financially. Natia Sherbakova is currently a special teacher at Tbilisi Public School No. 30 and a trainer-consultant at the National Centre for Teacher Professional Development in Inclusive Education.
"I create resources, communication cards, activities necessary for the development of academic, cognitive, motor or functional skills, which I use in the process of group or individual work, according to the interests, desires and abilities of each student. This, on the one hand, ensures the achievement of our goals, and on the other hand, helps us to prepare the student for the independent living, to fully develop their skills.” - said the teacher, who offers full support to each teacher in managing the learning process, while helping to design and implement individual curriculum.
Despite the difficulties, online learning proved to be an interesting challenge for the teacher. The new environment allowed them to set new goals. At the same time, the degree of parental involvement in the learning process has increased as they have been helping their children with homework.
Natia Sherbakova believes that the secret of professional success lies only in constant search and daily deepening of knowledge:
"Every day I try to enhance my knowledge in my profession, to create a resource for developing various skills. This diligence is important for all the children I have to work with. When my students achieve results with the resources I have created, I realize that it was worth the effort" stated the special educator and advised colleagues to unconditionally love their work, constantly strive for professional advancement and discover special and different talents in each child.