Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Assistive technology .... make it work!
A few things have happened to me this week that have really brought this topic home. First of all I was offered to hire on as the paraeducator that I have been substituting for since the beginning of the school year. I work with a few students that would benefit from assistive technology but are not getting it for a variety of reasons. The cases that bother me the most are the parents that are fighting the use of it. I do not know first hand the situations that facilitated these decisions but I hate to see a lack of knowledge stand in the way of a student's education. Personally I have been pushing for my son to be able to use a computer for notes and assignments for 3 years now. Finally this week he will be assigned a laptop to take with him from class to class. Unfortunately, he got sick and was not able to begin with it. I am curious to see if it is a bigger distraction or a help for him. If things are set up properly from the beginning I feel this could be a great help to him. He is currently struggling in his health elective because his notes are poor and by the time he gets home he forgets what they were suppose to be about. The teacher just let it go because "he's special ed and I thought a C was ok for him". I was completely shocked by this response. I understand that students need to earn their grades but not allowing a student to have that opportunity to do so and not even consider that a student could do better was a slap in the face. After I calmed down and explained the situation to her she had a different opinion. My son will be given his note packet on computer and be able to fill in the blanks legibly. I think sometimes as teachers we have to remember that all students need to be allowed to achieve at their level and we need to learn what that level is. Some students are just not going to be A students. They do not have the drive or the interested or maybe even the ability to achieve at a high level in certain subjects. However, if a student is interested in a class and participates and can show demonstration of knowledge in another format we need to look at that. Just because they cannot put a pencil onto paper and write out an answer does not mean that they deserve a lower grade - unless as my teenager just pointed out to me its a penmanship class. This was an interesting article from University of North Florida about preparing regular education teachers for an inclusion classroom Inclusion
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Congrats on the job! University of North Florida is where I am from....
ReplyDeleteMeredith, Did you ever take a class at UNF with Dr. David Ginzl? He's my dad! He taught the History of Baseball in America, Historical Writing, and some business history class. My dad died two and a half years ago, but he was a professor at UNF for quite some time. Andrea
DeleteNo, I went to UCF in Orlando. I had to go to college outside of Jax!!
DeleteI am the first to admit that most regular education teachers don't have enough training when dealing with special education students. Since I have been a teacher I have had the inclusion classes. I go out of my mind every year trying to meet the students needs. I also end up arguing with special educators and paraprofessionals because most high school students don't want to be identified as special so how do I give them modified assignments and why is it that they only get extended time when they forget to do an assignment and not because they actually need it. Additionally, the more years I teach the lower the level of special educated students I receive. This year I have students whose I.E.P says they have problem with memory, spoken language, and taking notes. What am I suppose to do with him in a class of 35? Each day is definitely an experience. Us teachers definitely don't do this for the pay.
ReplyDeleteHi Patrice, It's wonderful to get the perspective of a parent outside of our classroom. So often, we'll sit in on a conference and the parent tells us bits and pieces about their child, but few parents have a solution. You do! It's awesome that you were able to get your child the accommodations that he needs. I remember our first class together at UMUC and you told me that you went back for your MA in order to help understand how to help your child with special needs. That's amazing and we need more parents like you. As Tauheedah said, we (teachers) don't get the full picture of the child's needs, so it's great when a parent comes with a solution. I'm glad your son has his laptop. Andrea
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