Teaching children with disabilities Essay
In understanding the differences that are occurring between two countries (US and Germany), I interviewed two German educators and deciphered similarities and differences in the way each assists children with special needs. During the course of the interview, they presented their arguments on as to how the government and educational institutions continue to address this issue.
One German teacher argued that they taught special education by using different networks and channels that south to improve and enhance the level of involvement among disabled students. Recalling her experience, she mentions how she participated in the special support co-operative setup wherein she helped tutor disabled students in the weekend on a particular month. She mentioned that she uses different strategies that enable her practice possible. This includes attention getting, simulated reading, and object familiarization. Similarly, another German educator that I had interviewed mentioned that she facilitates special education in a special school for disabled people.
In here, they adapt different strategies she had acquired after training for six months. This involves using different communication models that can help enhance their students’ capability to decipher information and communicate accordingly despite their disabilities. In her experience, she was able to accomplish this task under the ‘Sonderkindergarten’ and ‘Forderkindergarten’.
At the same time, both of these German teachers pointed out that they also participated in various support mechanisms that enables them to familiarize and become conscious about their task and responsibilities. They attributed the wide scope of these programs in the ability of the government to reach out and appropriately allocate budget that are considered to be encompassing and exhaustive in nature. Due to this, there are better avenues for these individuals to enjoy and reap the benefits of education and instruction. On the other hand, respondents coming from the United States mention that they handled special education by promoting inclusion and pointing out what needs to be done.
This can be made possible by using new mechanism and tools devised by fellow teachers and backed up by research. By doing this, US teachers can keep up with the pace and needs of disabled students. Comparing the responses of the German educator to that of the American, Mrs. Smith mentions that they have different ways in creating programs for students. According to her, ‘there are various ways of addressing this issue, however the final decisions remains to be the on the educational institution.
This is different from the German side because in here, educators are given multiple opportunities and options in doing facilitating special education. Moreover, another American teacher Ms. Todds mentions that ‘special education in the United States operate under existing standards and from there devise our programs’ Seeing this, what Ms.
Todds may be referring to involves the framework and tenets provided by the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Due to this, Ms Todds feels that special educators feel constrained and cannot follow appropriate strategies that will maximize the needs of these students due to the existence of these standards. This is different from the German perspective as legislation goes hand-in-hand with new ideas and programs to make it dynamic and adaptable to change.
In the end, the four responses coming from the German and American educators showcase how diverse and dynamic their strategies are for inclusion. Seeing this, each country must remain active and dynamic in creating wider opportunities for change to come in. Only by doing this can such initiative be adaptable and sustainable to change.
