On Special Education–Curriculum

Originally published January 18, 2019, on Jepsonfiles.com

Why is it that those who created the curriculum for special education think that we students with disabilities have zero ambition? I can’t understand how they think that all we want to do each day is another stupid set of meaningless tasks that do nothing for our futures. How does a fifty-piece puzzle help me contribute to society? I’m now really good at puzzles. Too bad there aren’t jobs out there that just want you to do puzzles all day. What that is is a time-filler so the teachers can have a break from trying to teach us something interesting or useful. You can’t get away with that in a regular classroom so why is it acceptable in special education? Because we don’t talk back and just do what we’re told or we get carted out of the room because we’re having a “tantrum.” I can tell you that all of the curriculum-developers and teachers would have behavior problems too if they were in our shoes and couldn’t tell anyone. What is the harm in spending puzzle-time reading us some classic books of literature or teaching us lessons from history instead? How could that possibly be less productive than giving us mundane tasks that kindergarten kids can do? I want to learn, not be babysat! In my special-needs curriculum, puzzles would be outlawed and we would read—a lot! I think you would find a classroom of quieter kids with fewer behavior problems that would go home each day feeling a bit more educated. Isn’t that why we are supposed to go to school?

Aaron.