Character development should be a major part of all schools
As a district special education resource teacher for the past 14 years, I have helped new special education teachers and a handful of veteran teachers meet the needs of their struggling students. And over the years, I have watched as students who have Individualized Educational Programs (IEPs) struggle through school all the way to being exited with no functional skills on connecting or navigating the world.
I have encountered parents, frustrated and exhausted in trying to do the best for their child, only to end up with an adult-aged child, unable to independently fend for themselves, needing constant adult support in all or most aspects of their adult life. Somehow, we are still failing some children.
Through the last 14 years, I have been involved with school teams, assisting the service providers in supporting students from IDEA eligibility categories such as Specific Learning Disability (SLD), Emotional Impairment (EI), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Intellectually Impaired (IE) just to name a few out of 14 categories in all.
Over that span, I’ve always wondered why even with a heavy-laden IEP, full of intensive supports could not produce a student capable of independently navigating the environment around him/her without adult support.
This question hunted me until COVID happened. Because of COVID and the situation where schools were all online, I was able to sit and really contemplate and reflect on current and past practices in the school system where I work. This time of reflection is important for anyone looking to improve on any focus. So it was a breath of fresh air.
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