Tucker, Chapters One and Thirteen --OR-- "Math Assessment and Instruction"

    Just as I'm new to teaching reading and writing to students, this is also my first exposure to teaching mathematics to kids as well.  It is no surprise, then, that I found lots of helpful material within these two chapters.
    One of my favorite quotes was on the first page of the first chapter: "The primary criterion for judging an instructional activity should be: What are the pupils learning during the activity?" This struck me as one of many balances teachers must strike in their instruction and should certainly be kept in mind whenever lessons are being taught. I'm sure it only increases in importance the younger the students are.  The breakdown of activity types was also something I'd never been exposed to before, and would be useful for planning activity different templates for lessons.
    The games in chapter thirteen were great! Unfortunately, I don't really plan on teaching elementary school students, so I don't know how useful they'll be for me!

Gipe, Chapters Eight and Nine -- OR -- "The Reading/Writing Connection and the Writing Process and Word Recognition"

As I have stated previously, this class is the first time I have been exposed to the process of teaching either reading or writing and I found these chapters very informative.  While I do not necessarily intend to work with younger children, some of the strategies listed in the chapters could be used with secondary students as well.  Some of the strategies could even be useful for simply keeping students involved in the class.  A couple I thought might be useful were using the "Add a Word/Stretch the Sentence" or "Write a Sentence/Make a Story" techniques by going around the class and having each student contribute a word/sentence from what was learned in class that day to summarize what was taught.  There would probably be an element of humor involved as well -- in my book, always a plus.
    I also particularly liked the English Learner "Spotlights" that were featured several times in the first chapter.  Having been exposed to a substantial number substituting in urban schools, I know the stress and difficulty that ELL students can face -- especially when they are placed within a general education scenario.  Using strategies such as "choral reading" (in which  they do a group reading of simpler texts which reinforce important strategies of reading English) can have a practical application in a general education setting just as well as one meant specifically for ELL or special education students.

"How Children Learn to Read"

  Reading Joan Gipe's Multiple Paths to Literacy and reading the "How Children Learn to Read" article on LDOnline has been quite an eye-opening experience for me.  While it has always been clear that the ability to read and write is one of (if not the) most important ability learned in school, I have no real ability to teach it.  Coming from a background in secondary social studies, I received (nor did I seek) training in this field -- my special education Master's classes are the first time I have any real exposure to it.  It is an exposure which I am glad to have.
    While the significance of reading and writing has always been apparent, I did not believe (while going for my Bachelor's) that I would ever need to be able to truly teach it.  First and foremost, I do not have the type of stamina and patience required for for elementary education.  And as a prospective social studies teacher, I would not really think that it would be my role.  After reading the chapters and articles earlier and having more exposure to the special education field, it is very clear that such thinking makes absolutely no sense.  My preparation as a special education teacher -- even if I do not get a job in special education -- will drastically improve my teaching abilities even to general education students.
    Even as a social studies teacher, I can still help my students develop their literacy skills.  While no specific lessons may be taught about it, an ability to teach reading and writing skills can help build upon skills already worked on with a special education teacher, prevent me from having to refer a student to someone else, or even give me the ability to spot students with signs of a learning disability.  Training in at least the basics of reading (phonics, comprehension, etc.) would be extremely beneficial any teacher, regardless of subject.  It is our job as educators to do the best we can for our students, and this is one more way to do so.
 

Online Module

Based on articles one and two:
1. What are the social and mental implications for children with learning disabilities?
     Living with a learning disability is a difficult task: not only is it difficult for an LD student to keep up with their peers and the rest of the world academically, but because of this and possibly other cognitive issues, they have trouble outside the classroom as well. Their inability to learn often leads them to be harassed or shunned by others or at least cause them to feel out of place in an academic environment. For children and young adults, this can be demoralizing, giving reason for them to reject schooling and enjoyable social lives as well. Of course, these are the two things which would help them the most.

2. Think back to when you were in school. What strategies do you remember teachers using (academic or behavioral). Think about how a child with a learning disability would respond to these strategies. Explain and comment.
     The best 'worst' example I can think of is not from solely one teacher, and I continue to see it happen up to the present day. Kids are continually dismissed as 'lazy' or just stupid by their teachers and are continually punished for their poor performance in the classroom. Oftentimes, this goes unnoticed (especially in poorer school districts with limited resources). Punishing these students (many of whom, in reality, are probably affected by some sort of learning or psychological disorder), of course, only makes a bad situation worse. Rather than reaching out to these troubled learners, teachers too often slam the door in their face and prefer to wait for things to get better. Without effort from the teacher, it certainly will not happen. The same happens with students who act out continuously in class: they are too often punished rather than engaged. Teachers would be doing themselves and their students a great favor by attempting to understand rather than ignore.

3. How will you refine your practices to address the social needs of students with learning disabilities?
     While my Bachelor's degree was in social studies education, I was fortunate enough (while student teaching) to teach two inclusive education classes which included students with learning and/or emotional disabilities. These classes were co-taught with a special education teacher. One of the important things I learned, and which has been reinforced since I started my special education Master's, is to engage the students. Do not shrug them off. Getting a little more personal with them allows a teacher to get a better idea of how life outside the classroom is affecting their students. Learning about their social lives (even just within school), their life at home, etc. is no waste of time. It also makes noticing changes in activity or behavior easier, which may come in handy. As John Maag noted in his article on depression, "teachers can play an important role in identifying (but not diagnosing) children may be depressed." I plan on continuing this habit as I enter teaching professionally.

Based on article three:
1. How has the evolution of medical technology changed the way we look at learning disabilities?
     Better medical technologies, such as MRI brain imaging, have given scientists (and educators) a deeper understanding in the field of reading disabilities. Increased research allows for more specific, targeted reading interventions which will produce better results.

