Don't let school put you in Special Ed class

Puck said:
I really am not taking it personally, or even trying to defend my specific class. I am trying to show how cruel and hurtful your words are to kids in special Ed. You guys do realize when you say "dumping ground" that it implies all the other kids in the program are trash? And maybe no one said "retard," but someone did say "rejects." No, special Ed is not the place for 99.9% of Deaf kids, but your words in these posts dehumanize every child that those programs are designed for, even though I know it is not intentional. Those kids are not trash or rejects, they are human beings with abilities a little different from yours or mine who learn in a different way.

How would you feel if they put a hearing person in a deaf class and then that person went out and told everyone he had been stuck in the dumping grounds with the rejects? Not very good, I bet. On fact, I bet you would be furious, with good cause. That is exactly how my kids feel when they hear stuff like you are saying. It may not be purposely ill-intentioned, but people aren't usually purposely ill-intentioned toward the Deaf when they say hurtful things, either. It is only fair we give to others the same thoughtfulness and dignity we expect for ourselves.

I understand that many of you were placed in special Ed and did not belong there--a horrible flaw in the system and the main reason I am learning ASL. The bureaucracy is a mess, the school districts are a mess, and most people have no clue when it comes to anyone different from them in even the slightest way. I feel your pain, I feel it even more so for the actual kids who come into my classroom years behind due to some physical difference that has nothing to do with intellect, but all I ask is that you make an attempt to aim your words at the people who deserve it--the legislation, the district, the diagnostician, and even me-- the teacher. But use words to say what fools THEY were, not words that imply that kids who are not on the same level as you intellectually are somehow the trash no one wants . Honestly, my special needs kids give me hope in life as they overcome every obstacle some idiot doctor has placed in front of them, living long beyond their expected years and leading happy, healthy lives.
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Special ed classrooms should not be, in practice, a "dumping ground" but in reality that is what they are becoming. In theory, they are places for specialized instruction that are appropriate to the needs of each child, no better and no worse. They should be like that in practice too. Special education things are often one of the first to get cut, because those things have no benefit for the majority of students. Special ed classrooms by their own nature have become "dumping grounds" unless the teacher is extraordinarily creative and uses that creativity to individualize teaching. Not all teachers can attain that quality of teaching in their practice. Some school districts are even hiring people who do not hold specific credentials in special ed to teach special ed, because they do not value what those kids can learn as opposed to what their limitations are. This was the case in one K-2 special ed class I had some experience in as a prerequisite to graduate school. I don't like the terminology either, but that "dumping ground" has become the reality in many special ed classrooms on both the teaching end and on the bureaucratic end.

For us it is only natural to perceive special ed classrooms as that, no matter how appropriate or good they are for the students actually appropriate for those settings. We are limited by what exists in our language and it is difficult to put a positive spin on those learning environments when one does not experience it as a positive learning environment for them.

The system is indeed broken.
 
my friend also like me has DOWNS child she put up fight have her daughter in mainstream,the other parents made big fuss the girl had class helper this girl did better than other children.
I know different in your case but show not to assume because problems special needs don't do well
 
Puck said:
I have to say, as a Special Education teacher, I am a little offended. I observe and assess my students every single day, record information, and do my very best to provide them work that is equivalent to their needs. I have no doubt that you had a bad experience in Special Ed--there are some poor programs out there--but our classes are not the "reject class". My kids are NOT rejects, they are amazing, differently abled people whose only goal is to become happy citizens--just like you. They are not our rejects--I put my heart and soul into helping my kids and often they are more successful than "gifted and talented" kids who can't even use a washing machine without help.

Your singular experience does not define tens of thousands of classrooms, not are ANY of our kids "rejects."

EDIT: Excuse my angry tone, but I LOVE my kids and it breaks my heart when people dismiss them with words like reject.
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I know you mean well and thank you for your dedication. However; I doubt very much the OP was signaling you out. If that wasn't what you were thinking, my apologies.
 
Puck said:
Okay, I can accept that. I don't really feel there should be any publicly viewable area where people disdain (albeit unintentionally) other people, but I understand that it's like a living room to you, where you can fully express yourself. If that is how you feel, so be it, but I really hope that, deep down, you don't really think those other kids are trash and that it's just frustration from the painful times you went through--because I promise you if you go to a Miracle League game you will come away with enormous respect for them. It's just hard for me to read because I have so much love for a group if kids who are often loved by no one else, not even their parents, and sometimes I feel like the Mom needing to defend her babies.
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I was health aide and had a lot of clients that had Alzheimer or dementia and I had to made sure they were not being abused by a family member , and had to report any abuse . I was very protected of my clients , there are a lot of caring people here , it sound like you're judging us from what you're saying. It's very good that you want to work with students that have LD
but you'll never really know what it's was like growing up in the 50's as hoh or deaf child. I really feel you should do some reading up on this so you'll have a better idea how far Special ED has come and what need to done to
improve it today. You should be very active in voting and studying each candidate views on Special ED b/c your job could on the cutting block . My state is cutting back on Special Ed b/c students with LD still are considered
'reject'.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
I was health aide and had a lot of clients that had Alzheimer or dementia and I had to made sure they were not being abused by a family member , and had to report any abuse . I was very protected of my clients , there are a lot of caring people here , it sound like you're judging us from what you're saying. It's very good that you want to work with students that have LD
but you'll never really know what it's was like growing up in the 50's as hoh or deaf child. I really feel you should do some reading up on this so you'll have a better idea how far Special ED has come and what need to done to
improve it today. You should be very active in voting and studying each candidate views on Special ED b/c your job could on the cutting block . My state is cutting back on Special Ed b/c students with LD still are considered
'reject'.
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not just your State my country cutting back....big worry for me
 
I have experience as a young child in Special Ed for speech and language and also in "informal"<not regulated or official> Special Ed when I was in 7th/8th grade gym, for students who just "didn't fit". Throughout this time up til college my learning disability and various processing issues was un-diagnosed.
In both cases my experience was that of a dumping ground as described. This was in the 70's through late 80's.

