Now that all of the presentations are done I have had a chance to sit back and think about all of the laws and issues that were discussed. I felt that the presentations were very insightful and brought up a lot of points that us as future teachers need to be well aware of. The presentation on Freedom of Speech discussed some cases that I had never heard of before. After discussing it as a class, it was clear that although students do have a freedom of speech, in some cases the schools can intervene and use their best judgment in a given situation. A student can not use freedom of speech as an excuse to use inappropriate language during a school function.
The presentation on Due Process was also very interesting. The information is and will be very useful to anyone who is becoming a teacher. Although I have studied due process in other classes, it was never brought up in an education setting. In the event that I am ever put in to a situation that involves due process I now know my rights as a teacher and the correct procedure to be sure that due process is given.
Another presentation that I found appealing was the one on the rights of special needs students. So many laws have been made or rewritten to enhance the education of children with special needs. During the presentation the question was asked whether or not special needs students should be mainstreamed into regular classrooms to be included with all of the other children or if they are better off in a special needs classroom. I believe that the answer to this question is different for each child depending on the situation. If we take a student out of a special needs classroom so that he/she is included with other students it is possible that it could benefit the student both educationally and socially. On the other hand, it could also be very detrimental to the student if he/she is not getting the help they need from their teacher because she has 25 other students in her class. A situation could also arise where the students are making fun of the student with special needs, which obviously is never a good situation. I have been in classes where teachers have been really helpful and others where they have completely ignored the student. There are some cases where the student is being included but constantly disrupts the class due to comments or gestures and it becomes distracting for the teacher and the students.
Overall, I think you have to take it case by case and find the best opportunity for the student with special needs to get an education and learn how to become a functioning member of society.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I completely agree that Special Needs students should be evaluated on a case by case basis (which I believe they are). "Disability" is such a broad term and encompasses students with a range of abilities. Some students are severely physically disabled, but are otherwise fine in their cognitive development and I think it's amazing the resources that are available to all students to enable them to be at a "regular" school.
Post a Comment