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Accommodations are NOT special treatment....
..... ARG.
Why do I have this battle every school year with teachers? There is ALWAYS at least one that just really resists the IEP. I feel like I'm warping back to the 40's every frickin' time I hear this come from some teacher's mouth. My son's accommodations are fairly simple -- things like small group testing. He's IN AN INCLUSION TEAM.
Don't teach in an inclusion model if you can't bear the thought of accommodations in your classroom. Or go teach at a private school where they keep the disabled kids out. Seriously.
I mean, c'mon already!!!
This particular teacher wrote me to tell me he got a D+ on a quiz, and then (without me asking her) let me know that "his IEP does not include an accommodation for retesting (actually, it doesn't because retesting on anything under a C is a school policy.... so its not even an accommodation for HIM, its a policy for ALL THE KIDS).... and then, when he did get to take the retest (because in addition to being a special needs kid, he is also a human child in the school population with the policy on retesting), she wrote to tell me that she had "never been informed" of his accommodations".
Um, did you read the IEP or didn't you? I don't get it?
Luckily, he has a really good Inclusion Teacher. We had a good laugh about it, because you know she's got her hands full when her content teachers are like this. She's handling it. But.... dude... if you have to be "handled", you're a prima donna who probably should be working in the private sector.
That is all.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Floor Pie on -
Yep. I call it Sucktember. No IEP here, but we've had our challenges these first few weeks with a teacher who's good in a lot of ways but also a disgruntled employee who got a raw deal last year, stressed out and lacking in empathy. Thankfully, we have good support from the rest of the team and he's starting to adjust and relax a little.
I'm just so thankful we go to one of the few elementary schools in Seattle that still has a counselor. The district spent so much $$ on their fancy-pants new standardized tests, they had to let most of the counselors (and our reading and math specialists) go. Superman, my ass.
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Permalink Reply by bap2 on
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Sweet! I get to be a prima donna, thanks!
Sorry the teacher didn't read the IEP correctly, I'm sure the Inclusion Teacher will handle it well. Luckily it's the beginning of the year, not January.
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Permalink Reply by Kat on -
I guess my point is that why do we have to handle this every year. It is hardly breaking news that children with disabilities are part of the student populations in our public schools. I feel like I have to reinvent the wheel with at least one teacher ever year. And I am sure my son cannot be their first encounter with an IEP.
bap2 said:Sweet! I get to be a prima donna, thanks!
Sorry the teacher didn't read the IEP correctly, I'm sure the Inclusion Teacher will handle it well. Luckily it's the beginning of the year, not January.
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Permalink Reply by MamatothaMax on -
I'm going to try and Morgan an IEP this year. He was diagnosed with ADHD over the Summer and has really struggled in third grade. I stop in to talk to his teacher often but it's just frustrating. She's been teaching for 35 years and from all accounts is a fantastic teacher. She told me she understands what ADHD is and how to teach children with it. Then she brings out the long list of things that Morgan is struggling with and it's textbook ADHD. I pointed out that he has problems with doing things in multiple steps and if she broke it down into single steps (what we do with homework) she'd see more results. "But third grade is about doing more independent work" Sigh. I also pointed out that her room was wall to wall distractions.
I don't know if she doesn't get it or if she's holding onto (out of date) preconceived notions of ADHD. I remember when I was a kid it was something that was just being recognized and there wasn't a standard of treatment or diagnosis.
End rant.
And Kat iou a hug when we get around to lunch. You are an awesome and dedicated mom.
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Permalink Reply by ks on -
This is kind of off topic, but it is one of those things that irritates me to no end. I have a policy in my classes that you can use your laptop to take notes during class. But, the screen better be on the copies of my powerpoint slides that I provide or on some text program with actual notes being taken (and I walk around while I lecture, so it gets pretty easy to spot unauthorized computer use). If I catch someone on the internet in my class, doing non physics class related activities, then they get kicked out.
And they get informed of this policy up front at the beginning of the semester, so it comes as no surprise to the people who do it. They complain, but they have no legs to stand on there, so to speak.
mcglory13 said:I'm not sure I really agree with this. Accommodations are special treatment. They may be necessary treatment. They may be fair treatment. But they are special. My classroom policy is no laptops/cell phones/etc. I have students with paperwork that allows them to circumvent that. Maybe they need those laptops, but unfortunately they usually just surf the web on them. In general, I encourage students with paperwork to use the resources they have (especially the option to take a test in a less distracting environment). But many, many students abuse these resources. And frankly, there is no way I'm going to remember which student out of my 380 is supposed to be allowed his laptop. So he could throw a hissy fit, or he could remind me of his accommodations. Sorry if that makes me a prima donna.
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Permalink Reply by Floor Pie on
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Okay, I can see how the "prima donna" thing may have stung. Maybe it was an unfair choice of words, but you know she's not really talking about you or any other teacher who's not the teacher in this specific situation.
