Learning
If I Wrote the Special Education Law...

Better IDEAs from frontline educators.

This year, Congress is rewriting the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the federal special education law that has a major impact on most classrooms. NEA Today asked NEA members what they would do if revising IDEA were up to them.

I would force each Congressperson to be a first-year teacher in a high priority school for 30 days without a mentor or adequate resources but with the goal of leaving no child behind.

Jacqueline
Henry Third-grade teacher
Stone Mountain, Georgia

The federal forms should be the only paperwork. States and districts should not be allowed to add more. Many state and district forms duplicate what's on the federal forms.

The teacher's main purpose is to teach, not do paperwork. Resource teachers are very valuable to classroom teachers like me, and we're losing them because they're overloaded and burned out by the paperwork.

Ross Rogers
Third-grade teacher
Davis, Utah

We should hold special education students responsible for their actions, such as fighting and possession of weapons.

Many special education kids feel they are beyond reproach. They need to know they are going to be accountable. We need to let them know that even though they have disabilities, they still can distinguish right from wrong.

We have consequences in society for breaking the law. In school, we need to prepare them for that.

We had one special education student who got in trouble outside school, shot someone, and later hanged himself in jail. If we reached them earlier in school, and let them know society is not going to slap them on the wrist, maybe we could prevent that.

We have an alternative school for regular education kids who get in trouble, but not for special education kids.

Veryl Hines
Special education paraeducator
Portsmouth, Virginia

We should have classes for parents on parenting and child development. Parents need to know what is normal development so that they can better understand whether their youngster has a problem or not. I know one mother who was nervous when her child didn't walk until 13 months, even though that's normal.

We should also have chat groups for parents where they can share ideas over coffee, maybe once a month, if we can get them to come in to the school. Parents with AD/HD kids can share their strategies, for example.

Muriel Softli
School nurse
Seattle, Washington

Let's be realistic about what parents, students, and educators can accomplish. We are losing students because of high-stakes tests with standards that are too high.

We have state tests in grades four, seven, and ten. The students ask why they should stay in school when the state continues to tell them they aren't meeting the norms.

These tests don't show the confidence the student has gained during the year, or the growth that is developmentally appropriate for that student. The tests are defeating to students who have made great gains but not met the state standards.

Karle Warren
Fifth-grade teacher
Clarkston, Washington

I would emphasize funding. So many students with learning problems end up in prison. It would be less expensive--both in dollars and in personal value--to meet their needs earlier.

Paula Haehnel Elementary special education teacher Sharon, Pennsylvania

We should seriously think about the impact on non-special education students and be sure they are getting their fair education, too.

Shona Trumbly
Education media specialist
Hainesport, New Jersey

The mainstreaming process should be re-evaluated. In recent years I have had several pupils who were so dysfunctional, they should not have been mainstreamed. The resource people worked with me as much as they could, but the students were not taken out of my class, even though several had serious behavior problems.

Florestine Evans
High school science teacher
Memphis, Tennessee

Local teachers, not policy mandates, should be able to determine what is best for each child.

As teachers, we are trained to meet the unique learning needs of each child. We are sensitive to their individual situations, and we can determine the best way for them to learn. This involves a combination of teacher intuition,

creativity, and patience. Sometimes I have to sneak education through the back door.

Mandates are often unrealistic--and unfunded--goals set for all children, regardless of their truly special needs.

Debby Dundas
Sixth-grade teacher
Winnebago, Minnesota

We should limit inclusion to academically able children and create age group classes (for example, 12- to 14-year-olds) for children not able to keep up academically and mainstream them in non-academic classes.

Coralie Griffith
NEA Student Program member
Norfolk, Virginia

We should provide money for training of regular education classroom teachers in serving the special needs child in specific subject areas--social studies, science, etc.

Judy Holland
Eighth-grade teacher
Buchanan, Virginia

My classroom was more creative and alive when I had my special education students in a class by themselves. They perceived themselves as accepted by the rest of the class, and no one made fun of them. They would say and do things in my room that would be unheard of today because no one wants to be noticed as different.

Some today do not even try doing the assignments because they fear someone will notice that they are not at the same level as their classmates.

I do all in my power to shield them and encourage them, but to no avail. I miss the laughter and the teasing between my "special students" and myself.

Maybe change in big ways is not always the best way.

Don Brothers
Middle school art teacher
Delphi, Indiana

$$$! Any other business would be bankrupted if they made policy de-cisions without fully funding the policy.

Cathy Paredes
Sixth-grade teacher
Tucson, Arizona

Leave it alone--we still have not completely implemented the last rewrite.

Dave Santee
Special education teacher
Leavenworth, Kansas

For more: It's not too late to make a difference. E-mail NEA's Patti Ralabate (pralabate@nea.org) or Kim Anderson (kianderson@nea.org) to help NEA's efforts to improve IDEA. Or, go to NEA's Legislative Action Center at www.nea.org/lac.

Learning -- Dilemma
How do you keep your lesson plans from getting stale?

After a unit, I ask the students how, if they had been the teacher, they would have taught it differently. I get some good ideas.

Sara Marquardt
High school English teacher
Berlin, Wisconsin

I don't keep lesson plans from year to year. When I'm ready to teach a unit, I pretest my kids on the objectives to find their strengths and weaknesses. Then I develop a timeline for presenting material and accomplishing objectives. I create "mini" lesson plans for each day, which I write in my planning book (in case I'm observed!). I keep these books, but I never go back and use them except for reference. My theory is, if I'm excited about what I'm teaching, that enthusiasm will pass to the students.

Meredith Schwartz
Middle school reading specialist
Ellicott City, Maryland

I take advantage of the many workshops offered by my local and county Associations through the UniServ program. One in particular, "Instructional Strategies," offers many useful ideas applicable immediately in the classroom.

Gloria Louis
Second-grade teacher
Passaic, New Jersey

I research the topic further and find learning "hooks" to start the lesson. Examples: Use puppets to explain concepts (Phoo-phoo the physics mouse?), look for current events links, have an interesting object that connects with the topic, tell a story about your experience with the topic, poll the class about their opinions, use as many corny puns and jokes about the lesson as possible.

Joan Franze
Elementary gifted education teacher
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Relax! Go with the strengths and weaknesses of each class. I have given myself permission to loosely fluctuate within a lesson framework. Like many high school teachers with multiple classes of the same subject, I generally strive to keep them all on the same schedule, just to keep my sanity! Lately, I've discovered each class has its own personality. Rather than pushing students to stay on schedule, I trust my instincts to follow those unique, teachable moments. Classes still cover the material within a few days of each other, and no two lessons are the same!

Janis Tischer
High school English teacher
Minooka, Illinois

One of the best ways is to incorporate technology to bring in current information and encourage students to interact with the subject matter. This helps students learn how to use information. Technology can make your lessons come alive.

As a technology coach, I have found that helping teachers integrate technology into their teaching also revives the teacher. Visit our school's technology integration journey at www.wcschools.com/mjhs/tlcf.

Diane Bennett
High school technology coach
Mt. Juliet, Tennessee

When lesson plans get stale, it is typically because the teacher is doing the work, and loses sight of the student perspective. Try recording student comments during a lesson you've taught several times. Often, you'll discover new questions and difficulties of which you weren't aware.

Leanna Aker
Junior high science teacher
Federal Way, Washington

Got an Answer?

How do you cool off in a high-stress situation?

E-mail your answer to dilemma2@list.nea.org.

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