Enabling Dreams Reflection

It is always so startling when I am reminded of just how fortunate I am, but even more startling still how often it happens.  That I had been so blessed to have been born without a disability should never be an afterthought or mere idle notion in the back of my mind.  It's jarring just how often and how easily our good health and fortune can be taken for granted... and disturbing still how often we tend to overlook the basic needs of others who are not so fortunate.  Ken Ellis' video on assistive technology and its importance within the classroom is not only emotionally powerful, but also insightful and eye-opening.  Through several individual stories, the audience is made to realize how something as prominent (and taken for granted in its own right) as technology can mean the difference between failure and success in a person with disabilities' life (Ellis, 2005).  What many of us might consider a convenience is, to a person with disability, their lifeline in the world.  In education, there is a number of opportunities and technologies available for students with disabilities, but like the video mentions, not very many are aware of it (Ellis, 2005).  It is this sad but honest truth that can not only hinder a person's success in life, but it can also get in the way of simple but necessary self-fulfillment.

Though I am already three semesters into the Masters of Arts in Teaching program at the University of Guam's School of Education, it was only one semester ago that I had taken a class devoted entirely to special education.  While the class proved useful in introducing me to the various disabilities identified on Guam and several ways a teacher can prepare for them, we were regrettably not too well-informed about the various technologies available that can help us help them.  Though self-advocacy is a primary focus in teaching students with disabilities, it is a little unreasonable to expect them to advocate tools for themselves if they are not even aware of what tools are available for them.  Similarly, teachers should undergo more extensive training that not only mentally and emotionally prepare them for teaching students with disabilities, but workshops should also be available to educate teachers on the various ways in which technology can assist them.

Helpful, though, is the assigned textbook for the special education class, which not only breaks down each common disability but also provides a section of helpful tips that include how (and which) technology to incorporate within the classroom - if available (Smith and Tyler, 2010).  More helpful still is the book's breakdown of current laws relevant to special education, though the edition we were assigned is two years outdated.  As a first-year teacher whose first brush with special education was nothing more than being handed a folder full of names and terms that may as well have been Greek and virtually no briefing on policies or expectations, the book is a life saver - if, regrettably, a semester late.  Still, the class has provided me with sufficient knowledge to at least know, by now, what is expected of me... even if I am still not entirely too certain just how I will or should be doing those things.

This includes, but is not limited to, crafting lesson plans that incorporate the necessary accommodations and modifications as dictated in each students' Individualized Education Program.  If taken on by the same school again next year, I will be faced with the challenge of teaching a student whose vision has deteriorated to the point of near-blindness.  I will then have to ensure that all of my lesson plans can accommodate for that student's disability.  I have been part of several IEP meetings in which the student's needs have been carefully outlined, which includes a one-to-one aide and several Braille-enabled technological tools that will allow the student to participate in lessons.  It would then be my job to incorporate these accommodations into my lesson plans so that they are properly modified.  Some important parts or features in a revised lesson plan that I will need to keep aware of will include the ways in which I disseminate information to my students.  Because of this student's blindness, I will need to make sure that any and all reading materials that she will require will be Brailled and available to her when she needs it.  So materials, notes, and any activity that require sight will need to be reassessed and revised, so that she is still able to learn the content with the rest of the students.  This will force me to be a little more creative as far as distributing information to my students.

It is, of course, important that teachers revise lesson plans in order to account for students with disabilities.  The law requires that every child, regardless of the status of their health, be allowed free appropriate public education thanks to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Smith and Tyler, 2010, p. 15-16).  I personally believe that any kind of education should be made available - if at all possible - to anyone who wants it.  Knowledge should never be withheld from people, least of all persons with disabilities, because it is not as if they can help it.  It is misfortune that plagues them, so why punish someone for something they could not prevent?  Every person should have the opportunity to succeed in life, and if education is indeed the key to success, why not do all we can to ensure that everyone has a shot at it?

Resources

Ellis, K. (2005, February 02). "How assistive technology enables dreams." Retrieved on June 11, 2012 from http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-enabling-dreams-video

Smith, D. D. and Tyler, N. C.  (2010).  Introduction to special education: Making a difference.  New Jersey: Merrill.

Images

[Introduction to special education: Making a difference image].  Retrieved June 11, 2012 from http://cc.pbsstatic.com/l/64/0564/9780205600564.jpg