School issues

Well, now that I have a couple of free moments that I wasn't expecting to have, I'll sit down and fill you in on what's casting shadows on an otherwise decent year of teaching. This may also give you a peek through the window into the world of public education... if you're not already familiar with it, that is.

I teach high school, specifically special education. Each special-ed student has what's called an "Individualized Education Plan" or IEP, which is a legal document specifying what the student's particular deficits are, what their goals are, and what the public school system is REQUIRED BY LAW to provide for them.

The students I serve are not severely disabled, for the most part -- mine are the ones who have significant learning disabilities causing them to have difficulty processing language or mathematics, etc... For the most part, my students travel in the general population of students, then come visit my classroom for one block. My class is called Resource, and in it we serve two purposes. First, we address each individual student's goal areas (for example, Ricky will complete his math assignments with 85% accuracy by May 2006); if they have trouble with math, we drill math and give tips on how to remember math facts, etc. If one has trouble reading with fluency, we read and we give tips on how to make reading less difficult. The second purpose of Resource class is to actually give each student assistance in completing their assignments from all their other classes. If the ninth graders are all doing a research paper, we hit that hard and reinforce what their English teachers are requiring them to know and do.

For some students with disabilities, this is all they really need -- some extra support and reinforcement. Otherwise, they can mingle into the general school population and be successful at regular-ed classes, and usually not even noticed by their peers as being "different" or "dumb" because they're not. They just learn differently. I sometimes like to think of myself as a translator, in a way... find what "language" each kid speaks and translate everything into that language. Resource class is a terrific, successful program that's been quietly helping kids succeed for years, in one form or another.

Enter a couple of wrenches into the works.

First is a buzzword called "collaboration." Someone from on-high somewhere in some ivory tower has decreed that too many students are being served in special-education classrooms... probably someone in the federal gubmint who's realizing just how federal money is being disbursed to public schools to educate the disabled population. Since, of course, some brilliant person passed a law sometime back there somewhere that obligated the taxpayers to provide Free, Appropriate Public Education to every single individual, regardless of their situation, that now means exactly that... meaning that because my daughter Alice is physically and mentally disabled, the public school system is required to provide adequate transportation for her (meaning, the school bus actually comes to our front door instead of making Alice walk a couple of blocks in the ice and snow, which she can't do). It's nice, certainly, but multiply that sort of individualized attention by millions and you find out that it's collapsing under its own weight. So the Feds have to lower this without sounding like they're going against what they've already said they HAVE to do... so to cut down on the billable SPED hours served to each student per school day, why not put Resource teachers into regular-ed classrooms to collaborate with the regular-ed teachers and help the SPED students who are in there? That way, we get rid of Resource class altogether except for one or two class periods. Sounds like a brilliant idea, right?

Problem. Five Resource teachers simply cannot cover every single regular-ed classroom that has SPED students in it... plus monitor all the 30 kids on their IEP roster, most of whom they never even see during the school day now, and make sure their IEP goals are being worked on and met.

Next wrench in the works which is factoring into this issue? There is NO SPACE in our high school building. We're already using every single broom closet and office space and hallway as it is. So to alleviate the space problem and address the "collaboration" buzzword at the same time, let's spread out the Resource teachers so thin we can't even see them anymore.

It's only a matter of time before the schools get sued by an irate parent who points out, quite accurately, that their child's IEP specifically states that they are to have a Resource class. I'm left wide-open for a lawsuit, myself, because I'm not providing what their children require.

It's a huge mess.

Please understand -- I totally enjoy working with the regular-ed teachers they've assigned me to work with. They're both awesome people. And I'm a very adaptable person; as I said last week, if they asked me to, I'd probably scrub floors with a toothbrush because I'm just thankful to have a job. But I'm not Superwoman. If you're going to ask me to scrub floors, you're going to have to realize that I cannot ALSO provide individualized education to each student in my charge. Pick one, and I'll do it cheerfully. I can't do both.

Obviously they aren't making me scrub floors. But do you see my dilemma? The four other Resource teachers and I are being spread so thin that we can't do ANY of the jobs adequately.

..........................

Apart from that wrenching issue, I'll have a great year. I love my kids and love working with them. Most of the other teachers I work with are okay, too, as long as I don't have to sit in lengthy meetings with them. I am a generally cheerful person in the hallways of that school; I smile at everyone and make eye contact with everyone I can. I want it to work, and I want the kids to succeed, both educationally and personally.

I still actually preside over two fer-real Resource classes, and get to see a few of my "peeps" that I totally love... which makes all the trudging-through-crap worth it for me.