Special Education in 4 yr. colleges

[chanel]

This weekend, I checked out the services offered by Stockton State College, here in NJ. I must say, as a special educator, I was shocked. It looks as if the professors are now being asked to "modify" and "accomodate" all students with disabilities. While I understand that handicaps, such a vision, hearing, and mobility issues require special services, it seems the schools are now preparing for the "learning disabled" and "ADHD" kids as well.

This is from the faculty handbook:

Common accommodations for students with learning disabilities are alternative print formats, taped lectures, note takers, alternative ways of completing assignments, early syllabi, exam modifications, priority registration, and study skills and strategies training(NCLD pamphlet; Gadbow, 1998).
· Prepare syllabus and textbook information in advance so the student can tape record
assignments if needed
· Break assignments, exercises, and exams into smaller components
· Use of a note taker
· Provide written copies or dated outlines of lectures
· Allow the student to use a typewriter, computer, or tape recorder to answer exam
questions, or to dictate answers to a designated scribe
· Encourage the use of word processors, spell checkers, and grammar checkers or
working with a proofreader or an editor while preparing written papers
· Provide special testing conditions. Contact the LAP for appropriate suggestions for
alternate test taking and if other special arrangements are needed
· Recommend use of the Writing Lab (J105a) and the Math Lab (J108.)

http://intraweb.stockton.edu/eyos/wellness/content/docs/pdf/dispart2.pdf

There has been an ongoing debate whether or not students with disabilities ( who do not meet the same standards as the regular ed. students) should be offered a different HS diploma. Some states do this.

Should college professors be required to "modify" assignments for students who can't read? I'm having a real problem with this.

 

[old navy]

I've noticed similar positions in colleges such as reading specialists.

I also have a problem with that.

 

[chanel]

What people fail to understand is that "SLD" (specific learning disability) is a generic EDUCATIONAL label given to the majority of classified students in the public school system. There is NOTHING "specific" about it. SLD students include the mentally retarded, the emotionally disturbed, and the basic n'er-do-wells. By giving them a medical sounding diagnosis, kids can get smaller classes and individualized help. It was never intended to be used as a label for special status outside of the K-12 school system.

25% of our students are classified. The special education dept. is the largest dept. in our school.

The impliications of this are enormous.

Will professors start to water down their curriculum to the lowest common denominator, like is happening in many of our high schools?

Will these kids be given IEP's in the workplace?

Will note-takers and one-on-one aides be mandated in order to ensure "equal opportunity" at their place of employment?

No politician would dare to challenge the ADA. It would be political suicide to "deny access" to the disabled. But someone needs to recognize that SLD should not be a protected class of people. Some of them are simply fuck-ups. True story.

 

[old navy]

True story indeed. I have 175 students in my health and medical sciences classes. I have more IEP students than some SPED teachers have. It has almost gotten to the point that I advise students who have a real shot at getting in and succeeding in med school or nursing school, to take all the science department classes you can and take mine only if you have room on your schedule.

I actually get more satisfaction from helping these students prepare for the next level which mainly will include low level labor employment or trade school. The more well equiped kids of course do not need as much help and benefit from the harder courses.

The ADA is meant for wheelchair access, help for the vision impaired, etc. (preaching to the choir I know), and not for people who do not and will not ever qualify for certain positions. I am all for accomodations and helping those that need help, but do not agree with leveling the playing field to the point of diluting the process or the results.

 

[uscitizen]

This weekend, I checked out the services offered by Stockton State College, here in NJ. I must say, as a special educator, I was shocked. It looks as if the professors are now being asked to "modify" and "accomodate" all students with disabilities. While I understand that handicaps, such a vision, hearing, and mobility issues require special services, it seems the schools are now preparing for the "learning disabled" and "ADHD" kids as well.

This is from the faculty handbook:

Common accommodations for students with learning disabilities are alternative print formats, taped lectures, note takers, alternative ways of completing assignments, early syllabi, exam modifications, priority registration, and study skills and strategies training(NCLD pamphlet; Gadbow, 1998).
· Prepare syllabus and textbook information in advance so the student can tape record
assignments if needed
· Break assignments, exercises, and exams into smaller components
· Use of a note taker
· Provide written copies or dated outlines of lectures
· Allow the student to use a typewriter, computer, or tape recorder to answer exam
questions, or to dictate answers to a designated scribe
· Encourage the use of word processors, spell checkers, and grammar checkers or
working with a proofreader or an editor while preparing written papers
· Provide special testing conditions. Contact the LAP for appropriate suggestions for
alternate test taking and if other special arrangements are needed
· Recommend use of the Writing Lab (J105a) and the Math Lab (J108.)

http://intraweb.stockton.edu/eyos/wellness/content/docs/pdf/dispart2.pdf

There has been an ongoing debate whether or not students with disabilities ( who do not meet the same standards as the regular ed. students) should be offered a different HS diploma. Some states do this.

