Discussion #5-Overrepersentation of African Americans Boys in Special Education-Is this a trend?

[OMM]

Is this a trend? Is it the parent, teacher, student or the entire
education system fought? We have recognized that there is a problem,
we have acknowledged it by finding increasing numbers in various
studies; but can we resolve this issue, is the question?

Many studies show that the overrepresentation of black students, spot
lighting black males, especially, have been misdiagnosed or misplaced
into special education programs. In this article, Reschley believes
that some educators responsible for teaching black students are not
aware of the cultural differences and backgrounds of black students,
and therefore view the differences as learning disabilities (Reschley,
1980). Researchers who question the practices that lead to this
disproportionate and overrepresentation of black students in
particular types of special education classrooms suggest that this
phenomena may occur in part because of biased testing practices
(Reschly, 1980) and because of the cultural differences of black
students and the way the educators view these differences (Gilbert &
Gay, 1985).

Looking at this article, I am reminded even I as an African American
woman can not identify with my African American students fully,
considering our backgrounds; economically, socially, and culturally
are very different. Just the other day, my students and I were going
over our new Alpha friend which is Ozzie Octopus. Some of the words
that were in the song were foreign to the students, such as omelet,
olives, otter. I understood students not knowing what an otter was or
even olives, but I was a little outdone because they did not know that
an omelet was an egg. Our next lesson was to make omelets. I can
recall knowing what an omelet, otter, and olive was as a child. As I
look at this, the test would be considered bias, considering the
limited exposure of these students. I can recall my years in high
school and going backwards to elementary; it seemed as if our special
education classes were smaller and very few students were classified
as special ed. I don't really know if the teachers were well
prepared; but parents fought for their children being accurately
tested and not just placed because the test or teacher stated the
child had a learning disability Which bring up a very good reading in
this article. Parents are not aware of their rights and their rights
of their children. Their should be programs to educate parents of
these rights and their responsibilities; times needs to be spent on
helping parents develop strategies for securing these rights
(Serwatka, Dove, & Hodges, 1986).

So as teachers, "How do we prevent further issues of
overrepresentation of African American boys in Special Education?"

Meet with student's families. Find out what the family's situations
are, ask probing question that help you understand the students, and
look at the family's perspective.

Find ways to educate the parent on the issues and their rights and
responsibilities. Sometimes parents need extra encouragement.

Learn the cultural differences and why the student respond to
education differently.

Understand your student's family socioeconomic status.

Make the curriculum a real life learning experience.

Work from the student's strengths

Differientiate instructions based on the student's strengths.

Work together with the parent and student to find effective ways to
help the students (Watkins, A.M., &Kurtz, P.D. (2001) ).

In conclusion, no we can not change this overnight.
Overrepresentation of minority student has been a issue for years and
remain an issue until we take a stand against it. We have to start
becoming more proactive; less talking and more actions.

htttp://www.inmotionmagazine.com/peter21.html
http://wik.ed.uiuc.edu/index.php/Overrepresentation_in_Special_Education

Watkins, A.M., &Kurtz, P.D. (2001). Using solutions focused
intervention to address African American male overrepresentation in
special education: A case study. Children & Schools; 23(4), 223-235.