As many of you know, I am a high school teacher. What you may not know is that I teach in the Special Education Department. The majority of my students are not physically handicapped in any way. They are in special education due to a specific learning disability. Basically put, they read at a second or third grade level.
First of all, let me express the fact that I absolutely love my students and find being a teacher completely fulfilling. The part that I have a problem with is teaching to the standards. Let me explain. We have certain standards that the state of California believes that our students need to know. Each grade level has a set of standards that must be taught to. While I believe the idea is great and holds teachers accountable for what they teach, I believe that it might be an impossible feat in certain situations. Let me explain.
As mentioned earlier, the majority of my students read and write at a second or third grade level. One standard might be that students in twelfth grade can write a multi-paragraph persuasive essay. Now, I admit that this standard is an important task for seniors to be able to do. What I disagree with is the fact that I must spend my instructional time teaching this standard to students who can’t write a complex sentence much less a complete paragraph. I realize my students do need to know how to write an essay; however, I feel that I would do a much greater service to my students if I could teach to where they are at and then work up from there.
The way districts feel is that teachers have to teach the standards of the grade level they are teaching. My question is what about those students whose academic ability does not meet their actual grade level? What happens to them? Wouldn’t it be better if we teach to where they are and then work towards grade-level standards? Maybe, just maybe, districts need to rethink this policy.
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