Macadam-MixTalent Project	The aspects: connection, content, context and cohesion
Greet's Letter to Petru Dumitru, Coordinator MyEurope SchoolsNetwork and Brigitte Parry from the Newsletter

Dear Petru and Brigitte,
Last year you asked me to write an article about special education. Instead I developed this year an educational web-approach for children and young people in hospitals and those whom are homebound. Now I want you to show  the meaning of the MixTalent-project

2003 was the European Year of the disabled. But, Petru and Brigitte for our students it is difficult to relate to this theme; because it only gives a name to what they can't do. So we made this MixTalent project as a contribution to this European year:  we mix the possibilities and the limits of the students. We will continue this project the following years. Greet's Webreports are in English only, they are for teachers; so they can understand how and why we made the project and use it for their own students. For the hospitalschools Kavor in Israel I have described why the web is so important. I like to share here those thoughts with you.

Why is the web so important for children, young people with a handicap or a disease? Looking to my own situation: I loved teaching. When I was 38 I had to give up my work; but through the web I am able to reform my skills again and have new and fulfilling life. I am homebound again. By the web I need less help: I can't go to shops - so I buy my groceries, cloth; things really basic for my life through the web and they bring it to my house. I don't buy gadgets, but really things one needs to survive.

As a child in the hospital there was no contact with the outside world (I already told you my parents weren't able to visit me much; not because they didn't want too, but by the lack of economic means). When I was recovering at home books were rare and there was only radio. In hospital nor at home I got an education; imagine how much the web had meant to learn and to be part of the world! As a student it would be much, much easier to study when I had had access to all the information on the web. My whole life I only had (on a scale of 10) 6 and 7 because I couldn't get the information in time, or couldn't reach for it.

This is my drive to make people - parents, doctors, teachers, all kinds of professionals involved in children and young people with a handicap or chronic disease - aware of the meaning of the web. You could say a wheelchair, medication, braces are to prevent mobile isolation; the web, among other things, is there to prevent emotional and intellectual isolation.To give children and young people of today a meaningful tool.

I am aware of my own limits, Petru and Brigitte; so I will never be able to be part of the mainstream of MyEurope SchoolsNetwork, but perhaps I can give others information, motivation and idea's for their work. Bye, Greet.