Growing up in a smaller
town that is predominantly white, I never noticed racial or ethnic disproportion
in the classroom. While growing up, I never paid attention or even knew what
special education was or who was considered to be “special”. The only thing I ever
noticed was some specific students would leave class with another teacher
during testing, but they were always there during the other classes with the
regular general education teacher. I was always exposed to being around mostly
white students and very few African-American students, Latino, or someone of
Asian descent. So when students were segregated for whatever reasons it never
dawned on me why.
After working in the
schools I attended I noticed that there have been some changes but not many. The
overall demographics of the school system are mostly Caucasian with less than
5% including minorities (African-American, Latino, Asian, etc.) Now being an
educator and continuing my education at a higher level, I have noticed some
reasoning and traits for special education in the school system. For starters, because
the school is overly represented by Caucasians, most of the students in special
education is exactly that. The reasons range from having serious health
problems, emotional behavior problems, mobility problems, to just having a
specific learning disability. What I have noticed as well is that some of the
students who are considered to have a learning disability are more towards the
minority side, are learning in an inclusion setting, and sometimes are isolated
or labeled as “trouble makers” or “uncooperative”.
I think when it comes to
placement, you have to start with finding out the strengths of the child. For
example, if a child is labeled as having speech impairment we must first figure
out if English is the child’s first language. Some teachers want to label the
child as having a disability because he is unable to work in a classroom where
Spanish or Chinese or whatever their first language is. If you present work
into their native language and they are able to complete the work, why does the
child have a disability? Sure he they might understand English just yet, but if
they are trying to learn it why isolate or label them?
When I attended the
University of Akron, I took a course entitled Multicultural Foundations in
Education. The class did not discuss much of students with disabilities, but
rather different cultures in education and what was the norm for in different
school systems, other countries education systems, comparing them to American
school systems, and how can American school systems accommodate foreign born or
students with different races and backgrounds. It was interesting to discuss
with students, half from different parts of the country, their schooling and
their practices. One topic that came to mind was how to communicate and relate
material to students who are not Caucasian or American in the classroom.
Teachers must take into consideration all aspects of a child’s life and
background. All students can learn the material if it presented in a way to
where all students can understand it. Creating a universal design for learning
can be a critical to reaching all students.
John, since the implementation of IDEA 2004, strengths of the child have become a top priority, including placing special education students in the least restrictive classroom environments possible. I could not agree with you more, all children have strengthens we need to bring out and appreciate. One thing I will bring up as an educator, you need to be careful throwing out the term "segregation" in a school environment. Although minority students are often misrepresented in special education, it is not the same definition of segregation of our schools of the past. Where white children had separate schools, bathrooms, and restaurants from their African-American peers. One last thing I would like to point out, you stated that Chinese people speak Chinese, they actually speak standard Mandarin, which is the official language of China. I am not stating these points to cause a ruckus, I am just stating that as educators we need more classes, workshops, and professional developments about cultural appreciation and recognition. This is a strong reason why there is such over-representation in special education.
ReplyDeleteCorey,
DeleteWhile the word "segregation" is a problematic word to use, the book makes the point that the effects of disproportionate representation is that "problem" students are separated from the rest of the student population, often for no supportable reason, which is tantamount to segregation. We have to be clear about what is still happening in our schools, regardless of the verbiage.
John.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point about students from different cultures! Don't forget that we also have many different cultures within our own borders (not necessarily "foreign-based.")Dr. Ruby K. Payne, in her book "A Framework for Understanding Poverty" also describes the "culture of poverty" and the effects it can have on the development of students. We don't have to look very far to see those effects, unfortunately.
Unfortunately, I think that a universal teaching design is problematic. Even among students who are not disabled, there are wildly varying ways that students learn. Trying to go back to a "factory model" of education could roll back the gains we have made in the education of our students (If I understand your final point correctly).