Education: Is special education really necessary?

I’m very interested in education in general because I am involved in the educational process of my daughter. Secondly, I work with students from elementary school to college. Sometimes I wonder what school and education are really about? What should be taught? There is a lot of socialization that goes on in our school. Some of that I am thankful for, but some I wish were more thoughtfully implemented. I’d also like to see deeper learning, more language rich processing, and increased awareness around executive skills.  

I often wonder when I see students struggling in school if what they are learning is worth the trauma that they experience. Unfortunately, in high school I have had many experiences were I know that the student has learned little during their entire high school career. How can we change that? How can we make school more relevant for all? Finally, why does everyone in America have to be college bound?I have been looking at some sites. I like this one about project based learning http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-student-motivation. Is project based learning the answer? How do we teach our children to think, learn and unlearn? Do they all need a general knowledge, and if they are given a general knowledge how do we base that knowledge in truth and shared reality, instead of idealized folklore. Finally there is a range of intellectual and language abilities, if it is acknowledge that we all learn differently and each child is provided with what they need is there still a need for special education?  Well, until we get to that place special education has done wonders helping students find success in the school setting.

Published by Kai Long

Kai currently lives in MA and is interested in collaborating with others to develop a deeper understanding of our speech and language needs.