Special Education » Education System

Ohio Schools Closing the Gap for Students with Disabilities

admin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:23:48 +0000

The Ohio Schools are redefining their Special Education program and closing the gap in the achievement of students with disabilities. The Ohio schools believe that achievement gaps are not the same as ability gaps, and the education system is responsible for ensuring that high achievement is an attainable goal for all students. Furthermore, the Ohio schools has put forth that meaningful participation of students with disabilities in state assessment is absolutely essential if every child is to be assured access to challenging curriculum and appropriate instruction.

In 2001, the Ohio schools made a major shift in approaching students with disabilities by revising school policy to require students with disabilities to participate in state assessment. Now, content standards are the focus of instruction for all students in every classroom, and a variety of research-based instructional strategies are aligned with the content standards. A coherent array of interventions, supports and services are used to ensure the success of students with disabilities. The policy now is that assessment is a reflection of instruction and instruction is a reflection of assessment, creating a shared responsibility for the education of students with disabilities.

The Ohio schools’ goals for teaching students with disabilities are standards, capacity, and accountability. They will improve access to, participation in, and progress in the general curriculum, based on the Ohio academic standards, for students with disabilities. Encouraging others to consider students with disabilities as general education children first is the capacity goal — assuming they will achieve, rather than assuming they may not achieve. The goal of accountability is to increase the performance of children with disabilities on state and district assessments from which they previously have been exempt.

The Ohio schools developed the following strategies for improvement:

• Redefine special education at the state level to shift focus away from compliance and paperwork to standards-based instruction for all children.

• Implement a statewide monitoring system designed to assess district/educational compliance with federal and state law applicable to students with disabilities.

• Align the work of the Special Education Regional Resource Center (SERRC) network with the priorities of the Ohio schools, including No Child Left Behind, differentiating instruction, positive behavior support, reading/literacy, and progress monitoring.

• Maximize use of federal and state funds earmarked for children with disabilities.

• Develop and disseminate products, tools and services focused on improving results for student who are at risk, including students with disabilities.

• Use the accountability system to leverage change in policy and practice at the local school level.

The Ohio schools are focusing attention and energy on assisting all students to achieve high academic standards. They are preparing and supporting teachers and administrators to ensure that all students are taught what they need in order to succeed. They are adapting the public education structure in a manner to ensure all students will learn the Ohio schools’ academic standards.

This means fewer but more meaningful goals for all students, effective use of student assessment data and resources, a fundamental shift in focus from what is taught to what children learn, and allowing assessment to drive classroom instruction, which is rigorous and aligned to the standards.

The Ohio schools are creating a culture where each student feels valued and is given the ability and tools to succeed, including the students with disabilities.

This information on Ohio schools is brought to you by http://www.schoolsk-12.com

By: Patricia Hawke

Outdoor Education Camps With Programs

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:14:14 +0000

Summer camps are special camps arranged for people to enjoy their vacation or tour in any adventures. Summer camps comes up with special offers outdoor education camp, leadership camp, science camp, awareness camp and many other social welfare schemes are offered to the public for reasonable prices. Outdoor education forms major part of the education and it is more required for people. Outdoor education is considered has important and essential requirement for most of the people and they fetches more demand among the people. Outdoor education is created and offered specially for kids, children and adults.

The main purpose of estimating and offering outdoor education is to develop self confidence and self esteem among the people. The outdoor education activities, outdoor education courses, outdoor education programs are offered to kids, children, adults by outdoor education schools or outdoor education centers. Outdoor education camps are conducted either inside or outside classrooms. Outdoor education forms major part of the education system and it is more important to be known by the people to come up with every possibility in life. Most of the parents feels better that their children should be aware of outdoor education programs offered and they should compete with outside world.

Outdoor education activities or outdoor education courses are provided by more number of outdoor institutes or adventure outdoor schools. An outdoor education course, outdoor education programs initiates cooperation, coordination, team building, goal settings and spirituality among the students and others. Outdoor education camps are provided by more number of outdoor education institutes or outdoor education schools for reasonable and affordable prices. The outdoor education camp provided will be more worth and valuable for the students who obtains and they are provided under complete knowledge and experience.

Generally, adventure outdoor school or outdoor education schools provides outdoor education activities, outdoor education courses, outdoor education programs to kids, children and adults under prescheduled, guidance and procedures. With regards to qualified, professional and expert outdoor education instructor, outdoor education programs will be offered. Under proper guidance and precautions, outdoor educations will be offered to the people to enable them to know the required outdoor education provided. More number of kids, children and adults are obtaining the outdoor education programs offered.

The outdoor education professionals, experts or instructors guide the kids, children and adults in efficient manner. Generally, outdoor education programs and outdoor education courses are offered to students based on age group, duration of course offered and kind of outdoor education program selected. The outdoor education camp offered will be creative, enthusiastic, innovative and technical appraisement for the students hindering. Outdoor camps will be offered to the students for reasonable price consideration and they are offered by more number of adventure outdoor schools.

By: Ron Victor

Analyzing Lack Of Educational Motivation In Students

admin — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:12:13 +0000

Education is the key towards success for every country.It helps to
boost the economy and to generate democratic society. The
main resource of any country is Human Resource. If we’ll prepare
educated human in our society in advance by providing proper education
facilities to our younger generation, then we could move towards the
path of success.