Actually having the personal situation where all or part of your childhood learning experience consists of misunderstanding, frustration, fear and sense of isolation and shame - is a very different experience than TEACHING in it.
 
dogmom said:
I have experience as a young child in Special Ed for speech and language and also in "informal"<not regulated or official> Special Ed when I was in 7th/8th grade gym, for students who just "didn't fit". Throughout this time up til college my learning disability and various processing issues was un-diagnosed.
In both cases my experience was that of a dumping ground as described. This was in the 70's through late 80's.

Actually having the personal situation where all or part of your childhood learning experience consists of misunderstanding, frustration, fear and sense of isolation and shame - is a very different experience than TEACHING in it.
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That is exactly right.

(And I miss the like button for instances like this.)
 
dogmom said:
I have experience as a young child in Special Ed for speech and language and also in "informal"<not regulated or official> Special Ed when I was in 7th/8th grade gym, for students who just "didn't fit". Throughout this time up til college my learning disability and various processing issues was un-diagnosed.
In both cases my experience was that of a dumping ground as described. This was in the 70's through late 80's.

Actually having the personal situation where all or part of your childhood learning experience consists of misunderstanding, frustration, fear and sense of isolation and shame - is a very different experience than TEACHING in it.
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This just the point I was trying to made too , I had a 3 speech therapists as a child and was HOH and when she out her earmold to show me how to clean it that meant a lot to me. I knew she knew what it felt like being HOH . I really loved her and was so upset when my dad got rid of her b/c he was getting jealous of me liking someone.
 
I went through what Vadik24 did. Some Special Ed teachers were such a joke. I know one of them was lazy and did not motivate us at all. I begged my parents to transfer me to a different school, but no luck. Damage was already done.
 
Oddball said:
I went through what Vadik24 did. Some Special Ed teachers were such a joke. I know one of them was lazy and did not motivate us at all. I begged my parents to transfer me to a different school, but no luck. Damage was already done.
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When I was in the reject class in JR high school if a kid wanted to insult another kid they would say they belong in the reject class. We had a sub teacher and he was HOH and a boy that sat behind me would whistle during class and the teacher could not tell who was doing so he would hit me on my head with a dictionary really hard. I was so pissed off and I took a dictionary home and kept it and my teacher went nuts trying to find it. The whole class knew I had it but never said anything. Everyone hated the teacher and sub teacher . The principle would come in to talk to the teacher and I would read their lips . They finally realize what I was doing and started putting their hand next to their faces.
 
deafdyke said:
WHAT they are becoming? Wrong. It's what they already ARE, and have been for decades!
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I find this very that is not a lot better today, I notice a lot of candidates do not have CC on their ads on TV and that say a lot about where they stand on special ed to me.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
I find this very that is not a lot better today, I notice a lot of candidates do not have CC on their ads on TV and that say a lot about where they stand on special ed to me.
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WTF do politicians not having CC on their ads have to do with special ed? Deaf ed is a small part of special ed. But yeah politicans attitudes on special ed are ****ing REDICLOUS.....They act like if you suggest a specialized program, that you're suggesting the equalivant of throwing a kid into a classroom where all they do is color. They also act like everyone has access to high quality private placements! Seriously.... a public school is not a good place for a disabled kid of any stripe....they can barely educate typical kids, what makes them think they can educate mentally disabled, autistic (and real autistic, not just euphanism for Asperger's level functioning) dhh, blind low vision, behavorial etc?
 
BTW, wanna know something funny? I have friends whose kids are "grey area" special ed. Meaning they are in special ed but they're very academic. Unfortunatly they're not academic enough to do REALLY well....And it is hard as hell to get good accomondations for them. Public schools act like you're making up the disability. It's also too easy for kids to fall through the cracks...
Also did you know that 80% of kids with disabilities have the potential to score high and do well? But a very low percentage score high on standardized tests......If public schools can barely educate hearing and or special ed kids, what makes them think that they will be able to educate dhh kids?
 
whatdidyousay! said:
Facebook-Like-Button.jpg
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how you do that big icon
 
deafdyke said:
WTF do politicians not having CC on their ads have to do with special ed? Deaf ed is a small part of special ed. But yeah politicans attitudes on special ed are ****ing REDICLOUS.....They act like if you suggest a specialized program, that you're suggesting the equalivant of throwing a kid into a classroom where all they do is color. They also act like everyone has access to high quality private placements! Seriously.... a public school is not a good place for a disabled kid of any stripe....they can barely educate typical kids, what makes them think they can educate mentally disabled, autistic (and real autistic, not just euphanism for Asperger's level functioning) dhh, blind low vision, behavorial etc?
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I guess it has the same to do as my email not working and people talking about buildings having penis in one my thread .
 
I went to a special school in grade 1 because I couldn't really talk properly yet. I loved it. I have dysgraphia so I wrote very badly but I was far above my age in maths and science. The school let parents come in part of the time so my mother used to come in and help me. I was doing grade 7 maths and science and it was great. I must have been lucky.

Then in grade 2 I went to my father and he put me in mainstream school and I was very badly bullied until grade 5 when I was allowed to be homeschooled.

I always wished I could go back to the special school.
 
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