I've written another essay over at PajamasMedia, adapted from a recent blog entry on inclusion. Go check it out, since the comments might just end up having some schadenfreude value, if my last essay over there is any indication.
It's worth pointing out that while this is an issue which Julie and I are always ready to take up, it's one that Schuyler never faces, not directly. I'm not even sure if she realizes that there are people out there that don't want her around them, or their kids. Schuyler turns eight in two weeks, which is certainly old enough to understand that people can be dicks when you're different. Largely because of her family and her teachers and friends who take up that fight on her behalf, however, Schuyler strides forward largely unhindered, and for now she seems unaware that it could be any other way for her.
If you've ever watched curling (and really, who hasn't?), imagine Schuyler as the player who throws the stone, and the rest of us out there with our little brooms, clearing the ice for her. (Wait, or perhaps she's the stone in this metaphor. That seems unflattering, now that I think of it.)
Today is a double birthday whammy for us. It's Julie's actual birthday (for which I set her alarm clock stereo to play this poignant musical tribute this morning), but we're also having a joint birthday party for Schuyler and her best friend from her Box Class today. It's causing all sorts of happy confusion for her, but I'm sure it'll all sort itself out, and by the time her actual birthday rolls around, Schuyler will be ready to do it all over again.
(I got her a pterodactyl, by the way. She's digging pterodactyls these days, like only a dainty little girl can.)
The interesting thing about this birthday party is that when Schuyler and her friend get around neurotypical kids (and there'll be a lot of them at this party, maybe half the total number), they tend to blow them off and ignore them in favor of their own little world, one in which they communicate with either their devices or their own secret little language of Martian and special sign language. When Schuyler and her friends get together, inclusion gets turned on its head.
Which I find to be strangely satisfying, speaking of schadenfreude.
"..inclusion gets turned on it's head" - I know just what you mean. My son's teacher came over one evening, and she and I and my son were signing away (she and my son are both deaf) and my boyfriend's daughter, said "it's not fair, I can't understand what is going on", first time she realised that this is what it is like for my son most of the time!
ReplyDeleteHappy, happy birthday, Julie! Many happy returns of the day.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday! I am a registered nurse in an ER, and finding parents that care this much, with the strength to speak out is another example of the good we can find in our world. God bless you and your family. As we say in the Airborne, "I've got your back! Airborne, All the way!"
ReplyDeleteYour PJM post fascinated me. You and Julie seem to be seriously missing the point. Regarding your daughter, I doubt very seriously that there are "people out there that don't want her around them" as you say. I bet they just don't want your child's special needs slowing down the progress of their own children.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your kid is great. I have a nephew with Aspergers. Once you get accustomed to him, he's great, and a friggin' genius to boot. We probably both agree that special kids can be wonderful.
But when you suggest that making sure that the child gets the special care he/she needs is the responsibility of the school, you lose me as a fan. That's YOUR job. Special kids need different forms of education. To put them in the 'mainstream' as you call it would be to force all of the other students to learn less as your child's special needs are addressed. Leave the school out of it. It's up to YOU.
I can't believe you said 'a little socialism won't kill you.' A little socialism kills everyone a little. Sheesh. Why not say 'A few rat turds in your soup won't kill you'?
Jesus H. T-F Christ, I am so sick of the whole "special needs kids are going to slow everyone down!!!" argument. it's a strawman, and when you possess even the most basic information about how the system works, you look like a moron for even saying it.
ReplyDeleteEducate yourself. Look up Individualized Education Program so you can see how a plan is developed for every special education student in the country, by the parents, the teachers and the support staff so that the appropriateness of things like mainstreaming are determined, with both the student's and the school community's interests in mind.
While you're at it, go read up on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act so you can see the big bad federal law that mandates that the IEP be followed and agreed upon by all the parties involved, not just the parents.
Or simple continue to be stupid, and loudly so. There are all sorts of federal laws protecting that right, too.
Oh Rob! THANK YOU for that comment! I have been sitting here screaming at my poor computer at all the assinine comments from people about how our "special" kids slow down theirs or take the lunch money from their pockets or whatever other bullshit they bandy about. F-ing educate YOURSELVES, morons!
ReplyDeleteUm, sorry...Happy Birthday (late) to Julie!
