Education Issues/ideas

[dizy]

Hi all.

I hope you don't mind me visiting your board. I am writing a paper for a special education course, and I chose the topic "The Education of Children with Down Syndrome". I thought it would be good to get some input from parents who are experiencing issues daily, so that I can avoid the "bias" of what is in the media and/or textbooks.

If anyone would like to share their opinion on any of these questions, or anything else that is on your mind, I would love to learn more about this topic. The reason I chose this is so that I can share the information with my brother and sister-in law. Their son (my nephew) is 3 years old and has Down syndrome. They are not much in the way of support groups or message boards, so I thought I would do some research for them and share the information with them!

1) Are you children in general ed classes most of the day?
2) Elementary or Secondary school?
3) Do you feel they are getting the best education they can get?
4) If you could change anything you wanted about the education system, what would it be?
5) What is the biggest educational issue facing your child?
6) Are they happy with their school experience?
7) What would you like to see happen for them after secondary school?

Thanks for any thoughts or information you can share!

Diane

[laurasmom]

Diane
Welcome, I will be happy to help.

1) Are you children in general ed classes most of the day?She is in general ed half the day, special ed the other half
2) Elementary or Secondary school?high school
3) Do you feel they are getting the best education they can get?not the best, we are happy with some aspects
4) If you could change anything you wanted about the education system, what would it be?more inclusion (appropriate inclusion) in the general ed area, giving our kids a more "typical" high school experience
5) What is the biggest educational issue facing your child?continuing academics in high school, for some reason many educators feel it isn't of value, and want to focus solely on life skills
6) Are they happy with their school experience?Laura loves high school
7) What would you like to see happen for them after secondary school?I would love to see Laura attend one of the college programs for people with disabilities, and then have some type of employment.

Hope this helps.
Sharon

[dizy]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write Sharon. I really appreciate your input. I am so glad Laura loves school! I also see that she has a little sister, and that is wonderful. I am a bit sad that my nephew (3) has no siblings (and they are not having any more children). When he is around my children, he seems to love the interaction! He does not talk at all yet, but you can tell that he is really enjoying himself.

Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts with me. Best of luck with both of your daughters! Two teenage daughters is a handful any way you slice it. I hope Laura can get into one of the college programs you talked about!

Diane

[sarahsma]

Diane,
Happy to answer any ?'s you might have.
1) Sarah is in all general classes except for math.
2) Freshman in high school
3)Sarah loves to learn and we are fortunate to live in a district that truly believes we are an important part of the team. She has done well academically.
4)That parents didn't have to rattle cages to get things done.
5) Reg. Ed. teachers teaching to her level on a consistant basis.
6) A little rougher this year, but for most freshmen, not just her.
7) Same as I wish for my other children... to work at a job they love, to live in a place they are happy to come home to, to love and be loved, and to enjoy life!
Hope this helps and good luck on your paper.
Lisa

[dizy]

Do Laura and Sarah have to take the state exams along with the general education students, or are they assessed according to the goals put forth in their IEP?

Thanks so much to both of you for responding. I am beginning to write my paper as we "speak", and reading posts on this board has given me a much better feel for the decisions you face and the bumps you encounter. This is much better than reading in a textbook, in my opinion (don't worry, I am doing other research as well, but this is better!)

Diane

[dizy]

Sorry - one more question, for anyone. Do you see NCLB as something that is good for children with Down syndrome (or other intellectual disabilities)? I have seen arguments on both sides. I have seen that having to take the state tests puts too much pressure on the students, and I have also heard that this has raised the performance expectations for these kids (which is good).

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Diane

[laurasmom]

Laura doesn't take the same exit exam, she is graded solely on her IEP content.

I am not thoroughly versed in NCLB, so really don't feel qualified to answer, except that it did require Laura to take grade level testing, which was ridiculous, and very stressful for her. I am all for raising performance expectations, and we continually do that, realistically. Testing Laura on grade level math, which includes geometry, and algebraic equations, is not realistic.

Sharon

[Kristin]

1) Are you children in general ed classes most of the day?
She is in special ed most of the day, a general ed class would be too distracting
2) Elementary or Secondary school? elementary
3) Do you feel they are getting the best education they can get? yes, she has a great teacher
4) If you could change anything you wanted about the education system, what would it be? less emphasis on grades, more on skills
5) What is the biggest educational issue facing your child? math concepts
6) Are they happy with their school experience? yes
7) What would you like to see happen for them after secondary school? I'd like her to hold a job, or even run her own little business with a job coach.

She is tested using an alternative basic skills test allowed as an alternative to the NCLB. NCLB has been good in requiring all teachers to be fully certified in what they do. It has also raised standards. Are we new expecting too much of all students? It seems that art, science, and music are being lost to reading and math. Our schools no longer foster creativity and exploration. NCLB has put unreasonable pressure on schools to meet unreasonable expectations. No school will be 100% proficient by 2014. There are even students in general education that won't be there...not just special ed students.

[dizy]

I tend to agree that it will be impossible for nearly any school to be at 100% by 2014. That is unrealistic. And I don't feel it is necessarily a good thing to be labeling schools as "failing". I am for accountability and high standards, but somehow I think there must be a better way. I am just not sure what it is. I think the pressure that schools are under makes the teaching of a lower quality rather than a higher quality (because of many of the reasons you stated).

Thanks for sharing your experience with me.
Diane