In three years since this book was written and finding these appalling data, I wonder how much of the data has changed to the betterment of the native and diverse students who were labeled all these such as Limited English proficiency, mental retardation (MR), learning disabled(LD), seriously emotionally disturbed(SED), and all the other names and labels mentioned here. I almost was convinced that I am "poor with low birth weight, to have poorer nutrition, and to have home and child care environments that are less supportive of early cognitive and emotional development than their majority counterparts" (p.4). But, I am much too proud of my heritage, language and culture to let these findings and labels get the best of me. It was hard to read this and I found myself searching for solutions. It is good that included were a set of possible conclusions to this horrid chapter. This is not to say that all natives are not and do not qualify for special education, some do. On the other hand this article states most diverse students are special education students. What's wrong with this picture? (first display question of this blog).
Some suggested solutions to this include Teacher Training, Early Intervention, and Research.
My connections to this reading is how Hollywood has displayed minorities in movies and shows. One example are the old westerns like the cowboys and the Indians. All this "disproportionality"has crept onto the big screen in that sense that white is the ideal and any other culture is below. There is an excellent book that explains some of this oppressiveness called "Off White: Readings on Race, Power, and Society" by Michelle Fine, Lois Weis, Linda C. Powell, and L. Mun Wong. So I will look for more solutions to all this and not revel in the negativity.
3 comments:
Joanne,
it is unfortunate that the teacher training didn't include the issues that have been brought about by the Office of Civil Rights. This trend has been around for 30 plus years, and some teachers are still unaware of the "biases". Some teachers still think just because a student is from a culture other than their own, or the student has limited English, and is from a low economic background they think that the student needs special education. Sad to think that some of the students are being put into special ed and made to feel they are not all that "smart"!
Teacher training has to include training in dealing with the students who are ELP, culturally diverse, and so on. They should all be advised to take the SIOP training!
Sarah
I know I can go on and on about all this bias and negativity, however I do agree with you Apac about teachers needing more training about teaching diverse students. One of my personal solutions is the fact that I am in the Multiliteracies GRC, and my thematic units through the use of Multicultural Literature. It is very important in this day and age to be aware of other cultures and languages other than your own and to have respect for others.
You both comment on the complexity of special education. It is important that students get the support they need to succeed without the stigma of labels. Also, teachers need to know that diverse does not equal deficit.
Marilee
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