Rob, I just came upon your blog...Fan-effing-tastic! Parents of *typical* kids will never get it, but that shouldn't stop us from speaking up and shouting 'Strawman'!
ReplyDeleteMakes me embarassed to be a conservative when I read comments like those from Bloga*fog.* Thank God there are parents on both sides of the political fence that have children with unique abilities such as ours.
Seriously, why do these parents consistently think our children are *dummying-down* the classroom? My fifth grader is at a second-third grade math & reading level. He's not expected to sit in on fifth grade math and reading for crying out loud! My son gets pulled out and is taught math & reading at his level. Mr. Bloga*fog*...Get it? My son isn't slowing down the other math and reading whizzes in his grade.
Oh and here's another rub...While your child is being taught reading and math by NCLB-required *highly qualified math and reading teachers,* my son gets remedial help from special ed teachers with no specific math or reading background. Sometimes he doesn't even get the unspecialized (60 year old, tenured) special ed teacher as she has been known to slough my son off to her teaching aide (no college degree required) twice a week.
And while we're at it...My son will never use a dime from the following budgets: Athletic (coaching salaries + state/league dues + transportation + uniforms + officials + court/field maintenance), music (teacher salaries + transportation + building usage) , drama (teacher subsidy + props + building usage + electric bill + copyright fees), or clubs set aside for *typical* children to participate in. My son will go to school, 6 hours a day and come home. Any extracurricular activities we feel are appropriate for him will be paid for by us, his parents. In middle and high school, my son will begin vocational training so he can be prepared to live independently and off "the system" to the best of his/our ability.
These people will never get that the practice of institutionalizing and segragating disabled children is over. O-V-E-R! Suck it up people. I don't view educating our children as a sprinkle of socialism, just basic human decency and common sense.
You know, your point about all the school programs that our kids WON'T be using is an excellent point. I don't think I'd ever thought of it that way.
ReplyDelete"Plano Independent School District, please do me a favor and put Schuyler's share of the choir and speech club budget towards her AAC class. Thank you."
I'll add a little more fuel to the fire (to burn that strawman once and for all). I have three kids - one of whom has a disability that manifests itself primarily in his executive processing. As his IQ is in the normal to above normal range (over 100), he is entitled to LD services in teamed/inclusive core classes.
ReplyDeleteYes, I said ENTITLED - it's the law, Whiny McWhinestein.
My other two children have special education needs on the OTHER end of the spectrum - they have been identified as "gifted and talented learners." According to our district, and most others, this means they cannot be educated in the general education classroom (and isn't that special ed?). They require additional services including enhanced textbooks and materials (frequently consumables that must be replaced annually), teachers with additional training and certification, and access to advanced programs such as AP and IB, which cost a great deal of money to implement and maintain. Of course, because of these increased costs, only certain schools can have "GT centers," which means many of these students must be transported to the center nearest their base school (and gas costs HOW much per gallon right now?). Of course, these students also participate in a myriad of extracurricular activities (between the two of them, mine are in orchestra, musical theater, choir, and robotics, and one plans to play soccer in high school). Cha-ching!!!
But, that's different, right?
Wrong! No one complains about the amount of money spent on these extremely NON-neurotypical kids because we, as a society, assume they will be the success stories. These kids are WORTH it.
Ted Bundy and David Berkowitz both had IQs in the gifted range. The Unabomber was an off-the-charts genius. I wonder how much was spent on their educations.
Every gifted kid is not a potential serial killer, but neither is every kid with a disability a potential drain on society. Rather, by educating our children with their non-disabled peers and giving them typical role models and opportunities to interact and participate in real-life situations, we are preparing them to become MORE independent, MORE self-sufficient, and LESS reliant on ignorant tax-paying schmucks to support them for the rest of their lives!
FWIW, all three of my kids are honor roll students (my SpEd kid - in SPITE of his teachers).
And, if I may hijack this blog for one last point - if there are not, in fact, "people out there who don't want [him] around them," then please explain to me why all of his friends are at a party this afternoon (hosted by one of his closest friends) to which he was not invited? I appear to have misread the uncomfortable "what if it's contagious?" expression on the adults' faces whenever my child is around, and I eagerly anticipate your enlightened answer.
