User:DrLaz770/sandbox

What’s So Special About Special Education? I’m often asked what’s unique about special education? I’ve been teaching full time in the wild and often wacky field of Exceptional Student Education (ESE) for 30-plus years. (Yikes! Miracles do indeed occur.) Now for those who are counting, it’s actually been 37 years since I began my career in the Buffalo, NY public school system as a teacher for students with LBD—that’s Learning & Behavioral Disorders. It was a match made in teaching heaven since dyslexia is an area of concern in this field. You see, my full name is David Brian Lazerson, and thus I was DBL in LBD! What is special about special education? I don’t mean to bust anyone’s bubble here but I have to respond with one word: Nothing! It’s true. Special education is nothing but GOOD education! In other words, everything that really works for individuals with special needs (and, by the way, we ALL have special needs–just to varying degrees, but we’ll save that for another article) also works for students in “regular” education as well. So what constitutes good education? In my opinion, it comes down to 7 fundamental strategies. I call them: The 7 FUNdamentals of Really Special Education 1. Be student, not teacher, centered 2. Utilize real life experiences 3. Provide for hands-on events & manipulatives 4. Take students from being passive observers to active participants 5. Keep things fun 6. Tap the individual strengths and interests of students 7. Use built-in reward systems The problem is that these methods aren’t often used in a typical classroom. In fact, they’re underutilized even in ESE programs. So when they actually do occur, it tends to raise a ruckus—with fellow teachers or administrators wondering why there’s such an increased noise level emanating from your room, how learning can be so much fun, and what they can do to be part of the action. The commandments mentioned above require a teacher to plan, to step back, to talk less, listen more, and so some serious thinking outside the box. Remember—the box is the four walls of a classroom! The easiest way, perhaps, to tap into all seven at once, is to simply leave the box behind and head for the great outdoors. Trips into the real world, and especially the world of nature, are not just a refreshing change of pace—they lead to healthy real life experiences. All it takes is a little imagination, some pre-planning, a “green light” from your administration, and great follow-up activities, and you’re on your way to making the education process truly special for your students. Up until about 15 years ago I ran ESE programs that were housed within “regular” schools. (Since then, I’ve worked with profound special needs students in a center exclusively for ESE.) There was always this effort and push to get my students integrated into the mainstream. It was an uphill battle for lots of reasons. What I found particularly interesting was that many of the so-called “typical” ed students always wanted to participate in my ESE classes. They’d frequently stop me in the hallways and say something like, “Dr. Laz, you gotta get me in your class. Please!” Why was this so? Were they looking for an easier curriculum—an easy A on their report cards? Shouldn’t it have been the other way around—my ESE students begging to hit the “regular” classes? But that rarely happened, even for the ones who were surviving in the mainstream. This notion of making education exciting and motivational applies across the board. Rather than stuff facts and information down our students’ throats - which they’ll forget weeks or even days later, we need to refocus our efforts. Good education isn’t about memorizing or test preparation. It’s about turning on lights and opening doors for our students. Once a child is turned on to a subject or specific area of focus, that love and desire for more is often sustained for life. Frost once remarked that he wasn’t an educator but “an awakener.” They used to say that every special child deserves an education. But I would change that phrase a bit: Every child deserves a special education! Now get out there and inspire.