Inclusion of Special Needs Students

This week was really eye opening for me as I read a lot about the different special needs that students have, along with the different programs that are available for them to get the help that they need. During this reading I couldn't help but reflect on the time I spent from the time I was in middle school all the way through high school that I had the chance to be a "peer tutor". This was a class at my school where we got to go into the special needs classroom and work with the children. I had the chance to go sit in other classes with them, teach them math, help them read, play games with them, go grocery shopping and even go swimming once a week. One thing that I loved about this program was that it gave those children a chance to get to know their peers better. This made for a better atmosphere when we would see each other at school because they felt like they already had a friend. I also liked that in my school system those children came to a lot of the same classes I did and then they went to work on their individual needs in a different class. I felt like this was a great solution to the issue of whether or not to let them be full-time in the regular education classes.

This week I learned a lot of what shaped the influences of special education. Some of the most prominent ones the court cases that I am sure most people involved in education have heard about such as; Brown vs. Board of Education. I think this case is so important in the history of education because it really changed the way of how we can view everyone as having a right to education, regardless of abilities or color.

I also learned a lot about the key themes of special education which was interesting for me to dive deeper into this content. The more I learn about this class the more I realize there is a lot to know and I still have a long ways to go but I am really enjoying what I am learning so far. Overall, for my reflection this week I would say it has been interesting to learn more of the terms and come to understand how those are actually used in the real education field. I look forward to learning a lot more. Have a great week and remember, spread kindness to everyone!

I'm back

Hello fellow blog readers, as you can see I am back. This is a blog I originally used for a class that focused on the family and it's importance but now I have a class that I am going to be blogging about. This class is actually a different type of class but it is one I am really excited for. It is called Exceptional Students. (You may remember from previous posts that I am a child development major on my home stretch here at BYUI and I am hopeful to one day become a Speech and Language Pathologist! So this class will help me achieve that goal and learn a lot along the way!)
For this blog I will be updating what I learn in class every week to reflect on the principles I have learned and how I will better apply them in my life experiences of working with some of our Heavenly Father's dearest children that have special needs.
So for this week we got to read some amazing talks given by apostles of our church and I loved reading them and relating them back to how I can apply the things they were teaching me when I am working with children. One of the biggest things that stuck out to me was in a talk called, "The Moving of the Water" by Boyd K. Packer. The main idea that stuck out to me was that we need to try ourselves to become angels that move the water for others in our lives. He also emphasized the importance of remembering the bigger picture in this life. This stood out to me as I thought about how important that is when working with special needs children, they are God's children and we need to help them realize this mortal life that they have this disability is only limited. He also said, "affliction comes to the innocent." This struck me very powerfully as I was reading because that is so true. Most of these children can't control their situation and why their disability happened to them so we must always remember they are innocent and never judge.
Overall this week I have learned that working with exceptional students will take a lot of practice to know what to do and how to do it but in the end it will be very rewarding. These are some of Heavenly Father's most beloved children and we are lucky to be trusted to help them along this earthly path. I look forward to this class and learning more to take with me in this semester! See you next week!