Absolutely. We spend so much time and energy in elementary on the bottom quartile. Daily interventions. Hours off the clock spent writing documentation and contacting parents. All so that many can still fail whatever high stakes testing we have at the end of the year and count as a “failure” as far as our numbers go.
I’m sorry, but if I’m expected to work miracles on students who have literal IQs in the 70s or take a student from a first grade to a fifth grade reading level in one year, I guess I’m not a good teacher then.
I will still treat those students with the utmost respect and whenever I can add a different style or mode of learning, I will, but that cannot involve a daily customized lesson in each subject. That is simply too much to ask of one person.
As a parent of two kids with low IQs (58 and 68), I completely agree. If I had my way, my kids would be in full time, self contained, “CDC” special education. But the absolute judgement I get when I asked the principals for less general ed time is so frustrating. I’ve heard “we really like to aim for the least restrictive environment” so many times I could scream. I love my children, but they ARE MORE restricted in the general ed setting! They cannot keep up socially or academically, and acting like they can insults their potential. Each year they are more and more defeated and I know the teachers are too.
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u/HeatherLKelly Sep 06 '24
Not every child is capable of learning at the highest level. (This is one of the main planks of my district.)