Kids who don't fit the mold in a regular classroom can be a frustrating business for all concerned -- teachers, parents, administrators, the kids themselves. I don't consider these teachers prima donnas. I understand they're up to their eyeballs in it, and in our situation I've done my best to be patient and empathetic. I think most parents understand that. But in a situation like Kat describes here, when something that seems like a no-brainer goes wrong and makes things even harder, well, I can understand a parent's need to vent about it in a safe, anonymous space. I'm sure teachers do plenty of venting about their students, too.
mcglory13 said:I'm not sure I really agree with this. Accommodations are special treatment. They may be necessary treatment. They may be fair treatment. But they are special. My classroom policy is no laptops/cell phones/etc. I have students with paperwork that allows them to circumvent that. Maybe they need those laptops, but unfortunately they usually just surf the web on them. In general, I encourage students with paperwork to use the resources they have (especially the option to take a test in a less distracting environment). But many, many students abuse these resources. And frankly, there is no way I'm going to remember which student out of my 380 is supposed to be allowed his laptop. So he could throw a hissy fit, or he could remind me of his accommodations. Sorry if that makes me a prima donna.
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Permalink Reply by Floor Pie on
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No, I get it. And you're right, it's a tough situation for everybody, but something of a double standard when it comes to complaining about it. Teachers are expected to be the bigger person, but at times that's an inhuman amount of stress to take on and it takes its toll. (I'm thinking of an acquaintance who's a middle school special education teacher. Exhausting, thankless work, but he doesn't really feel he's "allowed" to complain about it like other people complain about their jobs.) Anyway, hang in there and I hope the issues at your job get resolved smoothly.
mcglory13 said:I've been trying, but I can't think of a good way to respond to this. Specifically there have been some issues in my job lately surrounding this stuff that I will not discuss, from the other side. All I can say is that if I called my students with accommodations some disparaging term (and I would never do that), I imagine there would be a lot of irate replies. I was just trying to present the other side, in a civil way. What is a "no-brainer" to a parent with a few kids, is never that simple when dealing with many students. I get that venting is useful and helpful, and I get that it's frustrating, but there was a generalization made about teachers writ large actually, complaints were not about one specific teacher.
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Permalink Reply by ferret on
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as a "special needs" student I just want the same opportunities people with "less special brains" get, and when I don't get these opportunities I tend to "look like a loser with no brain" which isn't true (except for punctuation)
and as a teacher I know you do not get the support you need to meet every students need. we shouldn't take it out on either students, teachers, or parents because all are generally trying to make the best of an inadequate situation
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Permalink Reply by wookie on -
Yeah, but it seems like the loser in all cases is the learner. And I'm having trouble accepting that my 3rd grader is just going to have lose. Because she's as bright as hell and deserves better than that. She shouldn't have to lose because her visual processing issues cause her 100x the work it takes your neurotypical student to function in the classroom.
But I do hear you that the prevalence of electronic devices has created a horrible environment for both LD and non LD students alike. I struggle to find a real need for them in the classroom. You want notes, get a good scribe (which I think are paid the same way peer tutors are paid, at least when I was a student) or get a copy from the teacher.
ferret said:as a "special needs" student I just want the same opportunities people with "less special brains" get, and when I don't get these opportunities I tend to "look like a loser with no brain" which isn't true (except for punctuation)
and as a teacher I know you do not get the support you need to meet every students need. we shouldn't take it out on either students, teachers, or parents because all are generally trying to make the best of an inadequate situation
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Permalink Reply by Kat on
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McGlory, with all due respect, this is exactly what I'm talking about. My son does not have "special" paperwork that we use to "circumvent" anything. My son is successful with his accommodations, he is not successful without his accommodations. He is guarateed these accommodations by law, but more importantly out of human compassion. They level the playing field for him.
Being able to use a laptop does not happen to be one of his accommodations, but it is a valid Assistive Technology accommodation for those students who need it. If there are kids that are not using their laptops appropriately, that seems like a classroom management issue to me. Their case manager needs to be consulted as they need to be trained on the proper use of this accomodation.
My son doesn't have the ability just yet to inform his teacher what his accommodations are -- we are working on self-advocacy but he's not there yet -- he has communication deficits. And in any case most IEPs by nature are complex, so I doubt he would get the practical application of said accommodations. We rely on the adults in his environment to care, and take some ownership of him as a member of their class and not look at his accommodations as frustrating distractions to their job. He is part of their class.
At the end of the day, he is in an inclusion model, which is supposed to be a "safe" place for him and his accommodations. The teaching team is supposed to embrace the idea of inclusion, even when they don't always have the resources to support it fully. Having a teacher in the middle of the inclusion model who doesn't embrace the concept of an inclusion model is inappropriate. She doesn't belong there. She may be a good teacher, she just is in the wrong assignment.
My mother was a teacher. I have respect for good teachers. But I have some real issues with teachers who only want to teach to the kids that are easy to teach, and teach them one way.
It is part of our long-term plan that his accommodations slowly decrease and he become less in need of them. This needs to be done on his timeline, and not because the regular ed teacher in his classroom finds his accommodations burdensome and encourages him not to access them.
mcglory13 said:I'm not sure I really agree with this. Accommodations are special treatment. They may be necessary treatment. They may be fair treatment. But they are special. My classroom policy is no laptops/cell phones/etc. I have students with paperwork that allows them to circumvent that. Maybe they need those laptops, but unfortunately they usually just surf the web on them. In general, I encourage students with paperwork to use the resources they have (especially the option to take a test in a less distracting environment). But many, many students abuse these resources. And frankly, there is no way I'm going to remember which student out of my 380 is supposed to be allowed his laptop. So he could throw a hissy fit, or he could remind me of his accommodations. Sorry if that makes me a prima donna.
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