That’s why I took my special needs students to the band hall and let them feel the instruments as they were being played and sit beside the band students. I also got the admin. to let them into art classes and no one freaked out when they drew guns. We also did lots of out of the box crafts. Ever try flint napping with special needs kids? It’s a lot easier than with other kids who don’t pay attention. Not one drop of blood, ever. Once a weeks we’d learn real cooking and no one lost a finger over a knife. How about hands on goat milking and grilling goat burgers? How about negotiating stores and counting money? How about conquering their fear of the outside world? We’d go geocaching so they could learn to read a simple map/compass and follow directions. Oh, the thrill of walking up even the teeniest of hills. King of the Mountain! Yeah, they’re not likely to get into MIT so they need life skills.
Sadly, when I left, the new teacher sat them all in desks and that was that.
bgill, you must have been a wonderful teacher! Most teachers I talk to today are afraid to try anything innovative. It’s been drummed out of them. Everything is “the test”.