Learners, Language, and Diversity (SES)/Module #2

Learners, Language, and Diversity (SES)

            Disability, the inability to do something specific such as walk or hear. Handicap, a disadvantage in a particular situation, sometimes caused by a disability (Woolfolk 2019). Every student that walks into a classroom has differing abilities. These abilities can foster educational growth or inhibit educational growth. As educators, it is our duty to identify these differing abilities, design and structure supports to help students “rise above” their disabilities and foster growth within the abilities they already have. It is important for educators to be cautious while identifying these differing abilities, by staying mindful that identification of a disability does not become a label, or “end all” solution. A label does not tell which methods to use with individual students—labels can become self-fulfilling prophesies (Woolfolk 2019). Labels produce stigmas that hinder academic growth within students. The successful educator is one who not only identifies the disability, but also identifies the student’s abilities—providing academic supports to enable student growth and self-esteem.

            Supporting learners of all abilities starts with educators, and parents, but does not end there. It is vitally important to support learners in supporting other learners! My son Darek was part of an initiative called the Nora Project through his school/grade. This initiative is designed to introduce students in the general education setting to students who spend 100% of their time in the special education setting. The students learned about students with differing abilities and needs prior to meeting their “Nora Friends.” They learned what empathy is and why it’s important. They also learned that despite the differing abilities between students there needs to be acceptance. Students were taught that although these students have struggles, they are still able to learn, just like them. The Nora Project built friendships between students who would otherwise not be friends, or even aware of each other. This initiative is important for students as well as teachers, it goes beyond labeling and limiting, it helps to ensure acceptance and support between humans early in life. I can foresee the success of this initiative spanning decades into the future, ending discrimination and misconceptions of what students—humans can learn.

            Pragmatics, the rules for when and how to use language to be an effective communicator in a particular culture (Woolfolk 2019). Students need to effectively learn how to communicate in order to be successful in the academic setting, social setting and life in general. Educators need to be able to identify when a student is struggling with pragmatics, so that they may support the student immediately with interventions designed for pragmatic development.

            During my first few years as a mother, I immediately noticed that my son Clark was not able to verbalize at the appropriate developmental level. My son was pretty much non-verbal until after the age of three. During this stage of his development, he was only able to point and say few words—this led to frequent outbursts and behavioral issues. He was screened by the school district and placed in an ECE (Early Childhood Education) pre-school classroom, within weeks he was able to produce sufficient language to communicate with myself and others. The supports that were provided to him in that academic setting proved to be successful, and further proof that early intervention is important and necessary for students displaying these needs.

Through-out Clarks years in elementary school, he has received social work and speech support to develop his pragmatic skills before he was ever given a formal diagnosis from a doctor. At age 9, he was diagnosed with social pragmatic communication disorder. If the school had waited for a diagnosis to begin interventions on my son, his verbal and social skills would not be where they are today.

            Socioeconomic status (SES), relative standing in the society based on income, power, background and prestige (Woolfolk 2019). Through-out the societies of the world; wealth equals power! How does this power effect students in general? Students of high economic status are privy to first class educations, the students in this demographic are given supports academically to foster their growth beyond basic academic standards. Students of low socioeconomic status do not always receive the same supports as students in high socioeconomic areas. In general, students of all ethnic groups with high SES show higher average levels of achievement on test scores and stay in school longer than students with low SES, and this difference widens students from 7 to 15 (Berliner, 2005; Cutuli et al., 2013). The students living in low SES areas are not always receiving all the supports they should be through their education. There is also a high probability that they are not receiving these supports at home either. This lack of support can be caused by many reasons: parents are working—can’t be home with children, parents don’t have medical insurance to get children screened for learning deficits, parents are not educated on the importance of a fair public education… the list is immense.

            As the age-old saying goes: “The proof is in the pudding.” When my oldest son went to public school for the first time, he was supported with an extensive IEP (Individual Education Plan) that supported his social, verbal, and academic needs. During this time Clark was flourishing in his ECE class. The following school year we moved and had to transfer districts, to a school within a low SES area. During this time my sons IEP was nearly cut in half—social work and speech minutes were nearly eliminated. He was now missing out on the supports he needed and deserved. That entire year the teachers gave me “bad” reports on my son daily, almost as if they were mad at my child and me. They gave me these bad reports without providing me with any solutions or supports to help him outside of the classroom, I was very worried to take my son to school each day—how were they reacting towards his behaviors? We’re they nice to him? The following year we moved again, this time to a high SES area/school. Immediately the new teacher and support staffed called me in for a revision of my sons IEP. They increased his speech and social work supports and provided my son with much needed accommodations. From that moment on, I never received any negative comments about my son, and he flourished academically and improved socially. His current school was quite literally a godsend. Recalling this experience I now understand that the school who cut my son’s supports from his IEP, did not have the funding to supply needed social workers and speech pathologists to serve the students in the district adequately.

            Working in two districts with very different SES (low and high), I can see clear differences in the education and supports provided to students. It is important for an educator to be aware of these differences and “fight” for the rights of students—regardless of school funds. Obviously, it is not always easy to provide support based on school funds and budgets, but the effective educator changes the way he, or she teaches to accommodate students of all backgrounds regardless of SES.

Woolfolk, A. (2019). Educational Psychology. New York, NY: Pearson Education America