Is Special Education the Right Choice?
60Lisa Harp - Learning Link Technologies
Labeling may do more harm than good
Some parents choose the special education route for their children, but this is a double edged sword. In the state of California, where I reside, the special education students must pass their high school exit exam. If they are pulled out of class every day and given a watered down curriculum, how are they ever going to pass this important test? If they don’t pass it, they don’t get a diploma. They get a certificate of completion.
And, the long term repercussions of this are huge. Eventually the child will grow up, be on his/her own and the world will not offer modifications and accommodations to help him/her through the day. Even if the child works at a pizza restaurant, he/she needs to know how to write so that orders can be taken. I cringe every time I hear an educator or professional offer a hand held recorder or other device as a modification for a student with dysgraphia (writing difficulties) or auditory processing disorders. Do we really think that the world is going to slow down and wait for these people to turn on their recorders so that they can get their jobs done once they grow up? Certainly not.
Yet, by doing so, we set them up to fail in life.
We need to give these kids a set of tools to help them succeed. We need to mend the very wounds that keep them from succeeding, not give them modifications and accommodations that turn out to be crutches in the long run. Sure, they may need these for a while, but they must be taught how to function in our society without them in order to succeed. I know this to be true because I have lived it with my own child, who is a successful student and worker now. And, I’ve lived it with the countless children I have worked with and shared these healing activities with. Once the wounds of their minds are healed, they can learn.
I'd like to take you through my own personal journey to find a way to help these children, including my own son. To give you hope that there is a way to help these kids – to give them a shot at succeeding so that life doesn’t have to be something that is to be endured. And finally, to introduce you to my tool bag so that you can find the help you need if your child is suffering from a learning difference and find the healing that he/she certainly deserves.
serendipity28 2 years ago
First of all, as a CA special educator, I do not offer my students a "watered down" curriculum. A modified curriculum does not mean watered down but CHANGED. It is educators who decide what and how the curriculum is changed. The CAHSEE(California High School Exit Exam) does a disservice to ALL high school students because even students who are not in the special education system do have many of the problems and academic challenges without the benefit of identification.
I too am the parent of children with academic challenges, one has succeeded and the other still struggles. The problem is with society at large and political know nothings who haven't spent a day in the classroom since leaving school but blame educators for poor student performance.