Monday, February 24, 2014

Choosing To Handicap



http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/handicap?s=t

Søren Kierkegaard
“Once you label me you negate me.”
Søren Kierkegaard

 Margaret Mead
“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”
Margaret Mead

Martin Luther King Jr.
“Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
tags: education


          I remember when I was young and in school.   There were very few kids who had diagnosis's that required special accommodation's to help them learn and/or function in society.   I do believe that many persons of all ages were discriminated against because of this.  There were no handicap ramps, you could smoke every where, everyone learned exactly the same thing the exact same way.  If you tried to be individual you were punished and ridiculed.  There was this unspoken acceptance that everyone in America was (or should be) Christian, that pale skin color, and middle class with 2.3 children, a station wagon and a dog, preferably a lab, or golden retriever.  Everyone was expected to get a diploma and go on to college, unless you were female than you also had to get married and have the 2.3 kids.  It was your husbands job to provide the majority of the money for the station wagon, dog, house, and everything in it.  Working, for a female, was mostly a hobby; something to get her out of the house a couple times a week and give her some pocket cash.  Basically the idea behind being an American was truly a dream.   http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dream?s=t
This dream handicapped many people.  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/handicap?
            Americans are told, and taught, to believe that if you can dream it you can obtain it.  But for many this is not true.   Especially if you fall under the special needs category.   Special needs is relating to people who have special needs, or to things that are provided to them.  This does not imply, like many think, that it is specifically for persons who have physical, emotional, or mental, disabilities.  It is also for persons who are gifted.  Gifted meaning having an impressive natural ability, like math or science.   Neither of these definition's specify race and/or religion.  Those fall under discrimination.  http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/discrimination 
HOWEVER, there is something called learned helplessness  http://psychology.about.com/od/lindex/f/earned-helplessness.htm  which technically could cause a person to require special needs based on, or because of, discrimination.  What I'm trying to point out here is that many of our laws concerning no religion in school, making sure children, and adults, receive special accommodation's in school, and a work place, is to ensure that we all are given the same equal opportunity's for Americas definition of the American Dream.  http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/lessons/american-dream/students/thedream.html
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/american+dream
All seems fair and logical doesn't it?  So how did we get from this idea  to where we are now?http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/idea?s=t
http://nichcy.org/laws/idea
          Lets face it there are a lot of people out there taking advantage of the system we have set up.  A system that was suppose to make it possible for all Americans to obtain the dream.  All Americans are not coming even close to the American dream.  Who do we blame?   I've written a lot on that word blame; its not really a word that I like to use in my personal life.  I understand the concept of control, choices, and free will.  More so I understand the idea behind attitude and how my personal attitude effects my personal choices, and ultimately how much I feel in control.  With all that said I have some personal opinions on special accommodation's and how, what was suppose to be a great idea to level the playing field, has now turned into another tool that enables many individuals, and family's.  And when I say enable I mean in the negative sense.
          Lets start at the beginning of a child's life.  A child is born, there is much joy, most mental disability's, and even some physical, i.e. deafness, are not immediately noticed/ diagnosed until the baby develops and is able to start showing an adeptness, or not, at using, for instance, hearing, taking directions, listening, etc.  Something like ADHD, or Asperger's, are not usually diagnosed until most children get into school and start interacting with in a social group where they need to take directions, stand still for long periods of time, and do everything exactly like every one else.  
          Truth.  There is not too much room for nonconformity in the public school system.  It is a requirement that children conform to a certain behavior, curriculum, etc. in order to succeed; more than that in order for teachers to be able to teach the large number of children that are in their classrooms.  Public school is not for everyone.  It was created to give everyone equal opportunity at an education, but this is still not the case.  Anyways I divert....back to our scenario.
          The parents care for the baby to the best of their ability.  Some of these parents perhaps dealing with low income, less than adequate environments, and low education.  BUT the child is loved, so he/she is happy and healthy.  Then the child enters school.  He has some difficulty's interacting with other children, perhaps pushes, or bites the other kids.  Well this child never went to child care so did not get early socialization with children, and he comes from a low income household.  Because the parent(s) had to work two jobs, things were not structured for the child.  He had babysitters, and was shuffled to relatives.  But he was well loved and is healthy.   Now here is where it gets interesting.
          The child gets to first grade, the grade where learning really starts to make a difference.  He is expected to sit for long periods of time to complete school work.  To sit in groups with other children, to stand in line and be quiet for long periods of time.  He is expected to use behavior that is not necessarily developmentally appropriate. 
http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/a/child-development-stages.htm
