The Public School System Is Made Up Of A Diverse Group Of Individuals

The special education programs in the United States have been designed to help children with special needs learn easier and fit in better with the education program. Unfortunately, many minority students get caught up in the mix and don’t get the proper attention they deserve. Furthermore, minority students are seriously over-represented in the educational programs. Many minority students are misdiagnosed and put into special education programs when in fact; they do not have a learning disability. This has become a growing problem in this country because it is seen as the easy way out. Schools all over the U.S. are doing this in order to not have to properly test and evaluate students for learning problems.

Students with special needs should be placed into specialized schools so they are able to receive individualized learning. If they are in a classroom specific to their needs, they are able to receive much needed attention. In order to receive the optimal level of attention that is needed, schools would have to consider reducing class sizes or hiring multiple teachers for one classroom so more help would be readily available for these disabled students. Corwin argues that today’s schools offer a general curriculum and that they should convert to a specialized system. He states that students of various backgrounds, ethnicities, IQ scores, and physical, emotional, and mental disabilities should not all be placed in the same classroom because students learn in diverse ways and at different paces. Further, it is necessary for teachers to become specialized in certain areas in order to effectively teach students with special needs (Corwin).

There are many different reasons that students may need additional assistance to be successful academically. Students may have a difficulty reading, or English may not be their primary language. They may have suffered a traumatic brain injury or may have been born with Autism. Students might even have difficulty socially interacting with teachers and peers or due to some physiological impact in their young lives might have other emotional impairments. No matter what the cause for the disability, special education services and interventions are vital to success of these special students.

Special education is a relatively new concept in education. The question is why? Although, the Federal Government required all children to attend school since 1918, this did not apply to students with disabilities. Many state laws gave school districts the ability to deny access to individuals they deem “uneducable.” The term “uneducable” varied from state to state, school to school, and even individual to individual. If students were accepted into the school, they were placed in regular classrooms with their peers with no support or in classrooms that were not appropriate to meet their needs. This started to change with the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. The lawsuit Brown vs the Board of Education sued to end segregation of public schools laid the ground work for Individuals with Disabilities Act. The next major impact in education was the enactment of Elementary and Secondary Act signed into effect by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. The purpose of this law was to provide fair and equal access to education for all, established higher standards, and mandated funds for professional development, resources for support education programs, and parent involvement. Under this law, programs like Head Start were created and celebrated their 50th anniversary this year. Despite additional federal funds and mandatory laws, children with disabilities were unserved or underserved by public school due to loop holes with in the law. Many more lawsuit followed Brown vs

All children with disabilities are entitled free public education not matter how severe the disability is. Specially designed instructions, related services, and supplementary aids and services have to be provided. An IEP has to be developed and implemented to meet the needs of the child with a disability. It is the public school and local school board in charge

All qualified students with disabilities living inside of the school district area are entitled to a “free and appropriate education”. To be appropriate the educational program must be designed to meet the individual needs of the student, as outlined in their IEP, to the same

Education is a very complex and evolving process. Today, teaching entails educating a diverse population according to their unique individual needs. Schools are comprised of individuals with different races, beliefs, cultures, values, languages, social statues, etc. While considering both the historical and preset-day issues, I am able to see many parallels between racial integration in schools and integration of students with disabilities.

According to the 2014 Public School Review Diversity Report, the state of Maryland is rated the third most diverse public school system in the nation, with 43% White students, 37% African American students, 11% Hispanic students, 6% Asian students, and 3% Unknown. With a significantly higher population of African American students compared to the state average, the Baltimore City School District is a far less diverse agency than the state school system as a whole. Collectively, the Baltimore City Public School District is comprised of 85% African American students, 8% White students, 5% Hispanic, 1% Asian/Pacific Islander, and less than 1% American Indian, Multiracial, Native Hawiian/other (Baltimore City Public Schools, 2013a). Considering

The classroom is a place of hope, where students and teachers alike can catch a glimpse of a society that could be and where students can obtain knowledge and skills that are needed to make that society real. (Au , Bigelow, & Karp, 2007)Within any classroom there are many degrees of the types of cultures and social injustices that could be present. Due to this, educators need to remain cultural sound and open to the different ways of teaching for these students to ensure that every student is receiving the best possible education. Every public school has a special education program, however there are many times that this group of student suffer the most when it comes to social injustice.

The idea of children with disabilities, whether they be mild or severe has been a very controversial and misunderstood topic. In the past inclusion has brought about huge changes for not only the students, but also the parents and families of these children, and staff at schools. Teachers and education professionals were the first to really feel the wrath and intimidation of this dramatic shift in education. There were several different factors that were coming about that made it very difficult for schools and teachers, the unorganized mandates were strict and didn’t allow much time for change. “President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EAHCA) into law in 1975. Since the original passage of the EAHCA, the law has been amended four times and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)” (Conroy, Yell, Katsiyannis, & Collins, 2010, para.1).

Students with disabilities require programs and special attention that is generally overshadowed by labels. Students with special needs face an ever-growing range of challenges that few educators can address. Disability has many labels… dysfunction, retardism, disorders. They all come down to one thing which is that humans label differences and that is where we have gone wrong. Research has found that “75% of students with learning disabilities will have underdeveloped social skills” as compared to students of normal or average intelligence. (Darrow

The populations we serve are diverse and ever changing. It is imperative that we continue to raise our awareness to the changes that take place within our working communities and the societies that our clients are immersed in. In my four years of teaching, I have become accustom to the population that my school serves. Comparing the needs of the students at my current school; with the demographics of students at other schools; has illuminated the issue of very dissimilar populations. What works for one individual or one population is not always transferable to the next. Relating to the history, values, and traditions of various cultures, families, and communities has allowed me relate and interact with my students. If background knowledge

Annually, Americans spend $ 24.9 billion on school supplies, but what are they? There are copious, divergent school paraphernalias that help students complete their work and engage in daily activities. Companies sell diverse types of supplies that ameliorate students or consumers in their work environments such as notebooks, crayons, pens, and pencils. Different supplies are classified by the purposes they provide. According to Wisegeek, “There are some, however, that may be necessary from the primary years through university. These include paper, books, and writing utensils,” (2003-2017). This quote informs the reader that students require perceptible tools and materials for excogitating up until university. Students use incommensurable items

The importance of education for all children, especially for those with disability and with limited social and economic opportunities, is indisputable. Indeed, the special education system allowed children with disability increased access to public education. Apart from that, the special education system has provided for them an effective framework for their education, and for the institutions involved to identify children with disability sooner. In turn, this promotes greater inclusion of children with disability alongside their nondisabled peers. In spite of these advances however, many obstacles remain, including delays in providing services for children with disability, as well as regulatory and

According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students with disabilities should be placed in a “least restrictive environment.” One of the main ideas of this act was to improve the learning experiences of students with disabilities by giving them learning opportunities outside of a special education classroom. The number of students with disabilities being placed in their general education classrooms is increasing more and more each year. The U.S Department of Education’s 27th annual report to Congress on the implementation of The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2005) indicates that the number of students with disabilities in general education classrooms has risen to almost 50 percent. This is about a 17 percent increase from the 1997 U.S