Reflection on the Special Education System
Reflection on the Special Education System
The special education system is broken!
Growing up in special education classes, I was treated differently as a person with a disability. Some teachers treated us like we would never learn anything and would not make it in college. On the other hand, some great teachers supported us.
The system makes it so they label for us when they see we have disability. This can be helpful in order for us to receive important services that we need, but harmful in that it puts us in a box and causes people to have low expectations. The system needs to be corrected to be focused on fitting the student’s needs.
Teachers are required by law to follow a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP), which lists all the services and supports they need in school. However, not all teachers follow them. A lot of time, some teachers leave us to do the work ourselves and not sit and help us with it. Teachers should have to take a course or do some training before working with people with a disability. The system is there but it is not working for everybody.
I think some people are too scared to speak out about it. Here are some thoughts people have. I think the education system as a whole is broken! That includes for students with disabilities. I don’t think teachers are paid enough to put in the work that is required to give students the education that they deserve. Instead of paying them a livable wage, they are providing loopholes for those who are not teachers to become “teachers.”
Money is not spent well in education either. Curriculum is not always appropriate for the target audience. Too much pressure is put on teachers to succeed in testing, which leaves students with disabilities on the back burner since most of them take alternative tests rather than state-wide testing. Support staff is not appreciated either and are not incentivized to work with good pay.
The other thought is I think all schools and teachers are different from each other. Some schools have a lot of support and help for students with disabilities, and some aren’t good about implementing and accommodations. I went to a school that wasn’t good accommodation for my disability. Some of the teachers were great. Others were not caring at all. Some teachers gave you stuff you needed like computer but don’t let you use it or show you how to use it. They also would tell you were holding your pencil wrong; well let me tell you there is no correct way to hold a pencil.
Some teachers think: they’re never going to go to college and work at a job. Well, they’re wrong on that. The education system is failing people with disabilities. Some teachers don’t take time to teach people with different abilities and that puts stress on the parents and the child. Some teachers just focus on the other students while the student with a different ability is left with no help and often get bored in class and is labeled a troublemaker.
We need an education system that values all students and supports them in their educational journey. We also need adequate funding for schools and teachers so that every student with a disability can receive a robust, engaging, and meaningful education. Do not be afraid to speak up if your needs are not being met in school. Change only happens when we work together!
In friendship,
Jamie Galvin
YLC Member, Tennessee
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