Special schools for special needs: Pro and con
Re: Special schools for special needs considered, Feb. 15

We thought The Sun had misprinted an article on the education of children with disabilities from its first edition 100 years ago, but then reality set in. In 2007, Education Minister Shirley Bond is calling for special segregated schools in order to “ incubate” and “ innovate.” Clearly she has not learned from the so- called “ creative” schooling that took place at Woodlands and similar institutions throughout B. C. Clearly she has not heard the painful stories from the individuals who somehow survived the continuous abusive treatment they received under the guise of an education. And clearly she does not honour the Herculean determination of their parents who forced the closure of such institutions. We call on Premier Gordon Campbell to stop this plan immediately. MARGARET BIRRELL

Executive Director BC Coalition of People

with Disabilities

 

Re: Bond schools plan attacked, Feb. 16

As a dyslexic student, I completely support the provincial government’s plans for schools for students with special needs. Dyslexia hampers some people’s ability to read and write. Dyslexic students are in no way stupid, they just need to be taught to read in a different way. I managed to overcome my disability with the help of the tutors at Kenneth Gordon School, and learned how to read in about a year. Now I am a straight A student at Burnaby North high school. The mainstream school system doesn’t have the ability to provide for the range of learning needs for disabled students. Being in an environment with students with the same needs as you makes you feel as if you belong instead feeling like an outsider. When you are put in special programs in mainstream school people assume you are stupid, which is often not the case. KIRA WOLDRING Burnaby

We need model schools that provide the right environment for our children to learn. We are not going back to the dark ages of forced segregation, as suggested by some teachers. But perhaps we are now acknowledging that the system of full integration is not the “ best practice” for all children.

Integration works to a point. I have a son with Asperger’s syndrome and other learning disabilities. He has been successfully integrated in a small private school for the last seven years, but now as he is preparing to enter high school, we have only one public, non- religious based option. He will not survive in that crowded environment. He needs a small, quiet, bright place with some social interaction and structure.

If the provincial government were to help us set up a model school, we would have children who are welladjusted and who will make great contributions to society. Model schools would not turn the clock back 20 years; they would mean that we have learned that one solution — ” integration” — is not always best. Every child is different and should be allowed to learn in an environment that suits his or her needs. ALISON DOUGLAS

Smithers

It was with sadness that I read that the B. C. government is considering creating special schools for children with disabilities. My 25- year old son has developmental disabilities. When Steven was old enough to start school, one of the options was Sunny Cedars, a segregated school for children with disabilities. We wanted him to go to his neighbourhood school, but that door wasn’t open to us. So Steven travelled by taxi to a school where they had a program for kids with disabilities. The teachers were great and the school was welcoming — we just wanted Steven to attend school with the kids in his neighbourhood.

Finally, in Grade 4 Steven was accepted at his neighbourhood school. The teachers worked hard to include Steven in all the activities. Steven developed friendships with some of the other children. I think his experience there gave him the opportunity to develop into the happy, caring, well- adjusted young man that he now is.

I hope that the government rethinks this idea. Children with disabilities have a right to be included in their community, and school is a big part of that community. JUDY ENNIS Pitt Meadows

Like many parents with children with special needs, I am opposed to creating special schools for them. Our public schools are for all our children and should be funded to meet their needs. Many children continue to struggle, not because they are incapable of learning, but because the current system of tagging them for additional ( inadequate) funding does not give school districts the necessary resources.

Considering removing them from our neighbourhood schools is ludicrous and ill- considered. Where will it end? First remove special needs and aboriginal people, who next? English as a second language? Children of particular religious beliefs? Does this process of elimination sound familiar? As an inclusive society that embraces the diversity of all that is human, we are dabbling in dangerous waters.

We need to adapt the education system to meet the needs of those it serves. To do this we need to pay attention to the ample research on best educational practices and ensure there are enough resources available to implement them. SI STAINTON Tsawwassen

I have a child who went to James Cameron for two years. The difference has been truly amazing. His symptoms have been reduced from moderate to mild. He is now integrated back into the Surrey school district simply because we could no longer afford the price of private schooling — not to mention the commute from Surrey to Maple Ridge five days a week.

In his public school, a mildly intellectually disabled child in Grade 6 has been “ integrated” into a intensive core French class because the regular class had met its special needs quota. Of what benefit is it to this child who struggles with speech and language to be in a French environment? Integration at this school consists of children in wheelchairs, with autism or Down syndrome, sitting in the hallways with their special education assistant. Is that “ integration”?

My son uses a computer program ( at home and tutoring) called Kurzweil 3000, which helps him with reading and writing. His teachers have not bothered to learn the program, which would only require one or two hours of training. The one hour of pull- out time he receives in the learner support team room is grossly inadequate. He needs remediation to increase his reading fluency. Many LST teachers have not been trained to work with learning disabled children. Consequently, we must utilize private educational therapy to reduce the effects of his dyslexia.

The B. C. Teachers’ Federation should speak with its members before it takes a stance on this issue. The teachers I have spoken with know they are unable to provide the differentiated instruction and assessment these children need. Teach, test and hope for the best does not work with these kids. LESLEY SHEPPARD

Surrey