I just wanted to say Happy Birthday! to Julie. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIE! I hope it is a wonderful day.
ReplyDeleteInstead of the UK, am sending you this message from Orlando.
ReplyDeleteHappy belated birthday Julie hope the day went well.
Going to leave the other thing along due to being on holiday and trying to enjoy it.
You're simply not being honest if you don't think putting a child who needs extra help won't slow down the amount of information being passed to the children who don't need extra help.
ReplyDeleteBut I do apologize for commenting here. I saw you on PJ and assumed you were not liberal. You and I could never see the world eye to eye :).
I'm a typical teacher at a typical high school, and parents like Blogagog drive me absolutely batty. I teach in an integrated high school math classroom. I teach autistic teens, neurotypical teens, ADHD teens, so-called "gifted" teens, fetal-alcohol teens, BD teens, pregnant teens... and if we start segregating out children like Schuyler, next it's the autistic teens, next it's the pregnant ones, next... it's YOUR children who won't be allowed to have the best and brightest teachers, the newest and shiniest technology, the new pedagogy.
ReplyDeleteNo one learns less in my classroom. Everyone learns differently. And yes, it's my responsibility, along with my IEP students, their caseworkers and their parent(s), to make sure their needs are being met and that they are working up to their potential. It's the school's responsibility for those students, just like it is for EVERY OTHER STUDENT, because no one student is worth more or less than any other student. Some require more support (our homeless students, for example--should we kick them out too?). But that's our JOB.
Anyway, that's the view from this angle. Yes, it's a challenge in the classroom, but it makes me a better teacher, and it makes our classroom a stronger learning environment when everyone in it is not the same.
You're simply not being honest if you don't think putting a child who needs extra help won't slow down the amount of information being passed to the children who don't need extra help.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, why does disagreeing with you make me dishonest? That seems like an incredibly narcissistic and dickish angle to take.
Secondly, does needing extra help automatically disqualify a student from mainstream classes in your perfect school world? Because I do believe that covers a lot more students than the special needs ones. You can add any kid with a learning disability to your "kick 'em out" list.
Narcissistic, dickish AND elitist. You're working awfully hard for a Saturday.
Happy birthday, Julie!
ReplyDeleteWhat boggles my mind is that some people believe parents should pay for their child's non-typical education -- gifted/advanced programs, extra help for learning disabilities, special education classes, support teams, etc -- or suggest that private schools are the obvious solution.
Public education is FREE. Theoretically, everyone pays taxes supporting public education, everyone's kid should get the same quality of education. I know this is not the case, but it's the principle. I really don't see what's so unfair about that -- the 'typical' children are not having their education changed; and I do believe they are getting a broader education on humanity.
(And happy early birthday to Schuyler!)
You know, I don't recall having special needs students in my classes. And I think I'm worse off because of this. If I were to be truly, brutally honest--mentally challenged people make me nervous. I don't like to be around them, which makes me feel like an ass.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe, just maybe, if I'd had a little more exposure during my childhood, I wouldn't be afraid of those who are a little different than myself.
I think it's horrifically ignorant of us to think that we should take all of the children who don't fit into our idea of "normal" and think we should throw all of them together in one class so that they can all be retarded together, so that we don't have to deal with their needs.
What if a kid can't spell? Should he be thrown in with the retards? Or the kid for whom numbers just don't make sense, but he can spell better than all the other kids. Slap a retard label on him and throw him in the retard room? Oh, or the kid with a speech impediment. Might as well just throw him in there, too.
Isn't that room getting a little full?
And if the retard room is getting fuller, isn't the "normal" room getting empty? Huh, maybe the kids with problems (read: everybody) are exactly the ones we should be catering to. But maybe that's just me...
Oh yeah, and Blogagog, are you fucking kidding me?
ReplyDelete"But I do apologize for commenting here. I saw you on PJ and assumed you were not liberal. You and I could never see the world eye to eye :)."
How sad for you that you can't handle anyone who thinks differently than you. Really, I mean it, I feel sorry for you. But I still wouldn't throw you into a reject room so I could forget about you...
