Week 3 Reflection

This week from the resources I was impressed with how much the government has been involved in making changes for people with disabilities, but there is always room for improvement. They have come a long way but they still have a long way to go. The term “separate but equal” doesn’t really make the situation better. In my experience it is best to have the children with special needs learning alongside their peers rather than in a separate classroom. The children need exposure to both peer interaction and one on one help depending on their strengths and struggle areas. Below is a cartoon that I like that describes the meaning of equality. Sameness does not necessarily mean that it is equal. Depending on areas of weakness some children need more accommodations and help in order to achieve the same success as their peers.

One of my favorite parts of Special Education is the IEP’s because it is INDIVIDUALIZED. I am a strong believer in seeking to help the “one”. Individualized plans allow teachers to accomplish all their responsibilities and attend to all their students yet they are aware of how to make accommodations to the one in order to help each student succeed. IEP’s are a documentation of goals and progress. The first part of the plan is to recognize where the child is at presently. Once children get behind in the educational systems it is hard for them to get back on track and ahead- yet Individualized Education Plans pace the students, it challenges them yet the goals and expectations are achievable.

One of the best examples that I saw of an IEP was when I was helping in a second grade class, one of the students had special needs and he required a constant aide by his side. He would go out of the normal classroom 2-3 times a day to be with other special needs children, but majority of the day he was learning with his aide in the normal classroom. The aide always had a clipboard with objectives for the day and the things that the particular students did well and accomplished as well as new goals for the next day. Sometimes I think that people view special education programs as a babysitting or entertainment facility to keep them occupied so they are less of a distraction. IEP’s help teachers know how they can help the student progress daily rather than just filling in meaningless activities to take up time.

The more inclusion the better, understanding and success will come with time. Love and Inclusion will make the difference in the community of the classroom.