Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Betsy DeVos wants “choice” for special needs kids (trunc.)
WaPo ^ | 2/6/2017 | Susan C. Margolin

Posted on 02/08/2017 9:56:44 AM PST by T-Bird45

My son slides under the daybed, flattening his sprawling limbs in all directions across the dusty floor, then retracting them with a jerk. “I’m making myself invisible!” he declares. He knows our news is unwelcome.

Don’t let him think it’s because of him, his doctor had coached.

Crouching, I reach my hand to stroke his arm — a gesture I realize is not enough to comfort a boy whose body short circuits with uncertainty. My husband and I tell him:

You can’t start second grade tomorrow.

We’re leaving Singapore. We’re moving to America.

We don’t know when. It will be soon.

We don’t know where. We’ll figure it out.

We don’t have jobs. We’ll get them.

But until then, you can’t go to school.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aspergers; autism; devos; first100days; iep; schoolchoice; specialneeds; trumpdoe
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-47 last
To: dsc

Willful ignorance is no way to go through life, again, you might actually learn something. Are you afraid to click on the links?


41 posted on 02/09/2017 12:29:54 PM PST by New Perspective (Proud father of a son with Down Syndrome and fighting to keep him off Obama's death panels.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: NorthMountain

Each child is entitled to a quality education, including special needs children. If you click on some of the links that I posted you will see that lesson plans are also designed for the special needs children to work along with the class.


42 posted on 02/09/2017 12:32:59 PM PST by New Perspective (Proud father of a son with Down Syndrome and fighting to keep him off Obama's death panels.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: New Perspective
Each child is entitled

Well, there's your problem right there. "Entitled"???

Seriously???

Who granted them that "entitlement"? By what authority? Who is obliged to pay for that "entitlement"? To what else is each child "entitled"?

The mentality of "entitlement" is destroying this once great Republic.

Are educational resources infinite? Is any resource infinite? Is every child mentally and physically capable of learning the material taught in every class?

How about answering in your own words.

43 posted on 02/09/2017 1:22:44 PM PST by NorthMountain (New York Post is fake news)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: NorthMountain
Entitled? Yes and I am a bit surprised that I have to explain this to you, maybe you were not aware but special needs children are "Children", actual young human beings with a soul and they have just as much right to be taught with their peers as any other child. Maybe if you took the time and not pigeon hole these special kids with your ignorance you might learn that these kids work much harder than most because they have a disability. They work 10 times harder just to do the simplest tasks while other times they have exceptional skills far beyond your lack of knowledge and complete resolute to NOT look at any data to the contrary. It is also the law. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires that a continuum of placement options be available to meet the needs of students with disabilities.

Years of research have contributed to our knowledge of how to successfully include students with disabilities in general education classes. Listed below are the activities and support systems commonly found where successful inclusion has occurred.

Attitudes and Beliefs

School Support

Collaboration

Instructional Methods

Making It Work: A Sample Scenario

Classrooms that successfully include students with disabilities are designed to welcome diversity and to address the individual needs of all students, whether they have disabilities or not. The composite scenario below is based on reports from several teachers. It provides a brief description of how regular and special education teachers work together to address the individual needs of all of their students.

Jane Smith teaches third grade at Lincoln Elementary School. Three days a week, she co-teaches the class with Lynn Vogel, a special education teacher. Their 25 students include 4 who have special needs due to disabilities and 2 others who currently need special help in specific curriculum areas. Each of the students with a disability has an IEP that was developed by a team that included both teachers. The teachers, paraprofessionals, and the school principal believe that these students have a great deal to contribute to the class and that they will achieve their best in the environment of a general education classroom.

All of the school personnel have attended inservice training designed to develop collaborative skills for teaming and problem-solving. Mrs. Smith and the two paraprofessionals who work in the classroom also received special training on disabilities and on how to create an inclusive classroom environment. The school principal, Ben Parks, had worked in special education many years ago and has received training on the impact of new special education developments and instructional arrangements on school administration. Each year, Mr. Parks works with the building staff to identify areas in which new training is needed. For specific questions that may arise, technical assistance is available through a regional special education cooperative.

Mrs. Smith and Miss Vogel share responsibility for teaching and for supervising their two paraprofessionals. In addition to the time they spend together in the classroom, they spend 1 to 4 hours per week planning instruction, plus additional planning time with other teachers and support personnel who work with their students.

