In reading your interviews, there are many common themes that emerge. One that appears time and time again is the fragmenting of a special education student's day. From classroom teachers to related service providers (Speech Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Psychologists, etc.), they all acknowledge that pull-outs interfere with student learning, especially when the students that are pulled out struggle to begin with. Underlying this problem is that related services are traditionally provided outside the classroom. Related service providers are not teachers and are often uncomfortable or unfamiliar with how to provide their valuable services in a classroom in conjunction with the teacher. Compounding this is the fact, as one of you pointed out in your interview, these services cannot be "reimbursed" if they are not a "pull-out" service. What does a district and its teachers do to address this? Other themes that emerged in your interviews are needs in the areas of common planning time, trust, relationship building, rapport, cooperation, support (administrative and between teachers), philosophy (e.g. isolation vs. inclusion), personal connections, differentiation, balance, and caring.
If you look at these themes together, they address the heart of quality education for all students. These themes are not unique to inclusive environments, but to our lives, inside of school and out. Thoughts?
14 comments:
I could imagine that many interviewers received answers like mine. However, I really wish that wasn’t the case. When I had decided to interview my Aunt i had never expected those answers. I didn’t think that what I was seeing every day in my observations was a reality in many school districts but I have learned that I guess I was just being naive. Every day for the past 2 months I go into a middle school to observe and everyday I leave there not as happy as I should be. What I see there makes me wonder why some of the adults have chosen a job in education in the first place. You know going into a job in education that you’re going to have to be a team player and work with many other professionals. Recently I have seen not only teachers be mean to each other but teachers be so cruel to children who are struggling so hard to get by. I've seen grown adults laugh at struggling children because they were only up to question 7 when the rest of the class was up to 25. I have seen classmates kick a student and call him weird and slow which the ADULTS just look the other way. What’s worse is that I have seen one adult stand up to another and go to the principal to get her written up for her behavior; the one who stood up for the child is no longer in the classroom anymore. Seeing all of this had seriously made me hope and pray that when I do get a job I don’t have to deal with special Ed teachers and teachers assistants. It’s something I know is beyond my control but, after hearing my Aunt’s stories of teachers who just don’t care and from actually experiencing special ed teachers who are just the cruelest people ever you can’t blame me for hoping so. After hearing and seeing two points of views, one horror story from a TA’s prospective and one from a teachers prospective I just fill like theirs no winning in the situation. I believe that teachers, special ed teachers, TA’s should all have to take some kind of class of the basic understanding of getting alone and communicating with each other. It sounds stupid but I really believe that some adults just don’t understand how to work together. They’re so worried about fighting over whose doing all the work or who looks better that they don’t realize that it’s not about who does all the work it’s about the children sitting in the classroom watching grown adults fight over petty nonsense.
Unfortunately Danielle, I'm observing the same things you are. I've been observing in a middle school since the beginning of February in a sixth grade language arts class with anywhere from five to six special needs students. The class functions with a regular classroom teacher and a TA. Just recently, the original TA for my classroom was replaced with a former TA that was on maternity leave. Let me start by saying WOW, it amazes me how you can tell who loves their job and who simply doesn't care about it. Why in the hell are these teacher's not getting laid off? I know I'd certainly take my job seriously and I definitely need one soon. The original TA I had been observing worked really well with the kids. Despite the sloppy set up of the classroom, I found that majority of the students were never distracted by the TA floating around assisting the special needs students. What a change since the new TA has taken over...For one, one of the special needs students is just out of control. He shouts out loud in class, he lays his head on his desk, and he's constantly interrupting the classroom teacher during lessons for nonsense that the TA should be preventing. It's gotten so bad that I've started sitting at the desk next to him and when he acts out or loses focus I simply tap his desk and remind him to stay on target. The TA just sits at the back of the room writing notes and only gets up when the classroom teacher blatantly expresses her frustrations to her in front of all the students which humiliates the student. Another one of the special needs students suffers from short term memory loss. There is a dry erase board in her binder that the old TA used to record assignments so she didn't get confused. The new TA NEVER uses the board. I have to personally write the students assignments in for her. To be honest I feel like I'm going to hell everytime I go to observe because there is no order in that classroom and I really do pity all the students that have to learn in that environment. I'm ready to start receiving some compensation for the work I do in that class when the TA is twiddling her thumbs and not taking action.
Wow... these are some powerful comments. I am hoping that some of you are having more positive experiences. I also hope that you remember to never lose focus of why you are entering one of the most noble profession out there.
I agree that pulling out students can be hard for special education students. But what can we do? I think that we could either help students with the many transitions that they have during the day or we can inform general education teachers of tasks that will help the special education students so that they do not have to be constantly pulled-out or we can help the related service providers be able to work with the students in the general classroom. I think the best way to help students with the many transitions and pull-outs during the day is to have an organized schedule for these students. At the beginning of the year, the student, his/her parents and any professional that helps the student should have a meeting, plan the child’s schedule and make sure the student understands it. Even though his/her day might be fragmented at least from day to day and week to week his/her schedule is consistent. Helping the general education teacher is great because the simple creative tasks that might help the special education student might also help the other students as well. Working together is the best approach when working with special education students, so helping the related service providers communicate in the classroom with the student and general education teacher can go a long way.
I believe that cooperation is a great aspect of teaching. Working together with all different professionals and with the students and parents can help so much because all the different ideas that could be circulated can be amazing. One person might believe that his/her ideas are the best but one doesn’t know what others have to offer unless a team works together. Caring and building a personal connection with special education students can be very effective for helping students succeed. The feeling of being alone does not help students so having people who care for the students can help the students to be motivated and learn what it takes for them to succeed.
It is difficult during a whole day’s instruction to figure out the "best time" to pull out students. I personally do not believe that pulling students out of a class is the answer because who determines what subjects a student can or cannot do without. To me, all are important. With that said, maybe schools should create programs that implement these services in between classes, as if they were a class themselves. Or maybe and after school program that doesn't necessarily extend the school day but students who need services end early but finish their after school program as everyone else finishes the school day. Again, these are just ideas/alternatives. I had a discussion with a professor who was observing me observe today and she admitted, proudly, that she does not agree at all with having inclusive classrooms, "It just doesn't work" she said. I obviously do not agree with her but I do not necessarily believe that the way teachers, administration etc are conducting inclusive classrooms is the right way to go about it either. There are A LOT of guidance, tutorials, instruction that needs to be given to administration, teachers, students, and parents on inclusive classroom. People need to be reminded that this is not for the improvement of oneself but for the improvement of the student.
Let's face it; there are students that will stay up to par with the lesson and there will be some left behind. First, something that I have not heard much of is the correct placement of students to be in either a Regents course or Regents Skills course. Sometimes, guidance counselors get it wrong with placing students in either a low level class setting or too high of a class setting. Obviously one wouldn't place a student with problems grasping the material in a Honors class setting. Is this considered pulling out? I do not think so. Some may disagree. Is this considered in isolating? Perhaps it is... No matter what class setting a child is in, it's the teacher's responsibility to address any issues to the child or child's parents. The child shouldn't necessarily be pulled out as the first option. Extra study time will be needed here. Children do not understand that there is more than to go to class then take notes then go home to complete the homework. It's more than that. It can start from going back to the notes and fully understanding them. Unfortunately, that's not always a successful case for the child to accomplish. It starts with the cooperation from parents, teachers and student. It can then be expanded from there. Individual work is not necessarily bad. Sometimes it's preferred from a student. It's more of a comfortable setting. There are ways to incorporate both.
I agree there is a serious problem with pull-out services. I believe these services do not value a students learning experience. I feel that it is difficult for special education students to understand what is going on in the classroom if they are constantly being taken out of the classroom. It is difficult for them to cooperate and remain on task because of their daily pull-out from the classroom. There must be a way for related service providers to use their skills in the classroom to better help the students with their changes throughout the day. If the general education teachers informed the related service providers of what is going to be taught in class, the related service providers would be better prepared to help out in the classroom. I think general education teachers should encourage cooperative learning and group activities even more with special education students in the classroom. Students want to feel part of the classroom not just a student in the back of the classroom. Both general education teachers and related service providers can also work collaboratively to make the curriculum more engaging for all students.
The fragmentation of a special needs student’s school day is a common concern among educators and administrators. In many cases it is unavoidable, but not necessarily detrimental to the individual student’s learning experience. For students who require one to one services the potential distraction of remaining in the classroom might diminish the gains that could be made in a less confusing, quieter setting. It was suggested to me by my interviewee that students who are “pulled-out” for academically related services do not miss as much as many believe for two reasons. First, when considering the pace of a general education classroom, forty minutes of class time does not equal forty minutes of instruction, it may be half of that. Second, students who are receiving academically related services often have the material they are missing in class presented to them by their special needs provider, on a one to one basis. While this does not account students who are pulled-out for O.T. or P.T., students receiving academically related services constitute the majority of special needs students.
I believe every student would benefit from individual instructional assistance in a one to one or small group scenario. I believe the smaller the student: teacher ratio is, the more that teacher can accomplish. Ideally I would make every classroom one that is co-taught. I would extend the hours of the school day without increases the current curriculum, allowing more instructional time for every subject, as well as providing more “down” time to help ease student transitions. Educating a student should be more similar to running a marathon rather than several individual sprints.
The common themes that were mentioned (common planning time, trust, relationship building, rapport, cooperation, support (administrative and between teachers), philosophy, personal connections, differentiation, balance, and caring) all lend towards the creation of a community of learners. In this community there is a shared responsibility by both students and educators. In this community competition does not drive individual student success; a common desire to see all succeed is at the heart of its foundation. The answer to the age-old biblical question “Am I my brother’s (or sister’s) keeper?” should without any doubt be YES.
I find it so disruptive to everyone to have a student pulled out of class for services that are necessary. Teacher need to find a way to intertwine and weave their subjects and objectives. I interviewed my sister's best friend and she hates how much she has to pull out her students in order to work with them. She expressed how difficult it is to try and plan according to what the general teacher was going to teach. I think that teachers need much more planning time and time to list their objectives/goals in order to better serve the children. I rarely see the teachers cooperating in the school where I observe. One of the teachers comes in, asks what they are doing and the other teacher gives a one word answer. Then they criticize each other to me. What kind of teaching is that? How about you put aside your differences and think about what will benefit the students? When I was younger I was pulled out of general classes twice a week and taken to another school miles from mine. We were allowed to do this for a "gifted" program. We learned two different things at once, things that were accelerated and things that were not. Subjects we would learn in 9th grade and subjects regular classrooms cover. It was the hardest thing, at age 7/8, to have to follow two different teachers and two different curriculums. Imagine what that would be like for a special needs child? Having to listen to two different adults with no common ground? I think the entire education system needs to start over, beginning with cooperation and teacher planning time.
I agree that pull out services are not the best way to help special education students. Already, special education students would have some difficulty keeping up in the classroom but pulling them out and taking them away from class time can cause them even more difficulty to follow along if they are missing lectures. It is necessary to find a way that we can give them special services while making sure they don’t miss valuable class time. I know that the speech therapist I interviewed stated that she has tried pulling students out of classes such as gym, art or music. She agreed that these classes are just as important in there own way but the work is much easier to make. So this would be one way we could help these students without making them to miss valuable class time. Another way we can help these special education students is by encouraging the general education teachers to create a good relationship with the special education teachers. If these teachers were to do this, then one teacher could better understand the responsibilities and difficulties of the other which can allows them to have some flexibility among each other whenever a student needs special help. Creating a strong relationship like this can help create less tension in the classroom which will , at the end, benefit the student.
My experiences with special education services have been a bit different since I observed at the high school level. In the school where I was placed, students with IEPs may be assigned to resource room, self-contained classes, BOCES programs, etc. but as part of their regular schedule. Therefore I did not observe any real pull out services. Likewise, at least from an observer's perspective, these students' day did not seem any more fragmented than the regular, 9 period, A day/B day schedule all students follow.
Perhaps this suggests that having some structure to the times pull out services happen on an elementary school level would be useful as well. This would require extensive cooperation between the administrators, classroom teachers and special educators. Perhaps the best way to allow for pull out services without the student missing new material is to institute RTI periods during the day. While students who require services are pulled out, students in class will work on areas they need the most support in (math and/or reading) and not new material.
The only way a program like this, or any other for that matter, can work is with cooperation between caring teachers and administrators committed to inclusion. Building relationships, and a good rapport between teachers and students alike is key to success in any group endeavor.
Scheduling and planning would no doubt be a great challenge between all the special service teachers and the classroom teachers. But if the net result is a less fragmented day for the students being pulled out and less interruptions during class lessons for all, it might be worth the effort.
Reading the earlier submitted blogs response, I can see that there has being a running debate on whether students with IEP’s should receive pull out services or not. I observe at two different schools, and one thing in common is that the student’s doe not receive pull out services. However, I have mixed feelings about that. In any given situation, I feel that the student with special needs would keep up if they had emotional support. The relationship between the student and teacher needs to be a supportive, and engaging. However, I find that in most situations the relationship between the teacher and student is often tense. The students feel that they are a burden, the teachers don’t care, or that the situation they are in is the best that they can expect. Most educators tend to view the special needs student as extra work, someone to “brush along” who is slowing down the class. Thus, in my observation at both a charter school and a private school, the teacher either ignores the student or gives them separate work to complete. The student is rarely pushed to their full potential. It is obvious to the class, the student, and all the adults “helping out the class” that the child is different, and there are lower expectations academically for them.
This angers me most, because I feel that if students aren’t being challenged then they aren’t learning. However, I must state that students are being taught in an inclusion class. One teacher does have her special education license, while the others do not but there is a TA present to help out in the classroom. Yet, I feel that the special needs child is being overlooked, and underserved. Therefore, I must ask should the child receive some pull out services. However, reading the opinions that have been given against pull out services, and I must agree that they should be used as a last result. The most powerful argument yet is that the special needs students would miss valuable class time. However, I would argue, that special needs students should have a time where they can meet with someone, who will help them academically, and socially. The teachers that I currently observe do accommodate for the students on an emotional and social level, however academically, the children are not stimulated. What is another way in which this problem can be addressed, with out slowing down the classroom?
As, I stated above, there must be a relationship between the student and the teacher. If they discussed the student’s handicaps, and also ways in which the teacher was going to work with the student to help keep the student on track then there would be a very different classroom environment. As we have discussed in class dialogue between all parties is the most viable solution whether the student is in an inclusion classroom with/ without pull out services. Improving the dialogue is crucial among the parent, student and teacher or as previously debate, between the special education teacher and the general education teacher.
I think that it is part of the natural flow of the school days that special needs students are puling- out from their classroom to receive the appropriated help from occupational therapists, speech specialists,and other pull-out programs,to help correct problems that might be affecting the child's ability to learn. However,I think that the primary problem on pulling out students is that special education teachers often have not received training regarding how to be an effective push in teacher. Also, regular classroom teacher often aren't quite sure how to relate to the push in teacher either. In my experience,it is common to see push in teachers helping keep students on task or providing specific help with whatever classwork is being completed but not doing much else. I have also noticed that both push in teachers and classroom teachers tend to seem uncomfortable with the situation.
Post a Comment