Assessing Children

This week in class we talked about the importance of assessing children. We learned about a variety of different assessments that can be done to see what a child knows. I am currently taking a class called Observation and Assessment where all we do is talk about different tests and tools used to assess children and the importance of this. Assessing children I think can be a really great thing when it is done the right way with the right tools, but when it isn't I think it can be very damaging to children. We have to make sure we are doing it in the child's native language, that we are avoiding labeling the child and that we are following the assessment procedures in most cases.
I can see why a teacher would use assessments to see what the children have learned so far or what to teach next. I also can see why a teacher would use an assessment to see what areas children are struggling in or if there is a serious problem with a child that may require special services.
This week for our case study we were able to meet as a team to decide if assessments that had been done on a child were fair or not. The background of this little girl really pulled at my heartstrings and I read about how she had been in an abusive home in Mexico when she was younger, then taken to an orphanage where she didn't attend school but instead helped take care of the younger children. She was later adopted to a family in the United States and was tested in 2nd grade, she scored incredibly low for most all school subjects and was really struggling. She was given an aide where she could work one on one and started to improve her letters, sounds of letters and basic writing skills. For me personally I just don't see how you could classify someone as special needs when they first haven't even been in the country for that long. I know that for myself this would be extremely hard and I wouldn't want people testing me and judging me based off my very little experience with the language, culture and the fact that I wasn't familiar with a school setting at all. So I guess from this story my reliability on assessing children changed just a little. In the fact that I know believe that there are circumstances where assessing children isn't appropriate. I also think that judging a child in this situation based off assessments isn't a true determination of if a child has a mental disability.

Being apart of an IEP

This week we studied a case study that asked us to hold a mock IEP and it was actually a lot more difficult than I thought. I choose to be the administrator and so I was chosen to be one that didn't really think the boy needed special education services. This was really difficult because everyone else in my group was all for making sure this child received services. It was interesting to talk with everyone and hear what their roles position was for this child. I realized it takes a lot of effort to help a child receive special services and it is more than just quickly labeling. We also had to make sure that we could all agree on some goals we would set for the child and when these goals would be reached. I found this part of the meeting really interesting. I think it is great to come together in this way to create goals and timelines for the child because that way you are getting more than one perspective and professional opinion on the needs of the child.

One thing I learned by actually doing a mock IEP meeting was to make sure that the parents know their rights and the other members of the meeting should be counseling with them. It is important to ask them questions and see what they are wanting for their child, after all no one knows their child better than them.

I am really glad I got this opportunity to learn more about IEP and to become familiar with more case studies so we are able to learn better by actually getting involved in something similar. My heart really reaches out to these children and I want nothing more than to make sure they are getting the proper services they need.

Favorites from this week

I have never really known all that much about the laws of special education but this week I was able to dive deeper into the laws and what they actual provide for the children. I think it is really comforting to know as a future educator and mother that there are laws out there that will protect children's education and give them a chance to be the most successful that they can be. One thing I really loved this week was learning more about the laws because I think it is really important to be aware of what has happened before us and how that changes things for the future. There are so many court cases and so much to memorize that comes with this but there are a few things that really stood out to me. There are 6 categories that fall under IDEA which is the main law for special education. It stands for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The 6 things are important to helping you understand more about this law, they are....

1. Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). This is saying students can attend public education and receive the education services to help their needs. 

2. Least Restrictive Environments (LRE). Students must be educated in settings most like that without students with disabilities where they can be most successful.

3. Individualized Education. Tailoring the information to the needs of the student.

4. Nondiscriminatory evaluation. Being assessed with instruments that don't discriminate against race, culture or disabilities. 

5. Due Process. Solving disagreements concerning a student's disability education plan. 

6. Zero reject/child find. All students are entitled to receiving public education, regardless of disability.

One other thing I loved about this week was that we got to work as a group to study something I am very passionate about. Basically everyone who knows me, knows that I dream of being a speech and language pathologist. Although this dream is still a few years away it was so great to be able to research and learn more about speech and language problems. I never realized that the statistics for children who struggle with these problems are so high. It really made me excited for learning more and eventually making a difference in the lives of children. 

 

Importance of IEPs and Becoming Blind

This week for class I learned more in-depth about IEP's and what they are. This was really great for me because I haven't ever learned about how the meeting actually works and what they do until this class, but in my other classes it has been mentioned a lot. I love how IEP's are so child focused and I also love that the parents get to be involved, not just the teachers. I also thought it was really neat that in most cases doctors or nurses are included in this decision making process. After watching a video to show how one works I really think that IEp's are great for all children that might have a harder time learning and need some individualized help.
This week for class we also read a case study about a young boy who needed to get certain help at school but the school district wasn't allowing it anymore. We got to act out different parts of this case and I was the parents. As all the members of my group were voicing their legal sides about why or why not this is fair it was really interesting to watch and learn from. I learned a lot from my part as the pretend parent of this child though. I was able to express to them the concern I can imagine a parent must have for their child and their education and testify that these children go through enough stress in their life that our job really should be to help them out in any way possible. This experience really opened me up to the stress that many parents go through in fighting for their children.
The last experience I want to talk about this week is one of my simulation activities. We have a list of activities to do that are similar to a disability a child might have. This week, for example, I did the visual impairment simulation. This was really challenging as I felt completely useless and out of control. I was trying to eat and I kept missing my mouth, it was a struggle to even get food onto my fork. I also tried to do the dishes but it was so hard to focus on any objects. My husband was watching me and started feeling bad for me so he tried to get me to just sit down. This made me realize I can see how easy it is to get discouraged with a disability because it really is a lot of work trying to accommodate for it. I have trouble seeing in real life without my contacts or glasses and so I figured I would be pretty good at this one but it was completely different then what I thought it would be. I am really more thankful for my vision after doing this and I am definitely more sensitive to visual impairments in others.