Creating Functional and Sustainable Systems of Ed: Expanding Our Comfort Zone

Being conscious and open to the possibilities of each person, to the potential of each person is often difficult. Our previous experience and exposure often dictates the amount of patience, understanding and willingness to remain open we allow ourselves to provide for others. It's easy to question our own kindness and flexibility when there is no change in how others respond to it.

So...Where do we draw the line? When do we begin to close off? How do we justify our purpose in doing so? What do we hope the result will be to the decisions we make? I believe that we must be true to our belief in others, to the greater goals of schooling. THIS is our purpose. This is what I read in pieces from leaders like Tom Altepeter (@TomAltepeter), George Couros (@gcouros), Harold Shaw (@hshawjr), Diane Lauer (@MrsLauer), and so many others.

 

As a special educator I try to reflect and reassess the way in which I interact with different students, at different times, and in different environments. A seminal article in the special education literature by Doug and Lynn Fuchs (1997) asked the question many still discuss today. What’s Special About Special Education?

The uncertainty in quality and effectiveness of special education programming has lead us to where we are today. What does identification do to improve the outcomes of those who are identified? Once a student is identified with a disability, what happens next? How does Placement and Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) improve an individual’s education?

I believe that it is important to place these questions within a context relevant to our current struggles within education as a whole. Special education services should not be a “catch-all” solution for students who struggle. Our school programs cannot be expected to function in isolation. An integrated framework must be adopted in order to meet the contemporary needs of students.

General educators must adapt and modify practices. Special educators must do the same. The current emphasis in special education service delivery is on unified and integrated service programming and delivery. However, if the system does not function in concert, student outcomes will not change.

In order to change outcomes for students with and without disabilities educational reformers have been forced to critically analyze measures of accountability to determine their effectiveness and validity. In conjunction with the use of Response to Intervention (RtI) for identification, integrated programs must be compelled to implement primary, and proactive programmatic opportunities that consider risk at an individual level and emphasize resiliency development.

Combining these efforts with the conceptual belief in all students’ ability to succeed can address the needs of those students who are perceived negatively but aren’t given the chance or opportunity to be successful because the system neglects (willfully or unintentionally) their needs, desires, goals and dreams.

Before we refer students for special education identification, we owe it to ourselves, to our students, to find ways to expand the capacity of our teams, our schools, and our districts, by remembering that special education is not always the answer.

True opportunity for individual student successes and increased positive outcomes for students with and without disability will come from a combination of legislation, policy and practice; none of these can influence change in isolation.

It is my duty as an educator, not a special educator, to expand my abilities, my influence, and my knowledge, to collaborate and share effective practices and to learn from my successes and my failures.

Fuchs, D., & Fuchs, L.S. (1997). What’s special about special education? In D. Podell (Ed.), Perspectives: Educating exceptional learners (pp. 39-48). Boulder, CO: Coursewise Publishing

Inclusion Reform- Is It Really An Education Innovation? (Repost)

I decided to re-post this entry, as I have found it to be continually relevant in regard to the design and redesign process associated with inclusive educational practice, the evolution of Response to Intervention, and the national focus on reducing drop-out rates. Slight changes have been made, but the essence remains the same.

When I think of reform, change and innovation in education I think of growth.  I try to be continually aware of the processes associated with this change. However when thinking about the impending changes to The ESEA and its increasingly direct link to The IDEA I find myself with some curiosities. 

How are our systems changing to meet the requirements, needs and directives of legislation and the push for evidence based practices?

Weather we acknowledge these changes as innovation or otherwise, education in this country is in a state of transition. As we look for ways to build capacities within our students we are concurrently struggling with the fundamental aspects of how to transform the capacity of the system. This requires systems-wide transformation, a paradigm shift, the wholehearted embrace of change.

As we look at inclusive practices and its role in the change process, educators, administrators and policy makers will be well served to view these initiatives as transformational. It is important that entire school communities be involved in thoughtful, carefully researched transition. Dramatic and imposed directives will polarize parents and teachers and create environments that are resistant to any change.

