There I was, the fourth grade €general education teacher,€ sitting amongst a group of 15 people at an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meeting for a special education student.
The child in question was not mine, but was of the fourth grade level, and since I was a friend of the child's actual teacher, I was asked to join simply because it was required by federal law that a general education teacher be there. My friend teaches the €severe disabilities€ class, which is actually run by both the district and the county, and was located in my school next door to my classroom.
For those who are unfamiliar with IEP meetings, one must be held on a regular basis for any student with disabilities (sometimes they're annual, bi-annual, or tri-annual depending on the disability in question).
Anyway, back to the scene. According to the psychologist, the little girl was at pre-school level mentally, despite being the age of 10. We were there to discuss what her goals would be for the upcoming year.
Included were such things as her being able to cut a six-inch dotted line.
Also included in this meeting was an extreme sense of tension. The parents are currently suing our principal and the district, not to mention they want to get my friend fired.
Since I have a background in business and have actually come to like math over the years, and I really love those Mastercard commercials, I'd like to illustrate for Joe and Joanne Taxpayer just what was going on here:
o Two attorneys (one for the district and one for the parents who will bill our district) x 4 hours: $800 (a conservative estimate).
o Two therapists " occupational and physical x 1 hour (they was released early): $80.
o Me (I was released early, too, since I had absolutely nothing to say): $40.
o My friend x 4 hours: $160.
o One assistant principal: $60 x 4 hours=$240.
o Two administrators from the special-ed department at our district: $60 x 2 x 4 hours=$480.
o One psychologist: $80 x 4 hours=$320
o 2 parents + 4 of their friends (2 of which are also filing a lawsuit): Unknown lost hours at their jobs.
o And this meeting was continued the next day because everyone got tired after four hours of heated discussion.
Total cost for that day: $2,120 + all of our combined missed productivity. By the way, did I mention it costs the district and county about $50,000 a year to €educate€ this girl outside of this meeting with all of her special services and transportation considered?
Some of you familiar with the Mastercard commercial right now are saying, €but that little girl is priceless.€ Yes, she is, without a doubt. I think everyone is valuable.
My question is, €Are we spending our tax dollars wisely on someone who will at most, according to her doctors, top-out at the mental level of a seven-year-old?€ Meanwhile, her parents are pissed off (I don't know at what) and are having everybody jump through hoops as an added bonus. I don't know what they expect, but I do know they're getting to what amounts to day-care for a special needs child for free.
That's probably a deal.
For those with the average kid, which is most of us, here's the current education issue I want you to consider. The amount of money spent on educating this girl every year could educate six of our average kids in my class. I don't even want to get into how many kids could have been educated if these parents win their lawsuit against my district.
So who is going to be the heartless bastard who stands up and asks, €Is this wrong?€ I guess it's just me for now.
What happened to art and music in my school? Gee, I don't know. How come my students don't spend more time on a computer? Gee, I wonder. This one child's education could buy an art, music, or computer teacher for my entire school. What about the other nine kids just like her in that class? What could they buy?
I wish we could afford everything. I wish we could give this little girl what she deserves. I wish my students could get what they deserve. But the math doesn't work out that way, folks. The €pie€ is only so big.
I understand equal opportunity, and I'm for it up until the point where it no longer makes any sense. I guess I never will understand taking away from most to benefit one. Apparently, I'm in the minority though. When one blog from the Business Week Single Parents' section proclaimed disabled kids as the €next civil rights movement,€ all, except one, of the comments applauded it.
It wasn't me. I was too ill to respond at the time.
The child in question was not mine, but was of the fourth grade level, and since I was a friend of the child's actual teacher, I was asked to join simply because it was required by federal law that a general education teacher be there. My friend teaches the €severe disabilities€ class, which is actually run by both the district and the county, and was located in my school next door to my classroom.
For those who are unfamiliar with IEP meetings, one must be held on a regular basis for any student with disabilities (sometimes they're annual, bi-annual, or tri-annual depending on the disability in question).
Anyway, back to the scene. According to the psychologist, the little girl was at pre-school level mentally, despite being the age of 10. We were there to discuss what her goals would be for the upcoming year.
Included were such things as her being able to cut a six-inch dotted line.
Also included in this meeting was an extreme sense of tension. The parents are currently suing our principal and the district, not to mention they want to get my friend fired.
Since I have a background in business and have actually come to like math over the years, and I really love those Mastercard commercials, I'd like to illustrate for Joe and Joanne Taxpayer just what was going on here:
o Two attorneys (one for the district and one for the parents who will bill our district) x 4 hours: $800 (a conservative estimate).
o Two therapists " occupational and physical x 1 hour (they was released early): $80.
o Me (I was released early, too, since I had absolutely nothing to say): $40.
o My friend x 4 hours: $160.
o One assistant principal: $60 x 4 hours=$240.
o Two administrators from the special-ed department at our district: $60 x 2 x 4 hours=$480.
o One psychologist: $80 x 4 hours=$320
o 2 parents + 4 of their friends (2 of which are also filing a lawsuit): Unknown lost hours at their jobs.
o And this meeting was continued the next day because everyone got tired after four hours of heated discussion.
Total cost for that day: $2,120 + all of our combined missed productivity. By the way, did I mention it costs the district and county about $50,000 a year to €educate€ this girl outside of this meeting with all of her special services and transportation considered?
Some of you familiar with the Mastercard commercial right now are saying, €but that little girl is priceless.€ Yes, she is, without a doubt. I think everyone is valuable.
My question is, €Are we spending our tax dollars wisely on someone who will at most, according to her doctors, top-out at the mental level of a seven-year-old?€ Meanwhile, her parents are pissed off (I don't know at what) and are having everybody jump through hoops as an added bonus. I don't know what they expect, but I do know they're getting to what amounts to day-care for a special needs child for free.
That's probably a deal.
For those with the average kid, which is most of us, here's the current education issue I want you to consider. The amount of money spent on educating this girl every year could educate six of our average kids in my class. I don't even want to get into how many kids could have been educated if these parents win their lawsuit against my district.
So who is going to be the heartless bastard who stands up and asks, €Is this wrong?€ I guess it's just me for now.
What happened to art and music in my school? Gee, I don't know. How come my students don't spend more time on a computer? Gee, I wonder. This one child's education could buy an art, music, or computer teacher for my entire school. What about the other nine kids just like her in that class? What could they buy?
I wish we could afford everything. I wish we could give this little girl what she deserves. I wish my students could get what they deserve. But the math doesn't work out that way, folks. The €pie€ is only so big.
I understand equal opportunity, and I'm for it up until the point where it no longer makes any sense. I guess I never will understand taking away from most to benefit one. Apparently, I'm in the minority though. When one blog from the Business Week Single Parents' section proclaimed disabled kids as the €next civil rights movement,€ all, except one, of the comments applauded it.
It wasn't me. I was too ill to respond at the time.