Good Parenting

The Federal Government passed No Child Left Behind (NCLB)to ensure that all children are receiving an education. School districts have until 2014 to demonstrate that all children can read and do math at grade level. This is wonderful, except, what about those students who are dropping out, failing classes, or working below grade level because of some type of disability?

As a special educator, I believe we will always have a problem getting our students to achieve the goals the federal government expects of them. I am speaking to those parents who have children that are not doing well in Special Education or school. First, we don’t have enough teachers in special education. Second, we don’t always place children early enough in their academic life. And finally, we never seem to have the money to do the things necessary to provide our students with the appropriate education they require.

NCLB has a lot of good words describing how to implement changes for students with disabilities to ensure that they receive the best education possible. But, haven’t we been trying to do that all along? There is no assurance that your child will receive a good education, unless you are involved with that education.

Don’t let someone else write your child’s IEP without you. Be involved in your child’s daily school life. Get to know his/her Special Educator and any other teachers that he/she is involved with. Spend time in your child’s classrooms and observe how his/her teacher teaches. This will tell you a lot about that teacher. Find out how much money your school district receives for the special education department and how they are spending that money. Be vocal if you think that some of the funds coming from the federal government could be spent in a better way.

I believe that more Special Educators need to be placed in elementary schools and focusing on getting our children to read, write and do math at an earlier age. I also think that having more then six students to work with at any given time is not helpful to the students. Children who are placed in special education classrooms are there because they require more one on one to achieve their academic goals. If a special education classroom has 10, 12 or even 17 students (as some of mine have), it is almost impossible to make strides with your students. You spend more time with discipline then education. These children were placed in special education because they require a smaller class setting and more time with the teacher.

What exactly is a smaller class setting? I have been asking that question the entire time I have been teaching special education. When I taught elementary self-contained, I had 17 students, one aide and the students ranged from kindergarten to fourth grade (all exceptionalities). In middle school, I ran a self-contained classroom of 27 students with another teacher and one aide (again, all exceptionalities). In high school, my self-contained class consisted of 24 students and one aide (mostly emotionally disabled). I saw these students twice a day in classes of 10 to 14 each.

It’s time to make a difference and get back to the way we used to teach our children. We need more one on one, specialized teaching, and time to work with the student. We also need more parent involvement. Become an active parent in your school.

Read more

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 at 2:01 pm and is filed under Good Parenting.