Working With Students of all Different Abilities

In today’s world we see more and more of a multicultural society both in and out of the school community. As a teacher, this requires that we are able to work with and adjust to teaching many different levels of learning from highly advanced students to students with disabilities. Being able to teach students of all different levels, especially special needs, can be very rewarding to an individual. There are a few helpful ways to go about working with the diverse students in a multicultural society, which include: establishing and frequently reviewing classroom rules and procedures, set fair and challenging expectations for all students, relate new material to previous lessons and the backgrounds and experiences, have high student engagement by using several instructional strategies, model skills and strategies as well as emphasize key points, monitor independent work and provide precise feedback, and include joy and success. All of these points can improve a classroom setting in order to make everyone successful as well as feel involved.

          Throughout the years several different laws and regulations have been created in order to meet the needs of all students, especially in special education. The federal law has established five critical principles of special education, which are zero reject, nondiscriminatory education, appropriate education, least-restrictive environment, and procedural due process. Zero reject is meant to ensure that no child with disabilities is denied a free, appropriate public education. Nondiscriminatory education is focused around the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, which mandates that children with disabilities are fairly assessed so they safe from inappropriate classification and tracking. Appropriate education further explains zero reject and says that children have the right to education that includes accurate diagnosis of their needs and responsive programs for each child’s specific needs. Least-restrictive environment ensures that students with disabilities are not segregated from their age-group peers. Procedural due process allows individuals to protest a school’s decision regarding their education. All of these principles allow for states to receive financial support and make a free and appropriate education for all children.  

          In society today technology is a part of everyday life for almost everyone, if not everyone. This however has its pros and cons when it comes to the realm of education. The benefits of assistive technology include wheelchairs, computer programs for assisting the blind, and switches that respond to voice commands. These devices are used in classrooms and at home in order to help students be able to be more efficient and successful in the school setting; they can also be modified to fit the needs of all different types of disabilities. On the other hand, there is the view which looks at the negative effects of all the modern technologies for students. The negative effects can hinder both those students with disabilities and those without. Some of the problems seen in the technology world occur when students are at home on the computer and include this such as: students joining hate groups, cyber bullying, watching inappropriate videos, and picking on specific stereotypes.