When
I was in high school there was a student that suffered from mental disabilities
and his name was Travis. He suffered from Intellectual Disability and in this
case it only affected his mental well-being. He attended a few classes with
non-disabled students, but most of his classes offered more attention. Travis
loved everything about high school, from helping make the morning announcements
to attending the Friday night football games, but the in classroom activities
were lacking.
Travis did not always receive the one-on-one attention that he
needed and deserved causing him to fall behind. The special needs programs
offered by the public school system are in desperate need of a fix. Some of the
main reasons Travis and his fellow classmates were not progressing are because
of the school system.
Special
needs are a very broad term and can be something as minor as ADHD, attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder, to something as immobilizing as Spina Bifida, a
problem within the spinal cord. Intellectual Disability, also known as mentalretardation, is the below-average mental ability and lack of skills forday-to-day living. The underlying problems are
beginning to surface and it is being shown that the lack of interest and funding
are present. There are too many children with special needs to let this go on
any longer, “Currently 2.4 million students are diagnosed with a learningdisability and receive special education services in our schools, representing 41% of all students receiving special education”.
In
regards to the poor quality of education, most of the teachers that work with
special needs students enjoy their job and what they do. However, a lot of
times they are unable to provide the individual needs for all of the children
due to the lack of resources. Within the public school system there are student
teacher ratios that are to be followed, but are not. The resources are not
there to provide enough teachers to give the attention needed, “About half ofOntario’s school principals have asked parents to keep their child at homebecause they could not accommodate their special education needs”. The
special needs department has to focus on physical needs more so than mental
needs. Although physical needs are vital, it is important to provide
stimulation for each child’s mental capacity. Personally, I have seen the lack
of education in the classroom from being involved with the special needs
students in high school. The students out weigh the teachers drastically and
there are not enough hands to go around. The simple task of eating lunch may
take longer than and hour because each child requires help to eat.
Due
to the fact that many of these students accompany non-disabled students in the
classroom can result in social stigma. Although many high school students
understand that these students suffer from mental or physical disabilities,
there are still a few that are immature and see the need to bully or
discriminate against them.
This problem can be handled through the school
system, but often times go unattended, "The severity of the impact that bullyinghas on these vulnerable victims is a problem of monumental proportion”.
Discrimination against another student that has special needs is unacceptable
and should be handled properly.
While
these students actually have the privilege of having a program for special
needs there is a serious lack of funding in the school system to support all of
the students. This causes many problems such as a high student teacher ratio,
poor education, and not enough accommodations for physically disabled students,
“Statistics show across the United States, special education students areincreasing. The services are drastically needed, yet the funding is just notthere”. Without the funding for
these programs the students are being deprived of their rights to a full day of
school.
In
addition to the lack of funding in the school system there is also a lack of training.
Not all teachers that work in the special needs programs obtain a degree. In
fact, generally there is only one teacher that has a degree in special
education. If the teachers are not trained properly and do not acquire the same
knowledge of how to teach special needs then ultimately the students are
suffering. I have personally seen that most of the teachers working with
special needs students do not have a degree in special education and some of
them do not even have training.
In
conclusion, the special education programs funded by the public school system
are not providing enough to accommodate the needs of these students. They are
missing out on potential engagement opportunities because of the lack of
funding, teachers, and training provided by the school system. It is amazing
what money can do, but for these children it can be a big deal. Ultimately,
children with special needs deserve more than they are receiving and these
issues need to be addressed.
Special education in the public school system
has become a problem that needs to be addressed before it gets out of hand.
While having a program is great, if you cannot accommodate the students then it
is pointless. The lack of funding, teachers, and training seem to be primarily
the main sources of the problem that need to be addressed. Until they are
addressed then the problem is going to continue to worsen and will soon be too
big to handle.
That
being said, there is not but so much that can be done to increase the funding and
teachers in the school systems. If it’s not there then it’s not there. The only
logical solution is to provide training for teachers that may not have a degree
in special education and further educate the ones that do. Providing onsite
workshops and resources would help improve the education of the students
tremendously. Yes this may cost money,
but in the long run it will be cheaper than hiring new teachers for the
classrooms.
Above
all, the teachers would have more knowledge on how to provide care and
education for these students. It may be easier to juggle the many things that
go along with being a special education teacher if you are constantly learning
and adding to your awareness then you will benefit the students as well.
On
the other hand, providing more teachers would eliminate almost all of the
problems in the program because there would be more hands to help in the
physical needs and then there would be more time to focus on the mental needs
as well. Why this sounds perfect, it is too good to be true. Hiring more
teachers is going to cost thousands more than providing a monthly workshop for
the teachers currently in the classroom. With a lack of funding, the better
option is to provide more training and learning experiences for the teachers
and others involved.
In
the end, by providing training sessions the overall program will drastically
improve, “Receiving in-service training was significantly related to educatorsrated highly in their involvement in transition planning” and all
their needs will be met because now teachers will also know how to educate
students with different disabilities. It is important for this program to go on
and continue to improve because the rights of these students are just as
valuable as the rights of a non-disabled student.
I’m sure all the parties
involved would be grateful to have the opportunity to impact someone’s life,
especially a special education student.
