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Weeding Out Education’s Faulty Categorizing Is More Than Necessary.
How many kids have been “victimized” by school systems that relegate them to special education classes or who simply drop out of school altogether because of test classification?
Teachers hold the future in their hands, and when school administrators make decisions about the classes in which a student should be, it is life-changing and requires our attention. How many kids are relegated to classes below their ability because they don’t test well, or they are unmotivated or their home life is disastrous? So many factors enter into this testing-school-placement equation, yet they are ignored, and the score is all-important.
I was talking to a mother about her son recently, and his interests came up. The mother told me that he had been placed in special education classes, much to the dismay of the teacher there. The teacher asked, “How was he ever put in these classes? He’s much too smart."
Yes, he is, but his home life at the time was an emotional war zone, and he was a victim. Once a truce had been worked out among all the parties involved, the boy began to blossom. He now excels at reading books far beyond his grade level (e.g., reading at a high school level in grade school) and eagerly asks for books as presents. He will spend hours in his room reading.
