Jim,
You cover a lot of ground here and I won't respond to all of it. Rather, I encourage students with AD/HD and parents of students with AD/HD, or other mainstreamed students, to respond to your comments.I would argue, however, that all children --whether diagnosed with a medical or academic disability, giftedness, or average student -- should receive differentiated, individualized education, the main tenent of IDEA.

How does one do that. I have been teaching for almost three decades and have been through many seminars, week long conferences, and state run conferences talking about differentiated, individualized education. My average size class is about 25 and I have to complete a rigorous curriculum in order to prepare my students for their post-secondary lives. If I did with my students what you advise I would not only fail the academically challenged students but would also fail all of my students because of time restraints.

What you are promoting is a system that may work well in books or at seminars but are literally impossible in the real classroom. In reality I wish I could teach all my students individually. It just can't be done.

Well, OK, I can see your point about 25 kids in a classroom.  To everything else, I say thank God you are not teaching my kids.  We need to think outside the box here.  I, too, hate terms like "differentiated instruction," which look great on paper but mean absolutely nothing more than a few cookie cutter options. 

Here's the thing -- we need classrooms with less than 25 kids.  Why is that so hard to imagine?  The best possible way we could spend money in education is to hire more teachers, good teachers, and make smaller class size a real priority.  It would help EVERY kid. 

And maybe you're right, about the education system being "better" before kids with disabilities were included, but the thing is...THEY WEREN"T INCLUDED!  Those statistics from those years of US educational dominance in the world didn't include special ed kids!  Because we were doing absolutely nothing for them, and we're not doing much more now.  It's shameful. 

It's also shameful that we have so many more kids with disabilities to begin with -- and contrary to your assumptions, Jim, the reason for this wave of developmental disabilities (and yes, ADHD is often--though not always-- real), is NOT school personel "coding" kids who don't need it.  I don't know one single parent who has had an easy time getting their child's special education eligibility.  The reason we have all these kids now is that we keep polluting the planet and our children and doing nothing to stop it.
The least we can do is educate them, don't you think?

Trisha,
I hate empty edu-babble myself, but when I say 'differentiated learning' it's just my shorthand way of referring to exactly what you mention: thinking outside the box of standardized, one-size-fits-all schooling.

It's difficult to individual your teaching, but not impossible. It starts with teacher training and certification. Teacher ed programs must emphasize child development, classroom management, the art of observing students, and the science of documentation of student work. My teacher prep program prepared teachers to teach in multi-grade classrooms (three year age spans) because it was a Montessori program. My training served me very well as I worked to individualize my students' lessons.

Then, of course, individualization would be easier if teachers had more support. By support I agree that class sizes need to be smaller, but I also mean support in being allowed to move away from scripted pre-bought curricula. Also, if the emphasis of assessment shifted from high-stakes standardized tests and formative assessments to alternative assessment such as portfolios, demonstrations, and teacher-made tests, individualized instruction would fit right into this model.

For you teachers out there: what other types of support would benefit your ability to individualize more?

As a student, I am continually unimpressed with special education systems.

The goal of IDEA was noble: allow students to get a free public education.

However, activists have pushed so that all students are expected to receive and attain the same level of education–including special education students.

The fact is, special education students hold the entire class back. Instead of bringing special education students up to the level of their peers, their peers are forced to slow down to the level of those slower students.

This does an injustice to all students. No wonder intelligent or even regular students are increasingly turning to private school for a decent education. In public schools, thanks to the constraints of special students, it is difficult to get a strong education.

All this happens while millions of dollars are dumped into special education, even as other parts of the budget are cut. It doesn't sound very equal to me that a disabled student gets far more resources and finances applied than a regular student.

Schools have failed to recognize that all students deserve an education appropriate to them. Appropriate does not mean equal.

Not all students should be expected to master advanced skills. Not all students are capable of keeping up with the speed at which most students can process information. Some students can move far faster than that speed.

We do so much to slow down the herd for the stragglers, but those who can go the fastest get very little support. In reality, not everyone is capable of mastering the concepts. It would be a far better investment to focus on those who are.

