Thanks! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Resource Classrooms
I am having a hard time understanding why my niece of the age of 13 and in eighth grade is to stay solely in the middle schools recourse classrooms. My niece is severely hearing impaired and I know that this is a huge disadvantage for her and I know that she is always going to need a lot of help. However, is this honestly the best way to do it? My niece is at a very hard age right now i.e, getting ready to transition into high school, puberty, among many other teenage "things". She has to wear her hearing aids at all times and also usually has to read lips because her hearing loss is in fact so profound. I am so scared of her being ridiculed and made fun of from her peers but does it really help her chances of being successful with making friends and keeping them if she is not aloud to interact in the regular classroom? Mrs. White do you believe that this is the best way for her to learn even though she is still not exactly on the eighth grade level?
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Sarah, I'm glad you shared this!! It provides me a wonderful opportunity to share a few important ideas/lessons.
ReplyDeleteA couple of the things professionals must always remember to do is to 1) not generalize and 2) not jump to conclusions. So, whenever we read about a "specific" situation like this it's imperative that I (and all of us) not presume we know BEST for a student we have never met based on generalities of an entire group of people or "text book situations."
One must understand what her current cognitive, academic, social, communication and physical abilities and needs are. Those on her educational team (parents and a variety of educational personnel) have hopefully considered where her greatest strengths lie in these areas and where are her greatest areas of need.
At times a residential placement would be the best place to meet all of those needs, another time a resource setting might be, another time full time in a mainstream class might be and yet at another time a combination of some those might be.
Her PLOP - or Present Level Of Performance and the annual goals established are the main considerations in determining what SERVICES will best meet those needs. These then determine what is the best place for her to receive her education.
Interacting with others . . . for the purpose of accessing and being involved in curricular activities or for social reasons...what's your main concern? These are two very different issues for a Deaf or Hard of Hearing student and need to be addressed in very different ways especially when being considered in light of educational placement.
You asked, "Mrs. White do you believe that this is the best way for her to learn even though she is still not exactly on the eighth grade level?" I honestly cannot answer that question because I do not know the student. I would never be able to determine that without doing observations of a student, reviewing their work, records, assessment material and talking with the child. It is impossible for any unbiased educator to determine the "best placement" for a Deaf and or Hard of Hearing Child without meeting the child, their family and reviewing the child's records and work.
This is an EXCELLENT post and question because so many people do believe that it is possible to determine "best places" for children to be educated based on some arbitrary "rule," "method," or "philosophy" instead of a the unique individual competencies and needs of a child.
Thank you for sharing this example! I'm sorry I am unable to give you a specific answer. I simply don't know the student and therefore do not know what's best for HER.
I truly appreciate your response. My main concern is the fact that my niece is in resource classrooms all day and upon my personal observations of her reading and writing and other major subjects they are lacking significantly. In her last meeting we did discuss goals and placement for next year (high school), but the information they supplied was lacking so much that I didn't understand whether or not she should be advanced to 9th grade.
ReplyDeleteIf resource classrooms are what she needs then that is what she will be attending. However, I think that I should see more growing in her knowledge with the one on one help she is being provided with.
This last meeting of hers was just an eye opener on how my niece is learning and growing. She is my muse for continuing my degree in DHH and going to these meetings are really helping me intake what is to come for she and I.
I think it's GREAT that you're thinking and asking questions!! One can't know for certain IF she'd be getting more support and making more progress IF she were in a regular education/mainstream. We often want to jump to that conclusion. But, PERHAPS she'd be overlooked and passed by because there are SOO MANY needy kids there! We can't assume we know what WOULD happen in another setting.
ReplyDeleteWe can only outline goals, instructional objectives, clear learning targets, etc. and then determine how/where can those best be provided.
I belivied this is a good idea for your niece social skills but we it comes to learning I beivied a lot of classroom teachers don't give a lot attending to special need children of all types.
ReplyDeleteIf your main concern about her being in a recourse room is a lack of social interaction with peers then perhaps allowing her to join some sort of sport or take some sort of class or other type of school so that she may meet children there. It may even be possible to allow her to go somewhere with few or no students from her current school and wouldn't even know she spent her day in a resource room.
ReplyDelete