Equity Discussion #1 TAKE 2

[betsy hagan]

Artiles, Klinger and Tate ask the question "If the creation of special
education was a civil rights victory in addressing the needs of
students with disabilities, why do we deem it a problem if minority
students are disproportionately served in these programs?" After
reading these very informative and disheartening articles, one can
conclude there is inherit injustice and prejudice woven through the
tapestry of the testing, labeling and teaching industry. And industry
seems an appropriate word as it reflects an indifference to the
individuals involved. And while there are no simple explanations or
solutions to the overrepresentation of minority students in special
education, the editors state " it has been virtually ignored by
researchers and practitioners in general ed..."pg 3. Let's hope those
days are behind us.

The question begs us to explore the hope and possibility of a just
society meeting the needs of each and every individual. As educators,
I believe we have to strive towards addressing individual student
needs with as much support and scaffolding as we can acquire for our
students. Unfortunately, what these readings have shown us is that
for years, teachers have wanted students out of their classrooms and
until recently, general educators have not been held accountable for
this. The system created allowed for the separation of students from
classrooms and segregated learning environments. This is a disturbing
revelation. My own experience leads me to concur, special education
is dysfunctional in many of our schools.

Some of the noted contributing factors for the number of minority
students in special education include socio-economic status,
biological and social influences, school factors, culture, structural
discrimination, racism, and family support systems. At my school last
year, our special education coordinator was so convinced of the bias
against African Americans, she went to the other extreme and refused
to let anyone get tested. She was convinced all teachers were
prejudiced and disregarded any parental requests. When a parent of
mine pushed it as she had asked for her son to be tested for two years
because she worried he might be dyslexic, she was told point blank she
was sending her son to prison. It was only after our coordinator went
on personal leave, that students were allowed to get tested and many
just needed short term speech or occupational therapy. So how does
one wade through this quagmire?

Harry and Anderson offered some solutions and recommendations that are
worth discussing. Recommendation #2: Direct restructuring efforts
toward the creation of a unified educational system. With supportive
systems in place versus alternative placements, students can continue
to learn with a team approach. This makes more sense to me and at my
school this year, we have more inclusion based special education
services. Last year, I had several students who resisted leaving with
the special education teacher and I strongly encouraged them to stay
after I learned that they were often taken to the playground and given
coke and candy instead of any intensive support. Because they were
hesitant to leave, I noted this to parents and kept notes for their
IEP and its dictated hours. And guess what? They made tremendous
learning gains.

Recommendation #3: Restructure schools to emphasize the prevention of
student failure. As teachers, we have to be trained to provide
classrooms that encourage constructivist learning, project based
student initiatives, a differentiated classroom and other means to
support and scaffold all students. We cannot expect teaching to a
test will inspire any real learning or the desire to pursue more
knowledge. Unfortunately, NCLB has caused more student failure than
the writers could have ever envisioned. We are leaving more and more
children behind each year.