One Special Needs Child Left Behind

by Jennifer Parker

Published January 14, 2009 @ 06:07PM PT

From Special Education guest-blogger Jennifer Parker: When I first set about writing a Special Education guest-post for change.org, I sent an invitation for responses to the Educating for Human Greatness community. One of its members wrote the letter below, sharing her experience, as a teacher, with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA]. Because it hits upon a lot of the topics discussed in previous posts and comments, I'm reprinting it almost in its entirety.

Retired teacher Tanya Sharon's account of a student that came to her from a residential facility for mentally retarded people reminds me of the subject of my first post: the state of education for students with disabilities, before federal law protected their right to a free, appropriate public education. As I read it, I felt as if I was in the classroom with the teacher, sharing in her joys and frustrations. On the joyous side, this student made tremendous progress in Tanya’s class, despite a lack of support. But read what happens to this child after he leaves her class. Did this child receive an appropriate education? What are your thoughts?

Jennifer,

Several years ago … I was … given a first grade class of 30 students with about 10 who could speak some English. (I speak Spanish so I could communicate with the children and their parents.) In October the administrator brought in a boy who had been living in a residential facility for retarded people in Mexico. I was told that he was there only until they could get paper work to identify him as "trainably mentally impaired" and transfer him to a "special" school. The mother, who spoke no English, didn't want her son sent to another school so she and I worked together to find advocates and translators for her and her child. It wasn't until April that we finally had an IEP conference.

Because what the mother was asking was so controversial, the meeting included the head of the special ed. department along with a social worker advocate and lawyer for the parent and child besides the usual attendees. We met for two full afternoons at which time it was decided to leave him in the classroom but to provide a full time aide. We finally got an aide in May but she was fired within the month because she spent a great deal of time on her cell phone and was absent several days each week.

The year was very difficult for me as the teacher but at the same time was rewarding for me and for all the students in the classroom. It was difficult because the boy had some behavior problems, for instance running out into the hall and around the school because he enjoyed the excitement that created. [I had] no aide and 30 other students ... Also, the gym and music teachers and the lunch aides refused to have him, so the mother had to take him home during those times, sometimes not returning after lunch. I think he would have calmed down more and stayed with us had he been allowed more opportunity to be a part of our classroom community.

But he did learn a lot. He learned to write his name, the sounds of most letters, a love of books and telling stories to go with the pictures, some English, counting to 10, and some social skills. He made friends. There were many positive aspects for the rest of the children in this inclusive classroom. For instance, those that were slower at learning enjoyed being able to help him learn and in so doing learned more themselves. Those that were fast learners enjoyed reading aloud to him and teaching him English, both activities that helped them as well. All enjoyed the stories he made up from the pictures. He was a very happy boy and shared his joy of life with all of us in many different ways.

This class would have been so much better for all had we had a smaller class size, say 17 total. A trained and responsible aid would have been helpful as well, someone who could also accompany him to gym, music and lunch and be in the regular classroom.

The next September the principal insisted that he be sent to the special school and convinced the father that, since I did not have a special ed. endorsement that I was not capable of teaching him. I found out later that his new IEP mentions nothing about reading or writing or math. He is only expected to learn to wash his hands after using the toilet, and other such "skills for living."

Photo by woodleywonderworks