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We heard all about IEPs at today's faculty conference. From what I heard, there is nothing on them that I don't know already. I know about the test modifications. My students already get extended time and different locations, if desired. If they need a reader or a writer, the resource room teacher must provide them.
I still don't know how reading them will help my students.
8 comments:
there are so many things a student may not tell a teacher. Such as, particular medical issues like a urinary condition that requires the student to go to the bathroom whenever they need to go, etc.
What if a student is allowed to use a calculator as a testing modification and you don't allow calculators. Federal law entitles students to these modifications and schools are mandated to provide teachers with IEPs. Reading them at least once may give you the insight on a particular student to help you make that student more successful.
This blog was so much more fun when you just let loose! :)
For students that have behavioral issues due to a medical or psychological condition, there may be recommendations as to what kinds of behavioral interventions will work for a particular student.
For students on the autism spectrum, there may be certain triggers that will trigger a meltdown that would be helpful to know about and avoid. Sometimes it is something subtle like not understanding sarcasm, and overreacting to it.
If a student has a brain injury that impacts their ability to memorize facts, or their word-finding skills, or their verbal expression, these can be things that can be handled with more sensitivity if you know.
If you have a student with an IEP, and something just doesn't seem to add up, reading the IEP may help you understand what's going on with that student.
No, talking to the people who know the student helps, not the piece of paper.
Teh IEPs do not say enough. They are written by overworked, overstressed people who do not have the time or strength ot add the things you are suggesting.
Any good teacher knows how to be sensitive to a student. They don't need an IEP for that either.
As for kids with really special needs, maybe they don't belong in a classroom with 33 other students. Sorry if this sounds insensitive, but it is life. If you think any classroom teacher can deal with psychological problems in the type of setting I work in, you have never been in a school like mine.
As for medical problems, I agree that the teacher should know. A simple note can save everyone lots of stress on that point.
All students are supposed to use calculators so that is not an issue.
Sorry, I am not at liberty to let loose anymore. Anything more than you read here is written in a restricted blog.
Through a set of unfortunate circumstances, we were all forced to read all of our IEPs this year. Guess what I found?? 27 IEPs that were almost EXACTLY the same. Difficulty in reading comprehension, difficulty in finding the main idea, trouble solving multistep word problems- it seemed a bit odd that EVERY student had the same problems.
My favorite was the one that said the student suffered from shyness and poor self-esteem- my nickname for this particular kid? "Class clown". The kid LOVES being the center of attention. It made me wonder whether or not they had the right kid.
17--you made my point exactly.
While kids have issues that are important for teachers to knwo--we won't find them from an IEP.
I find the same things,over and over again in our kids' IEPs- "Johnny will write a paragraph with 60% of the words spelled correctly." "Joan will write sentences with correct punctuation 50% of the time." What the heck does that mean and how am I supposed to figure it out? Our spec. ed. teachers use the same formulaic items all the time. They take our state standards, write them down, and put a % with it.
NEVER a word about what Johnny's problems with reading are, the intensity of the learning problems, etc. Of course, they have to write these things in the first month of school, when they don't even know the kids.
Something is terribly wrong when writing these IEPs and all of the other paperwork takes up so much of the time of the spec. ed. teachers that they NEVER come into our rooms to help the kids or even know what we are doing in class.
I have to make all of the modifications for the kids and there are many students in my classes who need to be in a different type of class-NOT a college prep. course.
But that brings up the other subject- we don't have any tracked classes- everyone thrown into classes so that we have the smartest kids in the school in the same room as a 15 year old with Down's Syndrome. Where am I supposed to find a meeting ground for that disparity? Where is common sense in our schools?
Rho--you said exactly what I have been saying. There are so many better ways to help a special ed student.
Amen! I completely agree with 17, Rho, and POd!
Ms. Scarlett
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