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May 2008
Vol 5 No 5
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Teachers.Net Gazette Vol.5 No.5 May 2008

Cover Story by Todd R. Nelson
Only a School. Only a Teacher.
School is still, at its heart, a dance of men and women of character. A school is its teachers.


Harry & Rosemary Wong
An Amazing Kindergarten Teacher
I use modified modeling to teach my students the correct procedures. Instead of just telling, I act out the wrong way first....

Columns
»Promoting Responsibility - Or How Not ToMarvin Marshall
»Differentiated Instruction & Ability GroupingCheryl Sigmon
»The Busy Educator's Monthly FiveMarjan Glavac
»Counting the days yet?Barbara & Sue Gruber
»Problem-Based Learning, Part 3Hal Portner
»Successful TeachersLeah Davies

Articles
»'Subprime' Is Voted "Word Of The Year" For 2007
»May 2008 Writing Prompts
»Use Math's Magic to Intrigue Students Solving Linear Equations
»I Choose Teaching - A Meaningful Career
»Teacher Appreciation Day: Not Nearly Enough
»Treating All Students With Dignity
»Two Teachers, Two Philosophies, One Result
»Favorite Teacher Appreciation Activities
»Academic Writing Guidelines
»What is an Effective Teacher?
»Drexel Online Education Program

Features
»Candles of Inspiration: May 2008
»Featured Lessons: May 2008
»Video Bytes: A Hidden Lesson, Baptism By Fire, Mom and more...
»Today Is... Daily Commemoration for May 2008
»Live on Teachers.Net: May 2008
»The Lighter Side of Teaching
»Apple Seeds: Inspiring Quotes for Teachers
»Is a school only as good as the teachers in it?
»Teachers' Best Teachers
»What Is It About Teaching That Keeps You Going?
»Newsdesk: Events & Opportunities for Teachers


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Special Education
Biography | Resources | Discussion

Treating All Students With Dignity

A Special Education teacher appeals to others to see what she sees in her students: Children who need love and friendship. Children who need caring adults in their lives. Children who should not be judged by their disorders, but by who they were as people.
by Laura Dombrosky Miller
May 1, 2008

As my first year of teaching comes to a close, I realize that prejudice and ignorance are alive in education. Students are expected to fit a certain “mold” and those who do not are seen as deviates from the norm and treated as such. This disturbs me as I am a Special Education teacher and I hold an interest in “those” kids, the ones who are seen as outliers and outcasts.

I just finished up my first year as an Emotional Support teacher and taught in a self-contained classroom consisting of grades 3, 4, and 5. “My” kids, as they were called, were diagnosed with a myriad of disorders: ADHD, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Specific Learning Disorders in Reading and Math. It was not easy for my instructional aide and me to incorporate all these types of students into one functioning classroom, but we managed. We saw beyond the disorders and saw these children for what they were: CHILDREN. Kids who liked swings and monkey bars. Kids who liked to eat pizza and hot dogs for lunch. Kids who wanted to drive PT Cruisers when they got older. Kids who wanted to become teachers and doctors. Kids who NEEDED love and support as well as a sense of belonging. We loved our kids. We had high expectations for them and they met them on many occasions. I personally felt that many of these kids never had expectations for themselves. No one really expected much out of them. They did not feel as if they were capable of anything. This changed for them during our school year.

One thing I noticed and fought all year was prejudice against the kids. Not stemming from the so-called “regular” kids but from some teachers. Teachers who would “forget” to include the kids in field trips and outdoor picnics. Teachers who would come and tell me, “Your kids” are running in the hall. Believe me, “my” kids knew who treated them with respect and who did not. There were several teachers who looked beyond the disorders and invited my class to their rooms for special parties, who invited us to plant flowers out on the school grounds, who made a note to stop by daily to give the kids little treats and hugs. All I wanted for the kids was for them to be treated like human beings. It broke my heart when one of my 3rd graders said, “Why aren’t we going on that field trip? We’re in 3rd grade, too.”

All I ever wanted was for “my” kids to belong or to be made to feel like they belong.

I realize that people do not like to have violent children around them. Most of my kids were not violent; they were just “different” enough for others to be wary. They never really had a sense of belonging. I had to advocate for them all year, which I did not mind, it was part of my job, but much of that was unnecessary. I wanted others to see what I saw. Children who needed love and friendship. Children who needed caring adults in their lives. Children who should not have been judged by their disorders but by who they were as people. I saw them that way. Why couldn’t others?

I am not bashing teachers here. Rather, I am trying to make others aware of the fact that prejudice goes on every day against kids who are “different.” I will not accept, “That’s the way things are.” I think we, as teachers, need to change that. We need to overcome our fears and educate ourselves about different disorders and disabilities and how they affect children. We need to realize how OUR treatment affects these kids. We are such powerful influences in the lives of children we teach that we need to be careful of how we act around them. I am using this article to implore teachers to look past disorders and SEE the kids. SEE who they are. Get to know THEM and not their disorders. Fight ignorance and prejudices and give these children chances to excel. They CAN and they WILL - as long as we allow them to do so.



» More Gazette articles...




About Laura Miller ...

Laura Dombrosky Miller, known as "Sunday Moon" to her Teachers.Net friends, is a Special Education teacher in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Laura is an advocate for children with special needs, especially those with emotional and mental health disorders. Prior to becoming a teacher, she was a mental health therapist serving children and their families in a school-based setting. Laura credits Teachers.Net with helping her through graduate school, student teaching, and her first year of teaching. She enjoys reading, painting, being outdoors, and being with her friends and family. Laura has an orange cat named Bailey and since writing "Treating All Students With Dignity," she has married a fellow teacher.


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