While certain stages of development state that a child's attention span increases, etc. they still need to learn self control, how to use feelings, how to communicate them, and how to tap into their physical development properly.  For instance, four year olds like to push and shove, they are taking gross motor leaps!  Its a good age to get them involved in things like gymnastics, running, big play ground equipment, kicking balls, etc.  Work their big muscles basically!  It is an adults job to guide them through this!
         There are study's out there now that suggest that many children learn much better through hands on activity's. 
http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/ReadWithMe/makconn.html
Which mean they learn better when they are moving.  They are able to multitask!  Of course do not give them more than they can handle and give them a safe space to experiment in.  Incorporating a song to learn simple math along with some arm movements.  OR using sign language, which is considered a second language, while reciting simple math, or learning manners.  If a child has to stand in line for long periods of time doing nothing he will eventually get bored and find something to amuse him, or herself.  UNLESS the adult in charge teaches a child how to amuse themselves while standing in line!
          SO the child in question is having difficulty's with conforming to the rules of public school; this seems to be interfering in his learning.   This is determined based on the behavior the child uses while engaging in activity's that really aren't considered to be easy for a child; and lets face it the adults guiding the child have no knowledge of child development, and aren't that patient.  (They are putting the complete responsibility of the child's learning success on the child...not very realistic.)  The school calls in its experts to evaluate the child.
          Now before I go any farther I do not want anyone to assume that I feel that if you teach and/ or work with in the public school system you do not want what is best for the child.  I actually have great admiration for teachers; my father was one.  I remember what he taught me, there are many good teachers out there but there are many bad also.  The trick is knowing how the system works, along with the people who work with in it.  When you understand this then you know who deserves your respect.
          So...the school experts are called in, they spend maybe a day or two evaluating the child with in the school environment,  basically taking the word of the teachers, school lunch room personal, and people who are on the play ground monitoring the children.  Parents are not usually consulted until the child has been observed by the school experts.  The reason being is the experts want to be able to share their diagnosis with the parents. Most children will end up being taken to the doctors, under the advice of the school, and get put on meds.   Now I am going to share the loop holes in the system that many are not aware of; these are the loop holes that cause the system to not function properly.
          In a perfect world we all like to believe that every person working with in the public school system cares for our children as much as we do.  But there are people called administrators or principles.  These peoples primary job is to monitor the financial end of the school, not the children.  For years taxes have been cut to our children's education.   Making it difficult for a teacher to do a good job. 
http://www.edreform.com/2012/04/k-12-facts/
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=28
These sites give averages, but I can tell you that teacher to child ratios are sometimes as high as 30 to 1 in some districts.  Play ground ratios are different than classroom ratios by the way.  You will often see maybe 3 teachers on the playground with upwards of 60 children.  How can teachers be blamed for scenario's that we voted our approval on?  Want you child to have more one on one then pay for it?  It is true, you get what you pay for.   The blame for some of this has to rest on the parents also.  There seems to be an almost fashionable trend to say that your child has ADHD or now Asperger's.  Uneducated parents just go with the fad.  And when I say uneducated I do not point the finger at a specific socioeconomic group.  People of all status are uneducated when it comes to diagnosis of special needs...until suddenly their child gets one.  Then its too late.  It takes a village how can you expect someone else to do what's best for your child when you yourself are not doing it.
           Here is a list of the top 22 jobs lowest paid jobs that require a degree.  Teachers are on it.  I know quite a few teachers who go into the field eyes wide open knowing that they will never make a lot of money.  They are truly passionate about what they do and want to make a difference.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/lowest-paying-jobs-that-require-a-degree
           Then there are some who got a degree in something that they can't find a job in and make the choice to teach.  Sometimes these people end up being great teachers...sometimes they don't.  We all know these people.  They are the ones who sit in a parent teacher conference and say to you, the parent, or worse yet, say to your child in front of you, that they, your child, will never be successful in society at the rate they are going.  I had one principle look at me once and say, "In my 15 years of experience I have never seen a child with problems like your son."  I told him his experience must be very limited then.  We had just moved to a new home, a new state, a new school...of course he was having difficulty's...dumb ass.  ( I didn't say dumb ass....wish I had though.)  I also stopped one teacher in midstream, after listening to about 3 minutes of everything my son was doing wrong, and said, "You know my bigger concern is how you evidently don't seem to be doing anything to encourage his learning."  This was in a meeting with all of his teachers, three of whom smiled and preceded to address how we could encourage him learning.  (PS...my sons never got off from taking responsibility for their end in the learning process, and my husband and I were involved parents, but not overly so also.)