2. What implications will this new outlook have on teaching and mandated legislation?
     As far as I can tell, increased research can do nothing but help. With increasing information, we can construct more effective teaching strategies -- certainly something worth pursuing to give someone a greater chance at improved literacy. If this technique continues to improve reading capability, then it is possible that the decreasing severity of reading problems would cause attention to them to wane in education legislation -- but I don't foresee that occurring any time soon.

Based on articles four and five:
1. The disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse children in special education is a significant issue in education. After reviewing the article:

   A. List some of the issues surrounding this topic.
     Disproportionate representation is, clearly, a rather substantial issue in American education which and a continuation of the trend in American society as a whole. Non-white ethnic groups (Hispanic- and African-Americans, largely) as well as foreign students from non-English speaking countries are over-represented in special education classrooms for a number of reasons, much of it having to do with cultural bias and misunderstanding. Students in impoverished areas who come from broken homes will certainly have behavioral and academic problems -- this does not indicate that they are retarded. However, many manage to end up in special education classrooms. In the case of English Language Learners (ELLs), they are expected to know fluently a language which they often only vaguely know or are completely unfamiliar with. They end up in special education classrooms as well.

   B. Discuss how legislation has attempted to ameliorate this problem.
     IDEA, influenced by a myriad of court cases, has made an attempt at preventing bias towards students from "disadvantaged" backgrounds or due to ethnicity, language, race. Legislation will, I feel, continue to trend in this direction. However, legislation of this sort will only ever have limited effectiveness unless it is given teeth.
 
  C. Describe the problem as you see it.
     There is no easy, practical solution to this issue, and it is a very significant one with ramifications not only on the special education classroom but American society as well. An entire thesis could be written on this topic alone -- I will attempt to do it justice in a few short sentences. It is not news to anyone that the general state of urban education in this country is dire -- with a dwindling amount of tax and other income (and therefore resources) to draw from and an ever-increasing body of students (who more often than not come from low-income or impoverished homes and possibly broken ones at that) to educate, they are struggling to provide anywhere near a quality learning experience. Oftentimes, the teachers are not from the same cultural or ethnic backgrounds which their students come from (i.e., they are white), providing an immediate disconnect between student and teacher. Social connections are hard to forge. Urban education is rough: teachers will often jump ship to higher-quality schools when they get the chance; the ones that stay generally "burn out" due to the abnormally high levels of stress they encounter. Problem or high-demand students will often be referred to the special education classroom (either because the teacher genuinely believes that a student will receive a better education or because they simply want the student removed). This more likely than not dilutes the effectiveness of urban special education.
    Minorities in suburban (i.e. predominantly white) schools face another strange scenario, as they truly are a minority in the school as well. Any activity which might be understandable or tolerable in their own culture may land them a referral to a special education classroom as well.
     I could go on, but I yield to the fact that I have more homework to do.

  D. Make a suggestion -- what is the solution as you see it?
     Another incredibly complex question. I personally believe that the only way to break the self-perpetuating cycle which exists in urban-education (and therefore to prevent problems such as disproportionate representation) is by giving them the funding they need. Frankly, the only way to ensure that every student in the United States receives fair, quality education is to nationalize our education system an action, given America's current political climate even over something as ethical as health care reform, I don't see happening anytime soon.
     In the meantime, how can individual schools and teachers end disproportionate representation? Schools can hire more teachers with a greater amount of cultural understanding: this may include, in urban districts for instance, hiring more Hispanic- or African-American teachers because their student populations will respond to them much more positively, or teachers who were ELLs themselves. Teachers can make a better attempt at connecting with and understanding their students as well -- that after all, is just as important as quantitative information in making informed decisions about a students special education status.

Learning Simulations

1.  What did you experience and how did you feel as you tried the simulations? What insights did the simulations give you into the experiences of students with learning disabilities in that particular area (e.g. attention, reading, writing, or mathematics)?

     I found getting through the simulations rather difficult and was rather amused how accurately they were able to emulate the actual disabilities. PBS has done an excellent job creating the same sense of frustration felt by students affected by learning problems -- at least for me. Having worked with kids with learning disabilities while student teaching and substitute teaching, I can understand why many of them -- without proper support -- fail to perform very well and, more often than not, opt out of participation in class and school in general. Their condition hardly improves as they go further into their academic careers.
    As a kid, if I were affected by such problems, I would do the same as most of them. It was incredibly difficult to hear the teacher give instructions in the auditory activity for attention disabilities, and its certainly even more frustrating when the activity is confusing and uninteresting. It's not a far leap from there to asking oneself 'What's the point of all this? I can't even understand anyways.'  I was close enough to doing it myself in the simulation. Reading, writing, and mathematics were very much the same thing. I can easily see a child with a reading disability being humiliated in front of the class because is unable to recall what he just spent a half-hour reading or because he got every single question on his math test wrong (because he spent too much time trying to figure out the sequence of the multi-step problems -- not that he would tell that to anyone else in class, because it would be embarrassing as well). To me, another aspect of learning disabilities that the simulations and video clips highlighted was not only the incredible difficulty of these students to perform normally, but the social effects as well.

2. What implications for teaching do the simulations have?
    Teachers of students with learning disabilities, more than anything else, must be patient with their LD students and extend to them the extra time, more attention, and adjustments to teaching which they need (this, of course, varies by student and disability). Rather than scolding students for constantly performing poorly, teachers should see inadequate performance as a sign of a potential problem. All students are not equal, and that is always something important for all teachers to keep in mind. It is our job as educators to facilitate learning no matter what -- and if that means going the extra mile for students with learning disabilities, it is something which must be done.

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