As an educator, I have seen first hand how the Special Education system
is run and I believe it does not have the best interests of the student
at heart. So many kids are in Special Education because they have some
learning issues that make it difficult for them to function in a
regular classroom. However, that doesn't mean they are not
"smart" enough to do the work. It simply means that they have a
different style of learning that might not jive with a particular
teachers style. The special ed student gets shoved in there so the
teacher doesn't have to deal with them. The biggest problem I see with
it is just what our brother described. Because they are relegated to
special ed, these students get complacent because they are told that
they are below standards and the work is too hard. They then are
afraid to try something because they become afraid it will be to hard
and they will fail. This is VERY wrong. Albert Einstein, had they had
special ed in his day, would have been right in there too. We all know
what he accomplished. Students should be encouraged not discouraged.
They should be allowed to try whatever they think they can do and have
the full support of both school and parents. I worked with a kid over
the summer who was in special ed and he was so complacent it was tragic.
He kept telling me he couldn't do this or that because he was in
special ed and he was dyslexic and blah, blah, blah. Therefore, my
entire focus when I worked with him was that he could do anything he
wanted to do if he would only try. 6 weeks was not a lot of time, but
I did make some progress and he did really good with a lot of the
regular classroom work. I only hope the confidence he gained is not
crushed out of him. Children should be built up, not torn down. If my
son or any other child came to me and told me he wanted to climb Mt.
Everest, the issue of whether it was "too hard" would not even be
brought up. I would tell said child one thing: Dress warm.
Harley Ripley
Bethel Assembly of God
Yreka, CA
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