No worries georgie, I'm not pissed by anything anyone is saying on here...I LOVE people's opinions and I love everyone. Not too much of what anyone says brings me down in general...I hope you haven't taken it that way as that is not what I'm trying to say...the internet in general is different because you are not sitting with people face to face...I try always to be cognizant of that!
The school system is flawed. We are now told to group according to test scores. If your child is not a tester, too bad. They will be lumped in with those without the knowledge.
This is what we are told to do.
However, currently grades are based on work completion and smaller unit test scores.
So the kids can get better grades than their tests show they are capable of.
As a teacher, I see both ends of the spectrum being neglected. The highs and lows. I've been in all they types of SPED programs (as a teacher). Where they seclude the IEP kids in the room next to the heater, and full inclusion, where ALL kids are in the classrooms together without regard to ability.
In extreme cases, I've seen kids who could not speak, had feeding tubes, and wore diapers in 6th grade classrooms.
I am sorry. as a parent and a teacher I do not feel this is 'right'.
Right now I have a student who has very little memeory. She's in 8th grade. Cannot remember her address, birthday, how to spell her middle name, the coins names or values.
She is in a regular eduation 8th grade class where we are teaching pre-algrbra. Problems with multiple variables.
She's lost.
My job is to 'adapt' the curriculum.
When the kids are 'cross multiplying and dividing'. I write out the problems and her job is to punch it into the calculator and write the output. (she can't even do this consistently) but this is what she'll have to do on the ISAT.
She does not work without me right next to her. So she sits. and daydreams a lot. Because I have 9 other children with IEPs that need to be serviced. I cannot balance it all.
In the spring, she with all my other IEP kids, will be taking the 8th grade ISAT. She can only read at the 1st grade level and her comprehension is lower.
Joy, I KNOW you are right about a lot of this...it still doesn't make it right that these kids are being discriminated against. Again it just makes me sad. And that really is why I left education before I ever really got started..seeing it firsthand as an aide left me disgusted with the whole system and sometimes you can't fight city hall!
I'm sure Annie that you are a wonderful teacher, but that girl needs her own aide. The IDEA isn't set up to put all of that on you alone even in a SPED classroom setting. She should have a 1 to 1.
For those who have greater disabilities, the question always pops in my mind, how can she graduate? She's in 8th grade? She can't identify a quarter?
But really, she probably never will.
Should she sit in a first grade class forever, until she passes the requirements?
I don't know.
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!she needs her own aide!
I cannot get anyone to listen.
"The state is going this way now" is the answer I get.
We do not offer self contained classrooms, nor one-on-ones anymore.
Just like that.
no. Talk about neutered, I have no say in what happens to her. I hate it.
Well, this was fun.
back to teach the Constitution to children who cannot read.
wish me luck.
-A
Joy, I don't know why reading "the IDEA" is like the sound of fingernails scraping on a chalkboard to me. I know it is correct, but I've always used "IDEA."
Also, the notes that come home from DS's school drive me insane too. The do not use people first language. The notes say things like, "If you have a special needs child that requires adaptive equipment or a personal assistant please contact our office in advance." It should be, "If you have a child with special needs..." OR even better in my opinion would be, "If you have a child that requires adaptive equipment..."
To be honest, it drives me crazy too, but having once been corrected by the district's attorney I do it their way. Which is technically correct but doesn't flow IMO.
For example....
If I said "It is not permissible under Individuals with Disabilities Act to..." that would be bad grammar. It should read "It is not permissible under the Individuals with Disabilities Act to.." so the logic goes that just because you are using the acronym for it (IDEA) that doesn't negate the need for the word "the" in the sentence.
I feel the same way about "myriad". While both "myriad of correspondence" and "myriad correspondence" are acceptable, the second is actually correct. It kills me to leave out the "of" when writing it.
A place to debate everything and anything!