          I think most of us know that public schools receive their funding form tax dollars; but they also do receive some funding from individual sources, the lotto, if it takes place in your state, AND additional funding from the government which is based on socioeconomic status for the area, AND funding for how many children are considered to be special needs!
          The bottom line is this.  MANY children are diagnosed by the schools as having behavior disability's when they do not have one in order for the school to receive more funding.  UNLESS a parent knows how the system works your child could receive a permanent label from a school that will follow him/her their whole life!   When my eldest was in elementary school in fifth grade there were 50 of his classmates in a "D" level classroom. 
http://www.aps.edu/aps/CarlosRey/CarlosReyElementarySchool/page7/page17/page17.html  
That's additional teachers, additional classrooms, and more funds for the school...those poor kids.  Fifth graders are beginning to experience hormones, I think much of their behavior could be contributed to that honestly.  This was a good neighborhood, some of those kids could have come from low income family's, but once again is that a reason for children being diagnosed with behavior disability's?
           I do also want to question the teachers of the kids who were evaluated for "D" level?!  Could they seriously not control/teach these kids?  Who is that a reflection on really?  YES there are kids, and family's, who fall under the category of needing the extra help; I am in Social Work, I know who these family's are, but 50 of them in one grade?  That is excessive; the teachers, and principle, did become scrutinized by the people giving out the funds at the government level...audit won't save tenure.
          Next thing to know.  Cumulative folders are the folders that carry a child's progress from grade to grade as they progress through school.  While the folder is suppose to start blank at the start of each new grade it most of the time does not.  It also does not collect much good news, good deeds, or strengths of the child.  It collects the reprimands and the difficulty's only.  SO if you have a child of low income, and that is the only obstacle the family is trying to overcome, but the child's behavior is not perhaps as well as say a child whose family has a 6 digit income, and a stay at home mom, the low income child will more often than not be diagnosed with ADHD, or some other popular diagnosis of the day, and put into a "D" level classroom, not mainstreamed with other children.  Pointing out to the child, by the way, that he is not the same as every other American child because he doesn't have all the benefits as the other children...which is discrimination!!!  Parents are allowed to view these folders with written permission.  Parents are also allowed to copy everything in their child's cumulative folder with written permission.  These folders do not leave the school grounds and are considered personal protected information for the child.  Included under HIPAA when the child is considered to be special needs.  This means that not just anyone can view the child's folder with out permission.
http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/formsandpubs/laws/hipaa/Pages/1.00%20WhatisHIPAA.aspx
          A child who is struggling with socialization should be mainstreamed, what better place for them to learn how to get along with other children.  I have heard some teachers argue that they are there to teach the academics, not socialization etc.  But I argue that society has changed, and what the children must learn to function with in society has changed.  There is much emphasis put on schools to teach children the math's and sciences so that we, as a nation, can compete with other country's.  HOWEVER if a child has no self esteem to learn then we will not be able to complete.  We are loosing many opportunity's by only supporting a certain percentage of the American population as successful learners.  How many inventers, artists, scientists, mathematicians, poets, authors, musicians have we lost because they refused to learn with in the public school system as it functions now? 
          Special education classrooms were set up to give the benefit of public education to children with special needs.  Children with developmental delays, severe learning challenges, very special physical accommodation's; which by the way does not necessarily include a child in a wheelchair.  If the child can get from classroom to classroom with the help of another child, or by themselves, then they do not need to be in a special classroom.  IF reasonable accommodation's can be made with in a normal classroom setting that not only enables a child with a challenge to learn with in that environment, but helps all the children with in that classroom to learn better, than the accommodation, by law, has to be made with in the mainstreamed classroom.  For instance.  If a child is having difficulty completing homework it is reasonable to assume that the teacher is able to fill out a piece of paper sharing what homework was given for the day, the parents initial that it has been seen by them, and the child takes this paper back and forth.  The child receives praise for completing homework, and he is accountable, he feels successful, and he learns. 
          If a child feels singled out by this then it is also reasonable that the teacher do the same for each child in the classroom to avoid things like bullying, and discrimination.  The simple classroom management improves the behavior of all the children in the classroom and teaches all of them to be accountable for their own behavior.  Filling out a simple piece of paper is not unreasonable.  Asking a teacher to change a diaper, to restrain a child because loud noises cause tantrums, to give medication hourly, to physically move a child from the classroom to the lunch room, and not be able to give adequate attention to the rest of the class is.  
          As a society we have become so accustomed to believing that the American dream is suppose to mean the exact same thing for every American that we have stopped remembering that at our core we are strong because we recognize, and celebrate, individuality.   We almost drill this out of children when they are young.  Simple behaviors, personality's, temperament's that could easily be dealt with early on in school, are now immediately diagnosed, medicated and taught unacceptable.  Some of these behaviors are strengths in adulthood, but we bully them, or drug them, out of our children.  This is called learned helplessness.  We teach, and program our children to be victims.