If we look towards our Education system, there are many unveiled reasons
behind the de-motivation and poor academic performance of
students. Despite a great deal of effort since from the day of
independence, academic achievement among students in Pakistan continues
to lag behind. No doubt we are moving towards the successful future, but our education system some how, is hampering the progress of our country.

The results, which we see in matriculation, intermediate and graduation
are not up to mark.

The interest in students to achieve quality education is de-motivated
in the recent years.The only thing student require, is
Certificate/Degree with passing marks.

In the attempt to improve school results, the teacher educators and
education counselor are trying their level best to find the roots of
poor academic achievement of school students.Educational Psychologist
has also developed many tests, to judge and improve the skills of
students, but the real cause has not been founded till date, that what
makes the student frustrated to back out of education so easily?
Might be it’s the fault of Ministry of Education to develop lack of
integrated curriculum and wrong dimensional policies or it might be the
fault of a teacher, whose teaching style is not appropriate to the age
level students they teach, or its the problem of Learning Disability in
a child.

Some point the finger at the outrageous homework loads students given
by the teachers. Students are overburdened with academic demands of
questionable value and, as a result, end up indifferent to studies,
exhausted, and worn out.In addition,the heavy loads of books are not
worthwhile, until and unless the students are ready to go through it.
Our Curriculum Ministry is trying to develop curriculum according to
their own judgement, without keeping in view the taste and level of a
student.

The reason for the poor academic achievement could be any out of these.
But the question is, Why the students academic records are more
successful in European and American Countries?

The answer is that, they are keen to learn and explore things. No over
load of work is given to them nor books load and examination pressure
is exerted on them.The books are well integrated too.
The new writers, who want to write curriculum books according to the
requirement of students are never encouraged in our country.

Teachers, even sometimes avoid researching, and teaches whatever is
given in the textbook.

The main contributing factors that lead to low learning proficiency of
students according to my experience as a teacher are as follows

1. Incomprehension of the Studying Purpose

The main reason why so many students don’t feel interested in what they
are doing at school, is the incomprehension of their studying routine.
A vast majority of private and government teachers are not even
bothered to explain to their students what the learning outcomes are,
why they need to achieve them and how they will be assessed.Mostly

Teachers take out their text books and start making a wrong impression
of rote learning on students, and then evaluate their students without
seeing the capabilities of a child.Students are not encouraged to write
their own answers. Despite of it, teacher wants their student to copy
the same answer in the examination, which they have taught or were made
to write.

Thus, the writing and analytical thinking skill gets hamper, for which
we can’t blame a student.

Student just accomplish their tasks by command, which needs to be
bluntly carried out.Students prepare projects, submit reports etc just
to get extra marks, without knowing the purpose of their study.

2. Wrong Assessment Process

Assessment means to evaluate children capabilities, not to judge them.
Assessment in Pakistan is often wrongly intended by teachers as a
punishment for students, or traps to catch them out. Grades seem to
exist in order to show students’ errors, mistakes and drawbacks in the
study area, rather than to give students reasonable chance of
demonstrating their achievements of specific learning goals. Same five
years questions, wrong curriculum development by the ministry of
education, changing of the course at the last moment of the end of the
year are going on in secondary and higher classes. Assessment should
not be based on counting the pages, which a student fills. Rather than
this, evaluating system should be changed.Invigilators should be well
educated to judge the learning tasks and own input, else the wrong
assessment process, which is going on since a long time would create a
fearful attitude in students towards assessment.

Students are learning not for acquiring knowledge but for getting a
“pass.” Students, who works hard gets low marks, because the teacher
checks the paper according to their knowledge and often forgets student
effort of contributing towards answering question.

3. Lack of integrated Curriculum

Ministry of Education is making such a curriculum, which is not up to
mark and is not well integrated with full resources. Mistakes in the
books and wrong statements makes student furious.
Activities are always missing in our curriculum books. The quality and
the presentation of book makes jack a dull boy.

Our curriculum is made by professionals, but the question is, Why the
curriculum is not made yet, according to the needs and requirement of
the students? We are just trying to change our curriculum all the time
on the basis of the prevailing fear of any other examination
systems,coming ahead in the competition. If we are capable, why don’t
we move ahead rather than taking wrong decisions at the end moment.

4. Teachers Fault

With classes consisting of more than 15-20 children, many students feel
deprived of the due attention on their teacher’s part.Teachers are the
leader and a role model for every student. Every student want to be
unique and want their place in teachers heart. They are placed among
the great lot of students without their personal interests, and
problems with studying being taken into account. As a result, students
don’t feel cared about, lose their identity, become indifferent to
studies and lose faith in the brighter future.

Teacher should treat their student equally and give proper attention to
every student of his/her class.

5. Wrong attitude of parents

Many parents are “performance oriented,” which emphasises results such
as students’ grades, rather than knowing whether their child have
mastered the material or not.They just want their child to be on the
top of the list and thats all.

Children gets frustrated, when parent keeps a lot of expectations from

our child, which de-motivates them most of the time.

There are many parents,who tells their child in advance that they have
to join their fathers or forefathers business after passing school,
which also makes student less motivated to perform well in examination
and thus, poor performance is seen in the results, just because of the
wrong impression embossed by parents on their children.

By: Munir Moosa