Should college professors be required to "modify" assignments for students who can't read? I'm having a real problem with this.

It is another necessary part of America's race to the bottom.

 

[old navy]

It is another necessary part of America's race to the bottom.

Exactly.

The race to the bottom is not unique to education though, but a result of the desires of society. The system in which I teach not too long ago had a national reputation for academic excellence. In order to get an A, the student had to earn a 93. Enough parents complained that it was too hard for their kid to get an A, so the Board gave in and adopted a 10 point grading scale. The parents said that their kids were having a difficult time getting into college because of the lower number of As compared to other systems.

The reality was that college admissions officers knew that a high B from this system was better than an A in other school districts. Not any more. The dumbing down, or diluting of the system has made us like the rest. That isn't the only reason. The tardy, absence, and disciplinary policies were changed as well. The parents complained that the policy was too strict so the Board softened it as well.

The same demands that lower academic standards are seen in society today. People want a big payday, the corner office, free benefits, and a college degree without putting in the work required. So when the citizenry complains that education in the U.S. sucks, they need to first look within to determine what they really want.

 

[Dr.Traveler]

As part of the American's with Disabilities Act, our university does offer a Counseling Center that can accommodate all kinds of disabilities. In fact, we have to take into account certain disabilities when we select online homework programs these days.

Some of these I have no issue with. For example, a seeing impaired student will need a note taker. Not an issue. I've had students with crippling arthritis that I provided notes to. Some students need a quiet testing environment or extended time. Also not a problem.

As of yet, I have not had to water down the curriculum for any of the courses I teach or supervise. I have to accommodate the students with special needs, but any student taking my class an obtaining a passing grade does so after meeting the same course objectives as any other student in the course.

 

[editec]

Well if being stupid isn't a handicap, I'm not sure what is.

That being said, watering down the curriculum to accomodate those who will never understand the material seems to miss the essantial point of education.

Heterogeneous educational placement is one fairly good example of social liberalism gone wrong, in my opinion.

It's not that we should not provide educational opportunites for everyone, but dumbing down the course to make it possible for the intellectually weak to pass a course cheats those students who are capable of learning so much more that the median.

Additionally it puts an enormous strain on teachers to expect them to create multiple lesson plans to accomodate the wide range of capabilities that a heterogeneous class placement imposes on them.

I HAVE lost a teaching post for expressing such sentiments, incidently.



There ARE societal benefits to doing this, of course, but the wasted educational opportunities for normal and brighter students that result from heterogeneous student placement far outweight the social benefits of doing so.

 

[xotoxi]

This weekend, I checked out the services offered by Stockton State College, here in NJ. I must say, as a special educator, I was shocked. It looks as if the professors are now being asked to "modify" and "accomodate" all students with disabilities. While I understand that handicaps, such a vision, hearing, and mobility issues require special services, it seems the schools are now preparing for the "learning disabled" and "ADHD" kids as well.

This is from the faculty handbook:

Common accommodations for students with learning disabilities are alternative print formats, taped lectures, note takers, alternative ways of completing assignments, early syllabi, exam modifications, priority registration, and study skills and strategies training(NCLD pamphlet; Gadbow, 1998).
· Prepare syllabus and textbook information in advance so the student can tape record
assignments if needed
· Break assignments, exercises, and exams into smaller components
· Use of a note taker
· Provide written copies or dated outlines of lectures
· Allow the student to use a typewriter, computer, or tape recorder to answer exam
questions, or to dictate answers to a designated scribe
· Encourage the use of word processors, spell checkers, and grammar checkers or
working with a proofreader or an editor while preparing written papers
· Provide special testing conditions. Contact the LAP for appropriate suggestions for
alternate test taking and if other special arrangements are needed
· Recommend use of the Writing Lab (J105a) and the Math Lab (J108.)

http://intraweb.stockton.edu/eyos/wellness/content/docs/pdf/dispart2.pdf

There has been an ongoing debate whether or not students with disabilities ( who do not meet the same standards as the regular ed. students) should be offered a different HS diploma. Some states do this.

