News that the Special Olympics are extending their competitive sports program into Las Vegas schools is great news for the students in the special education program. Students who need extra supports to learn don’t necessarily have the opportunity to participate in organized sports. This may be because of physical challenges, intellectual disabilities, or other factors.
Sports Should be Available to All Students at Las Vegas Schools
Not all learning in Las Vegas schools takes place in the classroom. Students involved in the Special Education Program can and should be exposed to all the positive aspects of being involved in team sports. They get the opportunity to practice and improve their motor skills and coordination. Another advantage to these students attending Las Vegas schools is that they get to interact with each other as a team.
Too often these students, whether they are attending Las Vegas schools or not, are not made to feel as if they are part of the school community. They are in Special Ed for specific reasons, that’s true, but just because they need an alternate learning environment, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t children first. Maybe they won’t be playing for the varsity team at their school, but that certainly doesn’t mean that they can’t enjoy being physically active.
Las Vegas Schools’ Special Needs Kids Gain Confidence
Too often those children in Special Education classes in Las Vegas schools are defined by their challenges, rather than appreciated for what they can do. A sports program, like the one provided by Special Olympics, gives them the opportunity to participate at whatever level they are at right now. Some of the children involved in the program have never played sports before.
Perhaps they didn’t seem interested, or their parents were concerned that they would be picked at because of their abilities (or lack thereof). Participating in sports in Las Vegas schools is a great way to build confidence for special-needs children. They can apply this boost in self-esteem and use it as a springboard to success in other areas of their lives, both in the Las Vegas schools and outside the classroom.
Las Vegas schools should start off with the position that all children should be able to participate in programs offered by the educational system, even if some accommodations need to be made. The students in Las Vegas schools attending Special Education programs can only benefit from this basic premise. Let’s find ways that Las Vegas schools and other educational institutions across the country, can use programs like the Special Olympics to reinforce the fact that all children share similar characteristics, whether they are in the regular program or an alternative one.
By: Patricia Hawke
Posts Tagged ‘Education Classes’
Special Olympics Moving Into Las Vegas Schools is a Good Thing
December 27th, 2009Long Island Schools Putting Fewer Students in Special Education
November 15th, 2009
Over the last couple of years, Long Island schools have been placing fewer students in Special Education classes. Instead, some students at Long Island schools with special needs have been receiving tutoring to help them keep up with their school work.
Mainstreaming Students in Long Island Schools
On the face of it, mainstreaming special needs students attending Long Island schools into a regular classroom as much as possible makes sense. If the special-needs student can attend classes with his or her peers, there is a cost savings for the board of education. No matter what we want for our children attending Long Island schools, there are only so many dollars available for education.
For too long, children who were “different” were kept away from the mainstream. Students in the regular education stream didn’t have a lot of opportunities to get to know them or interact with them. Special Education students were the object of suspicion and/or ridicule, simply because other students didn’t understand them; all they knew was that these other children were different. Being different was not something to be celebrated at that point.
Any measure that helps students attending Long Island schools learn to be tolerant of others can only be for the good. Humans tend to be suspicious of things (and people) they don’t understand. With time, mainstreaming can help to reinforce the idea that there is no “Us” and “Them” at Long Island schools. All students are in the environment to learn together and to learn from each other.
Long Island Schools Need to Ensure Students Don’t Fall Through the Cracks
It would be most unfortunate if, in the interest of saving a few dollars, students who need to be in a different learning environment to do their best work were denied access to Special Education programs. We shouldn’t be too quick to either segregate students from their peers or to push them into the mainstream learning environment in Long Island schools.
Instead, we need to take the time and allocate the appropriate resources so that a thorough investigation is conducted when a student is having trouble learning at Long Island schools. Only with a proper diagnosis of a difficulty, can a plan be implemented in Long Island schools to address that student’s needs.
Our children are our most valuable resource. When they don’t get the support they need to become effective learners, we are setting them up to fail in life. It would be far better for teachers and administrators at Long Island schools to find out what the students’ needs are and find the resources to meet them, whether in the regular classroom or an alternate one.
By: Patricia Hawke
