I remember the first time a veteran teacher told me a student will never get it. I didn't understand what that meant. As a Special Education teacher I thought my job was to help the kids who didn't get it eventually get it. It never crossed my mind that there could be a class of students who were hopeless. But as the year went on and my low kids stood low, I felt for a second maybe the veteran teachers were right. Maybe these kids were actually hopeless and could not possibly learn the content at the current level we were at. I mean I had a student who could hardly divide, let alone determine ratios. Perhaps I was just a new teacher in way over their head. Now that it's my second year I realize I was completely wrong.
As a requirement for my graduate school program, I tutored a 7th grader twice a week for a total of 2 hours. The student I chose happened to be one of my "hopeless" students from last year. At first I was uneasy choosing her as my focus student, remembering the behavior outburst and her lack of meaningful progress fresh from the year before. Furthermore, our focus subject, math, was something she was seemingly abysmal at since she presented the inability to divide even simple one digit dividends and divisors. What could I possibly accomplish with her? Then in a matter of two months she proceeded to become proficient at long division solving problems with dividends of up to 3 to 4 digits with divisors up to 2 digits. In two months I became a teacher for the first time and she "got it."
One might chalk this up to the individual attention she received, but I can confidently say that aside from the first few sessions, the rest of her progress was purely auto-pilot. Through comprehensive assessment and observation, I was able to determine the conceptual breakdown in her math. From there I implemented a series of strategies to help her become proficient at division. Once she became adept at utilizing the strategies on her own it was smooth sailing. Dividing became second nature for her and she was successful weeks after being taught how to do it. I can confidently say my student can divide, a skill that's invaluable in math and life. I achieved in a matter of 10 to 12 hours, what I could not achieve in an entire year. That is ridiculous.
Special Education teachers in an ICT setting are often given far more than the state mandated percentage of special education students. Classes can sometimes be comprised of a 50/50 split of general education to special education students, making it impossible for a special education teacher to develop the strategies needed to help special education students access content appropriate to them. Furthermore, the push to mainstream students have led special education reformers to champion ICT classrooms. In schools like mine which have no other alternative settings, students who cannot handle ICT classrooms are thrown in them anyways. These students are at times worse than their overcrowding counterparts as they require constant attention that a special education teacher in an ICT classroom cannot give. If a student is 3 to four years behind in content, ICT is definitely an option for them. But a student at a 1st or 2nd grade reading level, exhibiting a specified reading disability should not be in an ICT classroom without some form of supplement. Yet those are the kind of students in our classrooms and those students cannot succeed in the setting. The result is a Sophie's choice dilemma where a special educator either abandons this particular student, often resulting in that student acting out in protest to this abandonment, or shirking their responsibilities to her other students in exchange for this student.
The solution to this problem will never come from the department of education itself. The institutions around the country are concerned with their bottom line and view special education as a problem to be dealt with instead of an essential component of their mission. The solution must come from informed parents and informed special education litigators. At every IEP meeting there should be a special education advocate. Special Education advocates are people who are well versed in the rights and protections afforded to parents, who are going through the IEP process. They will come to meetings and be able to challenge the often stonewalled nature of the IEP team. Schools and school psychiatrists are typically on the same team when it comes to recommending services. Since they need special education students they will often collude to make it seem their course of action is the only course of action that should be taken. If some of my parents were just a little more informed, they would be able to hold me and in turn my administration more accountable. Of course the blame isn't with my school, but with the administration that straps schools tight for resources when it comes to special education. They will continue tossing IEP student after IEP student to a school, regardless of whether that school can service them or not. Administrations are taught to deal and that's exactly what they do. If I leave teaching, I will definitely find some way to get involved in advocating for parents because this process needs to stop. I want to find a solution that makes schools and parents happy.
As a requirement for my graduate school program, I tutored a 7th grader twice a week for a total of 2 hours. The student I chose happened to be one of my "hopeless" students from last year. At first I was uneasy choosing her as my focus student, remembering the behavior outburst and her lack of meaningful progress fresh from the year before. Furthermore, our focus subject, math, was something she was seemingly abysmal at since she presented the inability to divide even simple one digit dividends and divisors. What could I possibly accomplish with her? Then in a matter of two months she proceeded to become proficient at long division solving problems with dividends of up to 3 to 4 digits with divisors up to 2 digits. In two months I became a teacher for the first time and she "got it."
One might chalk this up to the individual attention she received, but I can confidently say that aside from the first few sessions, the rest of her progress was purely auto-pilot. Through comprehensive assessment and observation, I was able to determine the conceptual breakdown in her math. From there I implemented a series of strategies to help her become proficient at division. Once she became adept at utilizing the strategies on her own it was smooth sailing. Dividing became second nature for her and she was successful weeks after being taught how to do it. I can confidently say my student can divide, a skill that's invaluable in math and life. I achieved in a matter of 10 to 12 hours, what I could not achieve in an entire year. That is ridiculous.
Special Education teachers in an ICT setting are often given far more than the state mandated percentage of special education students. Classes can sometimes be comprised of a 50/50 split of general education to special education students, making it impossible for a special education teacher to develop the strategies needed to help special education students access content appropriate to them. Furthermore, the push to mainstream students have led special education reformers to champion ICT classrooms. In schools like mine which have no other alternative settings, students who cannot handle ICT classrooms are thrown in them anyways. These students are at times worse than their overcrowding counterparts as they require constant attention that a special education teacher in an ICT classroom cannot give. If a student is 3 to four years behind in content, ICT is definitely an option for them. But a student at a 1st or 2nd grade reading level, exhibiting a specified reading disability should not be in an ICT classroom without some form of supplement. Yet those are the kind of students in our classrooms and those students cannot succeed in the setting. The result is a Sophie's choice dilemma where a special educator either abandons this particular student, often resulting in that student acting out in protest to this abandonment, or shirking their responsibilities to her other students in exchange for this student.
The solution to this problem will never come from the department of education itself. The institutions around the country are concerned with their bottom line and view special education as a problem to be dealt with instead of an essential component of their mission. The solution must come from informed parents and informed special education litigators. At every IEP meeting there should be a special education advocate. Special Education advocates are people who are well versed in the rights and protections afforded to parents, who are going through the IEP process. They will come to meetings and be able to challenge the often stonewalled nature of the IEP team. Schools and school psychiatrists are typically on the same team when it comes to recommending services. Since they need special education students they will often collude to make it seem their course of action is the only course of action that should be taken. If some of my parents were just a little more informed, they would be able to hold me and in turn my administration more accountable. Of course the blame isn't with my school, but with the administration that straps schools tight for resources when it comes to special education. They will continue tossing IEP student after IEP student to a school, regardless of whether that school can service them or not. Administrations are taught to deal and that's exactly what they do. If I leave teaching, I will definitely find some way to get involved in advocating for parents because this process needs to stop. I want to find a solution that makes schools and parents happy.
