To Junk Or Not To Junk

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My husband is a saver. He saves screws, nails, pieces of wood, old computer parts and lots of other stuff I usually consider useless. And, as much as I would like, I never throw these things away. They are not mine so I have no right to do so. Besides, more often than not, one of these tidbits solves a major problem.

Many kids treat their IEP accommodations like the junk in my basement. They just refuse to use them. Unfortunately, the powers that be don't give these accommodations the same respect I give the junk, although these accommodations are not junk and should not be treated as such. The powers that be use their authority to throw the accommodations away, to strip the kids of a service and a right they one day might need. Kids with IEPs that say they need readers should always have a reader available, whether they choose to use them or not. They might not see the need for the reader now, like I don't see the need for the two old computer monitors laying around, but they might be useful one day. (My husband recently fixed a friend's computer and he had to hook up the monitor in the basement to do it.)

Let's face it. Kids don't always make the best decisions and it is up to us, as educators to help them along. Sometimes parents will make wrong decisions too, based on incorrect information they are given. It doesn't hurt a child to have the reader accommodation on the IEP. Taking it away could do major damage and this should not be done on a whim.