RE: Three tips for working with kids with special needs.

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Three tips for working with kids with special needs.

in steemiteducation •  7 years ago 

The dilemma still remains, however, in mixed-ability classrooms. I am a teacher from Malta, and all our government schools are based on a banding system. This diminished the previous problem that mixed-ability schooling brought with it. The problem was that in one class, a teacher might see a whole spectrum of abilities; those who sometimes teach the teacher certain knowledge, and those who lag behind a year or two. All of this could be found in one class. Opting to banding a few years ago helped the situation, but not solved it. Students who were good but placed in a lower band, knew that they should be in a higher band class. So, the problem was just diminished, but not solved. We do practise inclusive strategies. Students with disabilities are part of a tarditional classroom. However, students with diabilities or learning impairments are often taken out of the classroom, to be given extra focus and care. I disagree with this notion. It is a form of subtle segregation. Pupils are aware of this. the gesture itself presents a hidden curriculum. these people need to be included properly. Universal Design for Learning is an amazing tool adopt in class, where one size can potentially fit all. The teacher needs to be clever enough to help students learn together. On the other hand, I do not find this realistic. It is impossible to for one size to fit all. The knwoeldge one has is not the same as another. Children do not enter schools blank slate. Parental motivation and involvement, characters and personalities, and skills and abiltites are all part of the baggage a child enters with on his/her first day of school. So how could I expect to find the resource or teaching method to fit the whole classroom. It is, if not impossible, exteremely difficult to make. Another issue is this: a teacher can never find an equilibrium between the high and low abiltity students. The high abiltity would find school boring if content is easy, and the low abiltity would feel discouraged if content is too difficult (and again: with this in mind, how could one size fit all?). Therefore, there is no other option but to segregate. I believe that UDL and inclusion is ideal, but not real. Why? The problem remains one: the mainstream. We always test children against standards. The only difference from the past is that those who did not fit the mainstream, they used to be xcluded, but nowadays, they are being segregated and given more attention instead. However, the mainstream still lives among us, and it is a reflection of the labour market, conveying that it will never change. Children should be seen for their abilties, and growth and education should be based on such skills and abilties. They should feel that they always have a place in society, and that they are equally important as anyone else. the system should strive to reach equity not equality, and be fair with every single individual. This is Dewey's perception, which I agree with, but also criticise as unrealistic. As long as capitalism and the mainstream system exist, none of this could ever come into practice.

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Wow you should do a post on this! I too agree in strategic inclusion whenever possible.