Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Show Me The Money!!

I hate that movie, but the title is appropriate. I had a conversation with the District Rep for Holland's IEP on Monday. What it comes down to is money. The school he is at now doesn't want to give up a full-time slot because they wouldn't get the funding. The Charter school doesn't want a part-time student in a slot that they could get full funding for (which is only 80% of public school funds). So there you have it. Everybody wants the money. Maybe nobody should get it.

I also brought up the academic part of his IEP and said I didn't think that his current school was meeting his goals (or his learning style for that matter). He actually was surprised at this. Well, that's because you have this tiny little box that you've stuck your head in and think "this is what education looks like". And when a child doesn't succeed, you assume it's him and not you. Everything is behavior driven. So, forget that he needs motor activities to help him pattern and make sense of things. He's bored. He's not interested in the endless worksheets that don't connect him to the learning. It's all his fault because he can't learn how you're teaching him. He needs someone who can teach him to see how he thinks. If he takes in information differently, then it makes sense that it's the teaching that needs to change.

Why is everyone afraid of taking a chance on this? I'm so sick of hearing that his social and behavior needs are more important than his academic needs. If he's invested in something, if he's interested in something, then the behavior will follow. When does a kid act out when they're enjoying something?

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