Beyond the Bedtime Story by Young Nicholas D.;Michael Christine N.;

Author:Young, Nicholas D.;Michael, Christine N.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Published: 2012-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Educational Impoverishment and Progress

Reading failure may also be traced to inappropriate activities and methods used in schools (Humphrey, 1970). Progress in reading has a great deal to do with the classroom teacher’s understanding of the child’s readiness at any level and the methods by which learning occurs best. Progress is also contingent on efficient utilization of school resources and personnel that may be required. Skilled specialists and clinicians may sometimes be necessary, as specialized and individualized instruction may be required. However, this does not imply that reading or other disorders affecting academic achievement are the exclusive domain of special education. On the contrary, these problems must be addressed by the academic establishment and institutions at large.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; 2004) ensured that students with diverse learning disabilities, including reading disorders, receive specialized and individualized instruction to allow them the opportunity for a free and appropriate public education within the framework of a least restrictive environment. This landmark legislation passed on the heels of the 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act, which was designed to alleviate deplorable conditions of isolation and segregation for over 4.5 million children in the United States who had little or no access to quality public education because of their physical, mental, or emotional handicaps (National Council on Disability, 2000).

IDEA has profoundly changed the character of American education, allowing opportunity for remedial services to students who might otherwise be ignored and essentially disregarded in society. Although progress has been steady and impressive, there is still need for improvements. In many sectors, specialized services are provided separately from regular or mainstream education, creating conditions that promote homogenous groupings of children with learning disabilities, thus restricting the opportunity for mainstream providers to develop skills of diversified or differentiated instruction.

This is not to imply that individualized instruction provided within the framework of a contained setting may not be necessary, but self-contained special education instruction is still an overly used model. Within every school district, the emphasis needs to be on promoting a universal climate of ownership for all children, including those with disabilities and disorders.

A 2006 reauthorization of IDEA contains several significant elements related to literacy instruction, including early intervention, the use of a response to intervention model in providing services, and the implementation of evidence-based and research-proven strategies. This adaptation of IDEA authorizes schools to implement strategies for intervention and remediation before a child falls considerably behind grade level and before being eligible for special education services.

School districts are no longer bound to adhere to a “discrepancy model” to define a learning disability and can now find other ways to determine when a child needs extra help (Jimerson, Burns, & VanDerHeyden, 2007). In this regard, response to intervention encourages school wide “ownership” of students who are struggling with reading or other subjects and incorporates the opportunity for providing services to these learners who might otherwise be ignored.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.