Entry #4 - Chapter 4

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Moral Dilemma

Students with learning disabilities often need modifications in their assignments in order to minimize the impact of their disabilities and to facilitate their success. Kevin's IEP, for example, includes extended time on exams, no penalty for spelling errors on essays written in class, and ability to use the computer for extensive written work. You are Kevin's high school English teacher, and one of your students has protested that giving these accommodations to Kevin is not fair. The protest is growing, and no several students have voiced their resentment of Kevin's special treatment.

(A) How will you handle this?

If I were faced with this situation, I would explain to the students that everyone has different learning styles and learns at a different pace. I would explain that certain techniques that I use on you students allow you to learn the material successfully; however, these techniques do not always work for Kevin. Therefore, I must find ways I am able to help Kevin learn and be successful.

(B) What are your personal beliefs about this issue, and how will your beliefs affect your professional decisions?

I personally believe that everyone has very different learning styles and learns at a different pace. For example, I am more successful in the classroom when I am learning hands on rather than just listening to a lecture. However, this does not work for everyone. Therefore, the teacher must make accommodations to her strategies to meet all of their students needs. I believe that Kevin deserves the modifications he is getting, and if I as the teacher were seeing him improve, I would keep the implications I made for him intact.

(C) What does "fair" mean in the educational context for individuals with special learning needs?

I believe that "fair" in the educational context for individuals with special learning needs means that these students are receiving modifications and accommodations that will bring them to the same level of learning as the students of the "mainstream" classroom. Fair means that all the students have an equal potential to succeed in the classroom and that no one is at a disadvantage because of their disability.