When we inquire about the nature and realization of  inclusive practice, we often ask questions about the values and priorities that guide our practice. Research has identified that in order for inclusion reform to be successful, the organizations (in this case the LEAs) guiding systems and strategies must change with the innovation.

Additional thoughts that arise when inclusion reform is on the table seem to focus on some recurring issues. Issues related to pedegogical philosophy and foundation seem to be at the root of addressing inclusionary practice.

Thought 1--Do we value all children equally?

This is a loaded question. Is there really such a thing as equal treatment? Should there be such a thing? Most teachers do value their students equally. In fact, I can’t imagine a single teacher who does not truly believe that they value all children equally.  Educators are passionate, and they must be. The issue however, lies in the term “equally”. The paradigm of inclusive practices is not dependent upon the “equal value” of all children, but rather respect, care and concern for the individual and the “unique value” of all students. So, I challenge that we adjust the question, thus giving us the information to establish a foundation for further dialogue.

Maybe the question should be- What does it look like when we value each student for their independent and unique ability?

Once we identify our collective and diverse answers to this question, only then can we explore what inclusion and inclusive practice indicates in regard to successful and purposeful implementation.

Next steps then lead to discussion of what inclusive practice means.

Inclusion

An aggregate definition of inclusion from multiple resources provides us with the following:

Inclusion and inclusive practice expresses commitment to educate each child, to the maximum extent appropriate, in their neighborhood school and in the typical school and classroom environment with their peers. It involves bringing support services to the child, an integrated set of coordinated services, providing means and ways to increase access to learning opportunities (rather than moving the child to the services).

Above all, inclusive practice entails a spirit and belief in each child’s ability to attain, and maintain a reasonable benefit from being in the classroom.

What does this mean for practice, and for transformation? While our research will most likely inform our practice, it is important that our systems are developed with student-centered, outcomes focused planning. Our beliefs and values will inform our individual investment in any process we undertake. However, we must not forget the one constant within any reform movement, it's not our education, it's theirs.

Reframing Failure

In contemplating over the weekend about the final 4 weeks of the school year, and reflecting on the days, weeks, & quarters passed, I came to a realization.

As we struggle, so do we learn. It has been an amazing year, full of ups & downs, change & challenge. It is sometimes easy to focus on the missed opportunities, the mistakes, & perceived failures of the past. I believe this goes for students as well. So, in my attempt to reframe my thoughts around failure I came across some inspirational quotes & thought I'd share them. So, beginning with my own attempt, here they are.

Here's to a GREAT finish to a remarkable school year!

"If at first we do not succeed, failures we do not make, rather, life gives us another opportunity to take." -- MJVannice

"Do not fear mistakes. There are none." -- Miles Davis

"Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."
-- Henry Ford

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." -- Confucius

"I have not failed once. I've just found 10,000 ways that didn't work." -- Thomas Edison

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."
-- Robert F. Kennedy

"Failure is success if we learn from it." -- Malcolm Forbes

"I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward." -- Thomas A. Edison

"Fall seven times, stand up eight." -- Japanese Proverb

"Stumbling is not falling." -- Portuguese Proverb

Educational Change

Here are some random thoughts related to the process and creation of a student centered, teacher directed system of education.

How do we foster resiliency, open access to education, build capacities within our schools and students, & foster accountability, best practices, and community?
Education and learning at its core is meant to be transformative rather than additive.

Lifelong learning and professional and personal growth are connected with the changes facing our schools today. The changes we face require transformation. The initiatives, legislation, etc. may be cumbersome in regard to practical application, however the strategies we choose to employ in meeting the needs of our students are not additive but substantive.

In this spirit, the strategies we develop should be consciously determined so as not to "pile-on" but to expand our capacity to build resilient and self-determined members of our community.

So, aside from the adoption of major programmatic changes how do we embrace this spirit without overwhelming the system?