My kid doesn't slow any one down. He is deaf, ASL is his first language, and despite this, while in 2nd grade, he beat 22 other hearing TYPICAL kids to win the spelling be. He actually went to the district level, but didn't want to go to state! Also, when it comes to cost, my son's first set of hearing aids cost $2,300. 3 yrs later, his second set cost almost $6,000. Now he wears cochlear implants and I pay insurance for those, I pay out of pocket for batteries (try 6 675 batteries every 3 days), accessories (cords, microphones etc). Then, there is the cost of speech therapy. My insurance covers 6 sessions a YEAR. I pay $90 a week for that. Plus, because of his CP, he needs OT and SI therapy, that's another $85 a week. Then, he can't go in a "neurotypical" swim class cos no-one can communicate with him, so I pay $35 for one-on-one, once a week. Hmm, let me see, did I forget anything?
ReplyDeleteYes, the school provides an interpreter for him, and he gets accommodations on his IEP for motor problems, but this doesn't impact any other child in the school. Sorry your lousy argument doesn't work for me!
You're simply not being honest if you don't think putting a child who needs extra help won't slow down the amount of information being passed to the children who don't need extra help.
ReplyDeleteYou just had to go there, didn't you?
You want me to be honest? Fasten your seatbelt - it's going to be a bumpy ride.
IEP students who are included in general education classrooms and who require a level of educational assistance that is beyond what is usually available are almost always placed in classes with a general education teacher AND a special education teacher. These teachers must be state-licensed according to the same standards as their gen ed counterparts. In addition, if they spend any time teaching special education students exclusively, they must be highly qualified in one or more content areas. Thus, the students in the class have TWO teachers, which gives them twice the instructional attention and twice the instructional resources.
Students in these classes are held to the same state-mandated learning standards as every other student in the state, so the information MUST be delivered at the same pace. It is the SpEd teacher's responsibility to ensure that her students are keeping up by monitoring their accommodations and working with them OUTSIDE of class as needed. If these students fall significantly behind, a change of placement (to a self-contained SpEd class) is usually considered by the IEP team.
Now, I will be the first to admit that there are some crappy SpEd teachers out there, but there are also some crappy gen ed teachers. There are crappy lawyers, doctors, salespeople...you get the idea. There are also some outstanding SpEd teachers, of whom I am one. I am highly qualified in my subject area, I have a masters degree in education, and I have been in inclusive classrooms where I have more content knowledge and better teaching practices than the gen ed teacher. ALL of the students in my classes benefit from my presence and from the presence of one another.
THAT is what inclusion is all about.
Happy Birthday, Julie! I heard somewhere that every time a troll comments, a birthday wish comes true - so make a bunch!
Dear Mr. Uneducated Blogagog:
ReplyDelete(oh, and forgive me, Rob for hijacking, I just couldn't hold myself back......) Please see the below research citing that your argument is nothing but BUNK.
Happy to educate you, but sorry you had to "slow down" the progress of Rob's blog....
Krista
mom to a nonverbal son who is fully included with peers who have families that are welcoming and embrace him.....just as it should be!
Q: Will having a child with a disability in a general education classroom lower the academic expectation for all the other students?
A: No evidence validates the concern that the presence of children with disabilities will negatively impact the districts norm-referenced achievement scores. In fact, studies have consistently indicated that when students with disabilities are provided with supports and services to access the general education curriculum, their peers maintain state benchmark-level performances, and the students with disabilities experience higher academic and social achievement. (Villa,R and Thousand, J. (2005) Creating an Inclusive School, 2nd Edition. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.)
Oh, and Happy, Happy birthday to Julie...and early birthday to sweet Schuyler!
ReplyDeleteI say this with absolute seriousness.
ReplyDeleteGod, I love the internet.
Seriously. Did I mention that I love the internet?
ReplyDeleteThat first link was to a comment that has now been removed, sadly. I say sadly because, among other things, it refferred to me as a "Nazi" and Schuyler as "feeble minded".
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I'm sorry it was deleted. There was nothing threatening or obscene about it. I'm not sure why it was flagged as inappropriate, other than it was probably embarrassing to PajamasMedia as representative of a section of its readership. Which it should have been, but whatever. Dance with the one you brought, PJM.
Dear Parents who are fretting about whether their neurotypical kids are being slighted by special-needs kids being mainstreamed:
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering -- is there a reason why you haven't been putting all that energy into campaigning your school to update their damn textbooks? Because piss-poor books that are already in classes strikes me as being a bigger detriment than whether a particular child maybe might be in the class.