Should college professors be required to "modify" assignments for students who can't read? I'm having a real problem with this.

Are you of the opinion that people with dyslexia should just not be allowed in college?

And then, down the road someone might comment on how they would have a better paying job if they hadn't been so lazy and gotten a better education

 

[old navy]

Nice post Doctor Traveler. Not only do I go all out providing for students that need accomodations because it is the law, I do it because it is the right thing to do. I have a girl in class this year as well as last that has a kidney disease that stopped her growth. She will be on meds and other treatments the rest of her life. She is nice, funny, and knows more about space than I ever will. She wants to be an astronaut when she grows up. Who am I to say "That will be impossible"? My job is to help put her in the best possible position to succeed, regardless of where she ends up in the future.

What clogs the system is the lazy, the trouble makers, and the degenerates that have an IEP and try to ride it as far as it will take them. My job is to work with them as well. I try to reach the ones that I can and hopefully the others will get it from somewhere.

 

[Dr.Traveler]

What clogs the system is the lazy, the trouble makers, and the degenerates that have an IEP and try to ride it as far as it will take them. My job is to work with them as well. I try to reach the ones that I can and hopefully the others will get it from somewhere.

Yeah, that is a problem. I see them clogging the lower level math classes. Students that have support (typically from the state, but sometimes from parents) and are using college as a snooze button on life. Frustrating.

I generally try to accommodate anyone willing to learn. As the semester goes by I end up checking on a student's grades more and more. A student willing to at least try I'm willing to work with, but a student who isn't doing the homework, skips class, etc. Sorry kid. At some point it becomes mathematically impossible to pass, and once you're there I can't help you even if I wanted to. The math teacher's lament is that many times the kid who mathematically can not pass is the same kid that can't understand the mathematics behind WHY they can't pass and how they ended up there.

 

[Dr.Traveler]

Are you of the opinion that people with dyslexia should just not be allowed in college?

I don't think anyone really feels that way. The larger issue I've always wondered about though is how long do you make accommodations for a learning disability, and at what point you draw the line and ask the student to learn to deal with the disability.

Like I've said in the thread, I'm willing to do a lot to accommodate a student willing to learn. I'll do everything I legally can to help, not just what I'm legally obligated to do. The concern I've often had though is this: will an employer be willing to accommodate a learning disability? And if not, did I really help them by accommodating it?

 

[lizzie]

What I'm reading in this thread seems to sum up what has happened to the state of public education in this country. It's no wonder we have fallen in ranking significantly over the past 50 years.

 

[chanel]

This weekend, I checked out the services offered by Stockton State College, here in NJ. I must say, as a special educator, I was shocked. It looks as if the professors are now being asked to "modify" and "accomodate" all students with disabilities. While I understand that handicaps, such a vision, hearing, and mobility issues require special services, it seems the schools are now preparing for the "learning disabled" and "ADHD" kids as well.

This is from the faculty handbook:

Common accommodations for students with learning disabilities are alternative print formats, taped lectures, note takers, alternative ways of completing assignments, early syllabi, exam modifications, priority registration, and study skills and strategies training(NCLD pamphlet; Gadbow, 1998).
· Prepare syllabus and textbook information in advance so the student can tape record
assignments if needed
· Break assignments, exercises, and exams into smaller components
· Use of a note taker
· Provide written copies or dated outlines of lectures
· Allow the student to use a typewriter, computer, or tape recorder to answer exam
questions, or to dictate answers to a designated scribe
· Encourage the use of word processors, spell checkers, and grammar checkers or
working with a proofreader or an editor while preparing written papers
· Provide special testing conditions. Contact the LAP for appropriate suggestions for
alternate test taking and if other special arrangements are needed
· Recommend use of the Writing Lab (J105a) and the Math Lab (J108.)

http://intraweb.stockton.edu/eyos/wellness/content/docs/pdf/dispart2.pdf

There has been an ongoing debate whether or not students with disabilities ( who do not meet the same standards as the regular ed. students) should be offered a different HS diploma. Some states do this.

Should college professors be required to "modify" assignments for students who can't read? I'm having a real problem with this.

Are you of the opinion that people with dyslexia should just not be allowed in college?

