Framework for Special Education Students in an Urban School

I am a baby to the teaching profession. The framework I have created is a work in progress. It is based on my past experiences and the limited amount of literature I have come across. The framework is specific to the population I have come to know and love: urban middle school special education students in a low income area. There are many concerns I have with the numerous dimensions of education. I have listed and briefly elaborated on a few in the lines below.

Teaching is not easy. From the "first year blues" to, I presume, the generation gap issues in the golden years, a teacher's career is one of constant disequilibrium. As a third year special education teacher, I have successfully hurdled the obstacles of my rookie and sophomore seasons. Classroom management is no longer at the forefront of the agenda and students are learning. Although the so-called bad days are few and far between, the third year offered new challenges.

Because I teach middle school, my first year students are now approaching adulthood. From time to time I am updated of their positions in life. Mavi dropped out of high school and cleans houses. Wayne was nearly incarcerated for assault and battery. Amado died from a gunshot wound to the head. Kana is doing well in school, as usual.

The challenges of my third year involve the personal handling of the overwhelming bleakness of my students' futures. These thoughts and other experiences compelled me to research the vocational outcomes of students with special needs. Through literature reviews I have discovered some key components that greatly increases the success rate of graduating students with special needs. High school students, especially those with special needs must have more opportunities for career preparation. Classes that provide a greater emphasis on teaching knowledge and skills relevant to the job market, like computer training and typing, will better equip students for the real world. In addition, work experiences in high school often leads to a higher success rate of obtaining jobs upon graduation. Students must be provided with opportunities for job related experiences whether they be paid or of an internship nature.

The School and Teachers

"When the school introduces and trains each child of society into membership within such a little community, saturating him with the spirit of service, and providing him with the instruments of effective self-direction, we shall have the deepest and best guaranty of a larger society which is worthy, lovely, and harmonious." (Dewey, 1980)

A school must be a social institution acting as a microcosm of a world where each individual possesses self worth. All students must be included and active participants in all activities. Many times, special education students are overlooked due to certain prejudices. Other times they are overlooked due to the status quo treatment of special education students as behavior problems and incompetent. Sometimes they are merely forgotten. Students, including ones with special needs, must be provided with a school system that cultivates their personal interests.

Access to resources is vital. In a special education middle school class, there can be students ranging from the primer reading level to high school reading levels. At times, it is like having the entire spectrum of K through 12 in one room! Resources must be provided at multiple levels. Teachers must use grade level resources as well as supplementing lessons with more manageable materials. An important goal in all classrooms is to expose students to age appropriate experiences.

A few direct goals for special education students are: a) to acquire knowledge in subject matter, b) to explore options for their future careers, and c) to cultivate life skills. Statewide, schools have focused on standards based instruction for general and special education. The difference between the two is that the curriculum for special education is often lacking or undeveloped in the urban schools. Strong curriculums must be devised in all academic areas for students with special needs. A focus must also be placed on the value of transition plans. High school students must focus on their future careers through multiple detailed sessions with appropriate vocational counselors. Provisions must be put into place for the student so that he/she may begin to prepare for vocation. Keep in mind, special education students also have the option of going to college. Necessary provisions in the transition plan can be put into place to make this option a reality. Lastly, life skills are basic problems for most students with special needs. They are often antisocial and to some extent that is a large part of why they are viewed as discipline problems. Teachers must have a strong life skills curriculum to teach their students simple, everyday skills. Examples are correctly spelling the months of the year, being punctual, and being able to deal with changing money.

"I believe that every teacher should realize the dignity of his calling; that he is a social servant set apart for the maintenance of proper social order and the securing of the right social growth". (Dewey, 1897) There are many problems with the career of teachers. When you get a group of teachers together in a small room, there are many complaints. They range from extensive schooling to low pay to classroom size. Our job is difficult but the rewards are greater. We bring about personal change in our students. It is a blessing known to generations of students whose lives have been transformed by people who had the courage to teach.

Science

Science must emancipate the individual from local and temporary incidents of experience, and the opening of intellectual vistas unobscured by the accidents of personal habit and predilection. (Dewey, wikisource). Science gives us a wider frame of reference for the things with which we are familiar.

In teaching science, we must start with the student in a genuine situation of experience. The student must be interested in the materials for his own sake. The genuine problem develops within this situation as a stimulus to thought. Then he must possess the information and make the observation needed to deal with it. After that, solutions will occur to him which he shall be responsible for developing in an orderly way. Finally, he will have the opportunity and occasion to test his ideas by application to make their meaning clear and to discover for himself their validity. (Dewey, wikisource) Science through inquiry will allow this process to take place.

Bibliography

Dewey, John. (1897, January 16). My Pedagogic Creed. The School Journal, 54, 80.

Dewey, John. (1980). The School and Society. Chicago, Illonois: Southern Illonois University
Press.

Dewey, John. Democracy and Education. Online: wikisource.org/wiki/Democracy_and_
Education