The teachers use their joint planning time to problem-solve and discuss the use of special instructional techniques for all students who need special assistance. Monitoring and adapting instruction for individual students is an ongoing activity. The teachers use curriculum-based measurement to systematically assess their students' learning progress. They adapt curricula so that lessons begin at the edge of the student's knowledge, adding new material at the student's pace, and presenting it in a style consistent with the student's learning style. For some students, preorganizers or chapter previews are used to bring out the most important points of the material to be learned; for other students, new vocabulary words may need to be highlighted or reduced reading levels may be required. Some students may use special activity worksheets, while others may learn best by using media or computer-assisted instruction.

In the classroom, the teachers group students differently for different activities. Sometimes, the teachers and para-professionals divide the class, each teaching a small group or tutoring individuals. They use cooperative learning projects to help the students learn to work together and develop social relationships. Peer tutors provide extra help to students who need it. Students without disabilities are more than willing to help their friends who have disabilities, and vice versa.

While the regular classroom may not be the best learning environment for every child with a disability, it is highly desirable for all who can benefit. It provides contact with age peers and prepares all students for the diversity of the world beyond the classroom.

References

Adamson, D.R., Matthews, P., & Schuller, J. (1990). "Five ways to bridge the resource room to regular classroom gap." TEACHING Exceptional Children, 22 (2), 74-77.

Cook, L. & Friend, M. (1992). "Interactions: Collaboration Skills for School Professionals." White Plains, NY: Longman Publishing.

Conn, M. (February, 1992). "How four communities tackle mainstreaming." The School Administrator, 2, 22-24.

The Council for Exceptional Children. (1993). "CEC policy on inclusive schools and community settings." Available from The Council for Exceptional Children, 1920 Association Drive, Reston, VA 22091. (703) 620-3660.

Friend, M., & Cook, L. (March, 1992). "The new mainstreaming: How it really works." Instructor, 101 (7), 30-36.

Giangreco, M.F., Chigee, J.C., & Iverson, V.S. (1993). "Choosing options and accommodations for children: A guide to planning inclusive education." Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.

McLaughlin, M., & Warren, S.H. (1992). "Issues and options in restructuring schools and special education programs." Available from The Council for Exceptional Children, 1920 Association Drive, Reston, VA 22091-1589. (ERIC Number ED 350 774).

National Education Association. (May, 1992). "The integration of students with special needs into regular classrooms: Policies and practices that work." Washington, DC: National Education Association.

York, J., Doyle, M.B., & Kronberg, R. (December, 1992). "A curriculum development process for inclusive classrooms." Focus on Exceptional Children, 25(4).

Source: "Including Students with Disabilities in General Education Classrooms." ERIC Digest #E521
Note. An ERIC minibibliography, "Including Students with Disabilities," is also available.

44 posted on 02/09/2017 2:17:55 PM PST by New Perspective (Proud father of a son with Down Syndrome and fighting to keep him off Obama's death panels.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 43 | View Replies]

To: New Perspective
Entitled? Yes

NO!!!

Nobody is "entitled" to another person's time, labor, or other resources. People may freely choose to exchange value for value, thereby voluntarily creating and entering into obligations to each other. That is a different matter entirely. Creating an "entitlement" to another person's time, labor or other resources amounts to slavery or robbery. That is the fundamental error of socialism.

Maybe if you would bother to read what I actually wrote, and answer the questions I asked, we could have an interesting conversation. Spamming the thread with educrat jargon is not helpful or productive. It is irrelevant to the points I was attempting to discuss.

45 posted on 02/09/2017 2:35:51 PM PST by NorthMountain (New York Post is fake news)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 44 | View Replies]

To: NorthMountain

Clearly the facts are very confusing to you. I provided you with numerous evidence based facts and studies based upon years of research yet you still maintain in institutional attitude and there in lies the problem with far to many in the education system.


46 posted on 02/09/2017 2:49:22 PM PST by New Perspective (Proud father of a son with Down Syndrome and fighting to keep him off Obama's death panels.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies]

To: New Perspective
< sigh >

Clearly you are incapable of carrying on a conversation. Clearly you have not addressed any of my points, and only one of my questions. To that one, you answered with socialist dogma.

This could have been an interesting and enlightening conversation. Perhaps one day you will learn the art.

Until then, farewell.

47 posted on 02/09/2017 2:53:12 PM PST by NorthMountain (New York Post is fake news)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-47 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson