Module 2

MODULE 2

CONCEPT 1: IEP’s and Parent Rights

Summary:

            Throughout chapter 4, the topic was focused on learning difference and learner needs, including cognitive disabilities. When there are students who need special instruction and special techniques used for them in the classroom, teachers need to make specific adjustments that can help them best learn. These adjustments can range from taking tests in other rooms to having classes in a separate classroom. One piece of adjusting instruction for these students is an IEP. IEP stands for Individualized Education Program. An IEP makes a list and program of specific adjustments that are individualized to the certain needs that they have. When an IEP is being formed, parents have the right to involved in many steps of developing and implementing these programs for their children. Parents even have the right to challenge details in these programs if they do not agree with it. (143) They are able to do so whenever they feel the need to by the process of law.

Reflection:

            When I was considering this reality, that IEPs are essential to learning for struggling students and can be influenced greatly by parental preferences, I did not know exactly how to feel. Looking at this reality, I was first struck by a great deal of optimism. The fact that an IEP can be accessed and is developed both by parents and teachers, with the teachers making a great deal of the original plan with the parents being able to give feedback and adjustments as they see necessary. At its root, this type of plan should work wonderfully and has the potential for a very beneficial, symbiotic relationship between parents and teachers that can lead to the best educational outcome for the child possible.

            However, I also began to consider the negative possibilities that could arise from this type of system. There are two ways I could see possibly negative consequences coming from it. The first is already and issue in education, with a child not receiving any care or support from their parents at home. The parents are apathetic towards the state of their children’s education and do not put any effort or thought in the IEPs for their children. This is dangerous because even if the IEP is sound enough to assist the child, there will not be support or encouragement for it at home and some of the positive impact the IEP could otherwise have may be negated. In the opposite directly, a combative and overbearing parent may also lead to issues with an IEP. For example, if a parent disagrees strongly with an attempted change in the child’s program they may deny the child that change. They could withhold certain pieces of help, which may be detrimental for the child. Since I am not a practicing teacher yet, I have not gotten any experiences like this with IEPs, but it was a scenario that I could see occurring and causing issues for the child.

CONCEPT 2: “Pills or Skills”

Summary:

            In today’s society, there have been a great deal of medical breakthroughs, both in medicine, understanding differences in the brain and body, and how to assist those with such differences thrive through medication and treatment. One of the largest of these differences is ADHD, which is a disorder that causes people to lose focus more easily. One of the biggest advancements that has occurred in the realm of treatment for ADHD is the development of medications to help those with ADHD focus better. However, one of the greatest discussions surrounding ADHD is whether medication or techniques/habits are more important or effective in helping these types of students. (151) Chapter 5 holds a section called “Pills or Skills for Children with ADHD?” This portion supplied us with supports given for both these stances, with support for medication being helpful, while there also being a host of evidence to the end of why medication should not be the first move to help those in ADHD.

Reflection:

            When considering the argument of medication versus practices, I usually think about mental illness and how many factors go into the treatment of such an issue. Having done multiple research reports on similar subjects with addiction, I have come to believe that the “integration approach” is the best way to bring the best possible help to people. The integration approach focuses on giving the best that both medication AND techniques can offer to most fully assist the person in their struggle. I believe it to be critical for us as teachers to be aware of the treatment of these issues and understand the complexity of these treatments. However, I also believe that we may need to advocate for a more integrated approach to treating something like ADHD, which is very controversial in the classroom.

            One thing that Woolfolk lays out that I very much agree with is the fact that we need to “beware of the either/or.” (151) This means that we need to avoid and be wary of the dangers of making absolute judgements universally for all students, whether that be on the side of all medication-based treatments or on the side of all technique-based treatments. Again, the mantra that “every student is unique” wins. I believe that each student needs to be treated as an individual case, taking into account their very personal struggles with the issue and focusing on what will help them best, rather than looking to only the “normal” or average way of treating them. Again, I also believe some degree of the integration approach to be critical in giving the best treatment for many instances of ADHD students.

CONCEPT 3: Intersectionality and Stereotypes

Summary:

            Chapter 6 was focused on culture identity and how that plays into how students function within a classroom setting. Within this chapter, the point that stuck out to me the most was the discussion surrounding intersectionality and how it plays into a classroom and the teacher’s perception of that student. Woolfolk tells us that “Intersectionality refers to our overlapping, intersecting social identities (gender, sexual orientation, class, ethnicity, religion, etc.) that shape each of us in unique ways.” (221) She tells us that these social identities can have varying degrees of obvious influence on the person’s experience, but all play some sort of role in how they interact with a classroom setting. We need to conscious of cultural differences, but not make assumptions due to the uniqueness of each individual’s experience. She supplied us with another caution; that we are to be careful to remember that “group membership is not destiny.” (221) Just because a student belongs to a certain cultural group does not mean their personalities, struggles, and gifts will directly reflect that group’s.

Reflection:

            When I was reading through this section and reflecting on it, I continually focused on the idea of avoiding assumptions about my future students. I think that this was one of the primary foci of this section of the book. What jumped out at me was the term “intersectionality”. This term, to emphasize it again, focuses on the multidimensional faces of a person’s cultural identity. There are many different “categories” they can be a part of and each one can have a great deal of importance to who they are and how they act. As a future teacher, I need to be conscious of all these different levels that my students have and understand where they fit in how the student acts and lives, both in the classroom and out of it.

            However, recognizing these different levels does not mean that students are stuck or boxed into these levels. As a teacher, I also have to careful not to assume things about my students based on their different dimensions of cultural identity. I need to know the student individually, rather than merely generalizing how they may act or learn due to what groups I perceive them to be a part of culturally. Instead, I have to recognize the individualization that each student’s experience holds. Their experience deserves that respect and understanding. I should never box a student into the cultural groups they belong to, or else I may hinder them from thriving in school. There needs to be a balance between recognizing cultural groups and the influence it has on student identity and recognizing how experience can run either with or against that culture.

            One final point that pairs well with this is the danger that stereotyping can hold in regard to cultural groups. If we as teachers tend to make assumptions of our students based on what is generally true of the cultural groups they belong to, we tread the dangerous line along stereotyping. If we stereotype students, we can easily fall into habits of restricting our opinions, hopes, and visions for them down to what we determine based on the group(s) the students have. All of these assumptions and stereotypes can quickly drop both student confidence and motivation, as well as make us blind to the individuality of the students.