(Sorry, flashback to Junior High in 1982 and having a science textbook from 1962.
Hi, Rob.
ReplyDeleteI actually got a chance to read those vile comments by "curtis," and I'm not sure how I feel about them being deleted. On one hand, I agree that there was nothing threatening or obscene about them. I agree that they were probably deleted by the site to cover up the fact that their readers are Neanderthals. (They would have to delete a lot more comments than that one to cover that up, though.)
But I also felt uncomfortable for you, because your sweet daughter's picture was at the top of the page, only to have curtis call her "feeble minded" later on. I'm really glad you wrote those two articles for that site, and I think you've made a lot of people talk about and think about special needs parenting in a way that they probably never did before.
But are you bothered by the fact that Schuyler has been attacked personally now? And do you think you'll keep writing for them?
Thank you for everything you do out there for these kids. I've pre-ordered your book and can't wait to read it!
Marta, something about all this has been bugging the crap out of me, but it wasn't until I read your comment that I suddenly got it. I think my response deserves a separate blog post, but thank you for pointing me in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, happy belated to Julie. And I hope Schuyler and her buddies had a kick-ass birthday party. Wait, it was Schuyler's party...clearly, it was kick-ass.
ReplyDeleteYou're simply not being honest if you don't think putting a child who needs extra help won't slow down the amount of information being passed to the children who don't need extra help.
In my years of teaching, I did not come across ONE student who did not need extra help. Sometimes it was the REALLY bright kid who got *everything* right away and needed "extra help" to stay engaged. Sometimes it was the middle of the road kid who got everything eventually, but was struggling with double digit subtraction. Sometimes it was the LD kid who needed me to say "just do these FIVE math problems" (instead of the page of 20) so she could meet with some success.
In this country, we guarantee education for all in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). We don't send kids away for being too fast or too slow or too difficult.
GAH. And, to end this on a positive note, I just have to laugh at the notion that Schuyler is slowing anyone down. I know that she struggles every day in the neurotypical world and I know that there are issues and difficulties we don't even know about. But, Rob, every story you share, every glimpse into Schuyler's world, makes me think that she's doing just fine. She's writing stories and spelling and reading and arithmeticking away.
I think it's the rest of us who are trying to keep up with *her.*
Hey, I was bored, miserable and "held back" every single year I was in school until I hit college and never had a single special needs student in any class - the system that aims for the middle of the pack, dumb middle class C+ mentality student held me back along with anyone else who gave a rat's patoot or had a brain. Help the special, help the gifted, its all good. Maybe we should leave the middle of the pack to fend for themselves? The world needs mediocre C+ people too...
ReplyDeleteRob, did you read this comment over on Dr. Helen's blog, written by Helen herself"
ReplyDelete"Exactly--and self-entitlement to the point where if we have to put in a socialist government to make sure that he gets what he needs, that's okay too. Or start a revolution over special education. Huh? What about all of the people that would hurt? Or does he know that little about the history of socialism?"
Does she think you were being LITERAL? Do these people not even understand metaphors? DO THEY READ BOOKS?!?
Meh. My heads hurts now.
Here's the link again, for the morbidly curious.
ReplyDeleteShe's a treat.
Rob, she STILL thinks that you are literally advocating socialist government, she just said it again. Also, why is she so upset about you and the issue of gifted students? Have you ever written anything about taking away from gifted student programs?
ReplyDelete(I'd ask her myself if I seriously thought I'd get a coherent response. No way am I posting a comment on her Blog of Delights, though.)
ReplyDeleteI have NO IDEA where the gifted students thing is coming from. Seriously. Why would I object to gifted students receiving special services? I didn't write about it because it's not my fight. I also never wrote about curing cancer or helping Smokey stop forest fires. Am I obligated to advocate for every cause under the sun, even if I know nothing about them?
As for the Socialism thing, I guess she's a literalist. Does she believe that Schuyler has an actual monster that lives in her head? (I'm envisioning the red hairy monster in the Chuck Taylors from the old Bugs Bunny cartoons.)
Idiot. Excuse me, Doctor Idiot.