Nereida Lopez

CWP Report
02/21/2017

The Truth About Special Education

Americans have placed a large amount of trust in our government to make

changed to our education system. We trust that they will make the correct decisions of

certain educational standards for our children. However, there continues to be a

distance of what our students need, and what the government expects. In Utah,

teachers continue to be overlooked and overworked. The lack of support for the

education system in the state of Utah hurts more than just the teacher salaries and

class sizes. With this, there are many aspects of education that suffer. Not only do

teachers begin to get overworked, they cannot provide a full and successful system to

teaching their students. Although many people would argue that teachers complain

about their jobs, the resources these teachers have are not sufficient to teach the

students and future leaders. This causes the students to suffer, which continues the

cycle of Utahs Education system to failure. Out of the students that suffer the most,

there is the average 2-3 students that have a harder time, and will continue to be left

behind their peers because of circumstances they cannot control. These students are

the special needs students that sometimes are neglected, or are not fully understood.

Many of the needs of special education students are not met.

There is a stigma that continues to carry on, that special needs students with

psychological needs are slower than their classmates, not as capable, and are much

different from their fellow peers. Although these students need specific attention and

specific teaching methods, it does not mean that these students are dumb. In Thomas

Armstrongs Article 7 Ways to Bring Out the Best in Special-Needs Students he states,
Nereida Lopez

02/21/2017

CWP Essay
Before they even come into your classroom, find out about your students' strengths and

abilities by talking with previous teachers and

(Figure 1, M.A In Special Education St. Marys University of Minnesota) looking at

cumulative files (focusing on the highest grades and test scores and any positive

comments from teachers). Then, fill

out a strength-based inventory for

each studentand have parents fill

one out as well. It is essential to

provide a positive learning

environment for each student. Regardless of their disabilities, each student has a

strength. This can help the students gain confidence and feel good about themselves,

which will allow them to feel good about going to school.

Some students need certain tools to help them learn. Winnie OLeary wrote in

her article Five Trending Issues in Special Education, Technology has the potential to

provide a bridge for special education students and instructors, allowing educators to

customize materials for unique needs and drive personalized instruction. Already, it has

transformed special education instruction by enhancing individual learning opportunities

and enabling greater flexibility and personalization. For students who need some quiet

time, the use of technology is a good way to ease certain anxieties they may have, and

it is a good way to cool down in case of any stressful situations (Web, Winnie OLeary).
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02/21/2017

CWP Essay
As we can see, there are various methods to teach students with special needs,

and there are endless

possibilities for teacher

who wants to make the

classroom a better

environment for these

students. On one hand,

there are some teachers

that are able to work

with special education

students. However, on the other hand there are not enough teachers that have the

license or endorsement to work with these special needs students. With teaching in

general, there is a large misconception that teaching is easy. Teaching students with

various disabilities is an even greater challenge. Special Education teachers are widely

unrecognized and widely unappreciated by the public (Web, Special Education Degree).

The work of a special needs educators and a traditional educators is much

different. Many special education educators focus more on the skills each student has,

rather than the content that those skills produce (Web, Winnie OLeary). This leads to

the perception by their colleagues that their work is easier or less important. This

causes special educators to become isolated, and not viewed by traditional teachers as

their equal colleague (Web, Special Education Degree).

Nereida Lopez

02/21/2017

CWP Essay
Teachers are facing a negative perception almost daily by parents and other

professionals who dont fully understand what it is like to be a teacher. The lack of

teachers is a national problem, with 30 percent drop in teachers from 2008-2012,

according to the U.S Department of Education (Web, Salt Lake Tribune). In the Utah

Capitol, some legislators suggested that teachers were lazy. Brad Smith, the state

School Superintendent, also suggested that teachers are asking for more education

funding as if they were a 3-year-old child crying for more presents on Christmas

morning (Web, Salt Lake Tribune). This couldnt be further from the truth. Our students,

regardless if they are special needs or not, deserve the highest quality of education. Our

teachers, deserve the respect that they deserve. They work hard for their students, put

in extra hours, without getting paid for those extra hours. There needs to be a change to

our system, instead of allowing it to continue to decline.

Another issue with special education students is the Common Core. The

Common Core is supposed to set certain educational standards for teaching and testing

for English and mathematics for students in grades K-12. The problem with this is that

when you restrict students to a curriculum that is beyond their cognitive capacities, it

lowers the students achievements tremendously (Web, The Atlantic). In the Common

Core handbook, it only has a one and a half page explanation on how to apply the

Common Core to the needs of these students. However, it does not give individual

instructions on how to do this, depending on their individual needs. It says that the

curricular materials can be altered but only in the framework of the Common Core

(Web, The Atlantic).

Nereida Lopez

02/21/2017

CWP Essay
The special needs students need to be highlighted, and there needs to be better

tactics to teaching these students. Every student learns in a variety of way. There needs

to be a better system, because these students are the future. They will be the leaders of

tomorrow, and they deserve to have their educational needs met.

Works Cited

Aacap. Web. 28 Feb. 2017."School Services for Children with Special Needs:

Know Your Rights." School Services for Children with Special Needs:

Know Your Rights.

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CWP Essay
Armstrong, Thomas. 29 Apr. 2016. Web. 28 Feb. 2017"7 Ways to Bring Out the

Best in Special-Needs Students." Education Week Teacher,.

Beals, Katharine. , 21 Feb. 2014 Web. 28 Feb. 2017."The Common Core Is

Tough on Kids With Special Needs." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media

Company.

Leaf Group. 05 Dec. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2017. "Social Issues That Special

Education Teachers Face." Social Issues That Special Education

Teachers Face | Chron.com. Chron.com

Oleary, Winnie ., 04 May 2016. Web. 28 Feb. 2017. "Five Trending Issues in

Special Education." Winnie.Oleary

Special Education Degrees. 13 Aug. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2017, "What are the

Challenges of Being a Special Education Teacher?".

.Teaching Students with Special Needs: Advice for Teachers (Grades K-12)."

TeacherVision. 28 Feb. 2017Advice for Teachers (Grades K-12) - Web.

"The Condition of Education - Participation in Education - Elementary/Secondary

- Children and Youth With Disabilities - Indicator May (2016)." May

(2016).Web. 28 Feb. 2017.The Condition of Education - Participation in

Education - Elementary/Secondary - Children and Youth With Disabilities -

Indicator
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CWP Essay