Juli, I think you missed Cheryl's point

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Home : 2005 : December : 28

Juli, I think you missed Cheryl's point
By kirsten

Support Services should level the playing field, not tilt it in the other direction :) If it's any consolation, a close friend of mine is a SPED teacher. Two of her students have one-on-one aides and even though she is
a SPED teacher, she has had the same concerns you have with those aides and the assistance they were providing on homework and tests. She finally had to sit the aides down and give them explicit instructions to read the questions but provide no further guidance. The kids need to learn the concepts themselves. I can tell you she was VERY frustrated before she finally decided she needed

to say something. Having taught in a regular ed classroom and in a pull-out ESL program, I understand the conflict, but it really does not serve in the students' best interest to give them help beyond what is stated in their IEP. They have to face the real world eventually, so they need to learn how to deal with disappointments and develop the perseverence in the face of those disappointments necessary to be successful. Maybe you could gently suggest that perhaps their IEPs should be reevaluated if they are able to master 100% of the concepts on the very first try every time. How many kids do that? That might be enough for the SPED teacher to recognize that perhaps a little too much assistance is being provided???