https://www.google.com/search?site=&source=hp&q=how+many+children+are+medicated+with+in+the+public+school+system&oq=how+many+children+are+medicated+with+in+the+public+school+system&gs_l=hp.3...1539.17558.0.17825.66.53.1.11.11.0.179.4688.40j13.53.0....0...1c.1.35.hp..45.21.1271.7RKL-E7U5BU  Pick and choose which one you want to read. 
          What is the long term effect of all of this you ask?  Well I can tell you as a Social Worker we are seeing, and experiencing it, now.   My youngest was among the army of children misdiagnosed, and if I had listened to the schools, and to some of his teachers (there were a few who did not agree with the findings) he would not be who he is today.  In fact both my sons on occasion ran into teachers who seemed hell bent on getting results through demoralizing; and not just my sons either.  The result of letting adults get away with this behavior, with our children, is a generation of adults who have difficulty's in problem solving, critical thinking, being independent, being happy, successful members of society.  It is so easy to sit back and tell ourselves that we have no control over any of this, whether it is happening to our children, or some one else's, but this is not true.
          I always remember that Star Trek movie where Spock says to Kirk," the needs on the many out weigh the needs of the few, or one."  But only in a life or death situation....Ignoring the individual in the scenario I played out means life or death of the American Dream...for many.  Here is something else to ponder.   There are many adults out there now who truly believe that they cannot succeed.  Either because they were taught, growing up, that they can,t or because they believe the system wont allow them to.  BUT they can!  They just have to be showed how!  AND when they learn that they were made victims by people who were suppose to be helping them they become angry.  Right now there are an awful lot of angry people out there.
          All of this is subject to one aspect.  There isn't a constitutional right to an education.   It is up to individual states to decide on the education they want.  While there are laws in place that protect a child's educational right, which means once they are in school they have the right to learn with in a safe, happy environment, it is the school that can take the education away from the child. 
          States all have mandatory minimum attendance for school age children in place.  I find this interesting.  There have been instances of schools misusing the lack of constitutional right to an education.  You can send your child to school, not necessarily agree with some, or all of the teaching techniques, and if you speak up against it, or you don't conform, your kid is out.  He can still go to school, just not here.   It has happened.   This has been used to enforce putting a child on medication to control behavior against the wishes of the parents.  There have also been cases of discrimination against school systems based on income, race and religion. 
          There are many parents who feel that in order for their children to receive an education, good or bad, they must teach, and advocate, conformity at an unhealthy level, or leave the school.   Leaving the school sometimes means moving, or commuting, which many family's cannot afford.  But there is nothing protecting the right to education really; and your child has to have an education or you could go to jail.  So if your not with in that small percentage of people who can afford a private school, or live in a great neighborhood where conformity, is in my opinion a way of life, then you are stuck with public school in what ever neighborhood you are in.   If its low income you get the low totem pole of teachers, because the really good ones are going to the private schools and the good neighborhoods.  And its the bad teachers who are not completely understanding all of the child's educational needs.
http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2013/08/why-there-isnt-a-constitutional-right-to-an-education/
http://www.ehow.com/info_10066717_happens-kid-doesnt-school-under-age-18.html
          Here is the Pith of the Matter.   When a child is misdiagnosed, and no one questions it, we are not only harming the child, but our society.  Sometimes I sit back and ponder a conspiracy theory where some one, some where, knows that by making a large portion of our society victim's; people who cant think, read, write, do math, science, ask questions, challenge conformity, etc. it makes it easy to control society.  Historically when a government wants to gain control one of the first things that they control is education.  Well our society is set up to make sure everyone is educated...but it doesn't exactly define what kind of education does it?  I think it is up to all of us,  no matter what your position in life, to take advantage of the ability to educate ourselves and make sure that we are all getting what we deserve.  YES technically having an education is not a basic human right under our constitution BUT each state mandates that a child gets an education.  AND their are laws that ensure that every child is getting a safe warm environment, and what they need to learn.  It is NOT the job of the schools to ensure this, it is their job to give the education based on what we give them to use!  So here you go!  Arm yourself with the following.  Be prepared to use the information not only for the sake of your child but for someone else's.  In the end we all want the same thing.
 http://www.ncld.org/parents-child-disabilities/ld-rights/advocating-for-your-school-aged-child
http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/CAAC/How_To_Advocate_For_Your_Child.htm
http://psychcentral.com/lib/advocating-for-your-child-within-the-school-system/00016085
http://www.ncld.org/disability-advocacy/learn-ld-laws/adaaa-section-504/section-504-idea-comparison-chart
http://www.dredf.org/advocacy/comparison.html
http://www.disabilityrights.org/guide1.htm
http://www.ciccparenting.org/cicc_what_is.aspx

The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education. - Einstein
The goal of education is the advancement of knowledge and the dissemination of truth. - John F. Kennedy