Hi, Morgante. I couldn't agree more when you say "Schools have failed to recognize that all students deserve an education appropriate to them. Appropriate does not mean equal."

I think you are just referring to curriculum because you noted that in your experience certain students slow down the pace in the classroom.

However, I wonder if appropriate might also mean unequal funding. The drafters of IDEA took into consideration that to educate a "disabled" student it would cost twice that of a "regular" student. That's how they came up with the full funding estimates. And this amount was a lot less than it took to institutionalize children at that time.

This formula has been born out. It does take, on average, double the amount to educate a student under IDEA. The problem is that since the federal government doesn't hold up their end of the bargain (and what they promised to pay), the states and local districts are left holding the bag and making up the funding, taking valuable resources away from other areas of education.
 
I also agree that activists have instituted a one-size-fits all approach to education where everyone is expected to test on grade level. These activists have not been educators, but big business CEOs. Therefore, as you note, those who are gifted get little support. And those that need intervention or remediation also get little support. Those kids who are close to being "proficient" on the state standardized test are the ones that get all the support and attention right now and that needs to change.

Trish, you are missing my point. Of course I believe all children should be educated to their capabilities. In fact, I believe we should push the envelope and attempt to have these children understand more than their IEP’s tell them they can do. As for having classes become smaller you forget about our present economic conditions. Classes will and have become larger. A mixture of all level students has now become a necessity because of budget cuts that equates to fewer teachers.     We have more students coded than any other time in our history. In fact, I can almost promise you more students have become coded this year than last year. The giant beaurocracy of special education has grown too large for its own good. We now have programs that legitimize their positions rather than helping our children.     As for you stating you are glad I do not teach your children. I never lie to my students and I never place them in positions they feel they are special. If you ever get to read my biography I believe you would see this. But, you may be happy to hear I am a dinosaur who does not have that much time in the classroom. Not yet though, because I have too much to do to make a difference in all of my students.

In order to individualize instruction in a class of 25 – 30 students one needs help. Many of our classrooms are filled with aides that have little to no understanding of subject. In fact, when I am offered an aide in any of my classes I usually refuse it because it is like having an extra student in my class.     We need aides who do not only have a background in special education but these same people should be categorized into a second certification in what is being taught. In other words, a special education aide should have a background in let’s say biology before they are placed in a biology class to help the special needs students. This simply never happens because of the ridiculous pay scale these people are being paid. I clearly understand the success of all my students is critical if I am to succeed but to continue to talk about programs without a means of putting them successfully in place is a waste of time.

Jim brings up an excellent point about classroom aides. What other kinds of support should be given to teachers to help them individualize instruction?

As a parent of two students with special needs, both gifted with ADHD-inattenative type and anxiety, I have seen first hand that IDEA is a wonderful idea that DOES NOT HAPPEN in most instances in real life.  The reality is that administration is faced with staffing to meet the needs of these students, but not given the resources or training necessary to do so.  Eventually, these administrators forget what led them to teaching in the first place and they become the enemy in a tug-of-war with the parents of these students.  It is only in the wealthy schools, where parents have the resources to hire attorneys to fight for adequate special education services, that truely individualized instruction occurs.  Parents sue, schools are forced to comply and then the precious funds that are available are funneled to those schools.  Unfortunately, these are the schools in wealthy areas where the parents could afford to privately provide educational support lacking in the schools.  The poorer schools with less affluent parents continue to suffer a lack of funding and staffing as monies available are funneled away and they don't have the luxury of privately funding their students learning.  The only possible solution is for these parents to fight with whatever resources are available to them for their children.  They are often met, as I have been, with retaliation and hostility.  Without the financial resources, legal representation is impossible and parents find themselves in a very vulnerable position as they sit on one side of a table facing an army of school and district personel.  By the time the children graduate, there is so little progress that the parents question whether the result was worth the time, resources and life-consuming battle and all of the scars that they and their children will carry from it.