Online discussion response question #1
I understand why general education teachers feel overwhelmed. They are held responsible for the education of their students, often without the necessary support from the students family. They present the required curriculum to their students to the best of their abilities but the child leaves the classroom to a home life with an emphasis on other aspects of life that does not necessarily include the students academic progress. It is true that placing a student with exceptionalities into the general education classroom presents the teacher with a new set of challenges; however it also presents a new set of opportunities.
I feel that a student with mild to mild/moderate disabilities could be supported by a specialist in the general education classroom. These populations of students participate within the classroom and show potential towards becoming a contributing member of the classroom. The video about educating Peter showed a boy with Down syndrome placed into a regular education classroom. It made me wonder just how much Peter learned that year and what types of goals and objectives he had for the year. If it was for him to learn socially appropriate behaviors, he made tremendous progress. But the progress made by his peers was even more significant. They learned to be accepting of someone who was different from them. What a wonderful lesson to learn so early in life. And so this raises a question in my mind, who are we responsible for educating the general population about persons with exceptionalities or the students with those exceptionalities?
I understand why general education teachers feel overwhelmed. They are held responsible for the education of their students, often without the necessary support from the students family. They present the required curriculum to their students to the best of their abilities but the child leaves the classroom to a home life with an emphasis on other aspects of life that does not necessarily include the students academic progress. It is true that placing a student with exceptionalities into the general education classroom presents the teacher with a new set of challenges; however it also presents a new set of opportunities.
I feel that a student with mild to mild/moderate disabilities could be supported by a specialist in the general education classroom. These populations of students participate within the classroom and show potential towards becoming a contributing member of the classroom. The video about educating Peter showed a boy with Down syndrome placed into a regular education classroom. It made me wonder just how much Peter learned that year and what types of goals and objectives he had for the year. If it was for him to learn socially appropriate behaviors, he made tremendous progress. But the progress made by his peers was even more significant. They learned to be accepting of someone who was different from them. What a wonderful lesson to learn so early in life. And so this raises a question in my mind, who are we responsible for educating the general population about persons with exceptionalities or the students with those exceptionalities?
