My Day In Special Ed
Actually "Special Ed" isn't used anymore. That's just what they called the learning disabled classes back in my day. *sigh* Yeah... back in a simpler time before I heard such terms as mainstreaming and inclusion.Quick lesson in definitions:
Mainstreaming - Basically, taking a learning disabled student out of the secluded Special Education class, and placing them in a few "regular" classes. They can only stay in these classes if they can "keep up" with the rest of their classmates.
Inclusion - This is when the learning disabled student is present in all "regular" classes, but with a tutor who will help them along.
The reason for this impromptu mini-lecture, is that I was recently a sub for an Inclusion Tutor (I don't think that's actually the correct term, but there are so many freakin' titles and acronyms in school systems that I'm gonna start making up my own so I too can sound like a know-it-all beaurocrat). I had this cute middle schooler whom I sat with during the day to give hints to, prod and prompt, and praise and berate as needed. This all went well for the first half of the day. Although it was highly boring to me as I was only in charge of one kid, I definitely saw the positive effect that Inclusion can have. This student gets to hang out with his peers, he learns the same things they do (although at a different speed), and the classroom teacher gets to teach at their regular pace knowing that the Tutor is on hand to help the learning disabled student along. There's no class flow disruption as the teacher goes over to help the special students, and there's no odd looks from the rest of the class toward the kid with his special teacher... because they're used to it. Yay.
The problem is, since the child is supposed to be totally included in all "normal" activities, there's no place for the student to go when they start acting.. well, disabled. Let me 'splain. See, me and my Little Buddy, after a morning of good times, get in a class where the fun of the hour seems to be the students running their mouths off at the push-over teacher. Fun, eh? I thought it was just the group of kids until the teacher left for a moment, leaving me in charge. Total 180 in attitudes. All of the sudden it was "Yes Ma'am" and "May I?". They only spoke to the teacher with such disrespect because she allowed them to. My Little Buddy, following the example of his peers, joined in on the fun, and became irate when I wouldn't put up with the same backtalk that she did. In response to me being a "hard*ss", LB self-destructively refused to do any schoolwork as a sort of political protest. In the next classroom, his mouthiness and uncooperativeness continued, disrupting the class and that teacher's lesson.
Unfortunately, my Little Buddy had gotten off track, and as an Inclusion student his actions were to be handled in the same manner as the rest of his classmates. In other words, bad behavior=detention. This didn't seem fair to me. Yes, this kid is in the same classes as the rest of the students, but he also works at a different pace to accommodate his special needs. He gets a tutor to accommodate his special needs. He takes oral tests accommodate his special needs. So why doesn't he get a different punishment or time out to accommodate his special needs?!?
Now, will someone give me a hand down from this soapbox?
posted by Magpie Chick at
9:54 PM
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