And then, down the road someone might comment on how they would have a better paying job if they hadn't been so lazy and gotten a better education

I never said that xotoxi. There are many brilliant dyslexics that have overcome their disability and gone on to do great things. But they know how to read. It may be difficult, but they do it.

And BTW - dyslexia is diagnosable, but many schools include ALL reading problems with dyslexia, including low cognitive ability. Not all dyslexics are college material; just like any other group of people. People who HATE academic work, might want to consider a trade that they might like.

I don't think anyone would want to visit a doctor who cannot read. True story.

 

[old navy]

What I'm reading in this thread seems to sum up what has happened to the state of public education in this country. It's no wonder we have fallen in ranking significantly over the past 50 years.

Bingo.

People complain about education in America and how we have fallen behind and ranked 30-something and something must be done. Some people throw around the phrase "education reform," but really, what does that mean? They don't know, it just sounds good. Another "answer" is to throw a bunch of money at the problem.

The reality is that this country has kids in school with more brains in an average exhalation than the average DC politician. Lots of smart kids are wait-listed or denied all together from all universities. Med schools, as well as law and engineering schools have more than enough qualified applicants. So what is the problem?

The question is actually plural but part of the reason for the decline in the USA education ranking is what this thread addresses. We have HS students with IEPs mixed with other students. This slows the progress of the group and sometimes causes the teacher to dilute the material. We have HS students that can hardly read and/or write English. A lot of the parents that demanded that the grading scale be changed to a 10 point scale in one of my previous posts were from ESOL kids. My principal has required that if a class has only one 9th or 10th grader, the teacher must teach and test with Middle Years IB Program (MYIBP) methods, regardless of whether or not any of the students are enrolled in the MYIBP. Why?, you ask! So that all students can be exposed to advanced teaching and testing methods. That of course sounds good on its face, but the problem comes from diluting the process with a group of students that are primarily main stream students.

Those are just a few things that have lowered the American education rankings. There are remedies that does not have to approach seperate but equal or Brown vs. BOE and whatnot. Students should be grouped according to their abilities. I firmly believe that certain kids should not have to go to school beyond the 10th grade. Their education plan should include some sort of trade combined with life and business skills. Do you know how much a plumber makes? We have really smart kids that graduate high school that cannot write a resume or balance a check book. Not every kid needs to go to college. We need to take a hard look at standardized testing and administrative burdens that are put in place in the name of improving education. Every year one or two new requirements pop up that does nothing to educate kids but it placates the board and the parents and keeps people busy until June. The only thing I will say about teachers is that my colleagues are some of the hardest working and caring people that I have had the honor of being associated with, and that includes 26 years in Navy medicine.

I have ranted enough. I have 30 of my 175 students arriving soon. We are on a two hour early release today. woop... woop

 

[jillian]

I've noticed similar positions in colleges such as reading specialists.

I also have a problem with that.

why would you have a problem with that? seems to me that remedial math and english in certain schools is appropriate in some cases. you wouldn't find it at a school like Binghamton, but you would find it at Brooklyn College, say...

it's to the good, imo.

 

[old navy]

I've noticed similar positions in colleges such as reading specialists.

I also have a problem with that.

why would you have a problem with that? seems to me that remedial math and english in certain schools is appropriate in some cases. you wouldn't find it at a school like Binghamton, but you would find it at Brooklyn College, say...

it's to the good, imo.

you're right.

I was thinking of the bigger university picture. Many at the Community College level, including many of my former students, need additional instuction in order to succeed at the next level. I do not have a problem with that.

 

[psikeyhackr]

Is there money from the government in it?

psik

 

[lizzie]

What I'm reading in this thread seems to sum up what has happened to the state of public education in this country. It's no wonder we have fallen in ranking significantly over the past 50 years.

Bingo.

The reality is that this country has kids in school with more brains in an average exhalation than the average DC politician. Lots of smart kids are wait-listed or denied all together from all universities. Med schools, as well as law and engineering schools have more than enough qualified applicants. So what is the problem?

The question is actually plural but part of the reason for the decline in the USA education ranking is what this thread addresses. We have HS students with IEPs mixed with other students.

Aka dumbing it down to the lowest common denominator, lol. It's a sad state of affairs imo.

 

[chanel]

Is there money from the government in it?

psik

Of course there is psik. The program I looked at employed a lot of people as well.

But here's something to consider; If the professors does not comply with the IEP, it puts the university at risk of litigation under the Civil Rights act.

Now extend that to the workplace...

Lawyers' wet dreams.