Special Education: The Fruit and the Tree, Pt. 1

Special education is, contrary to many, an evolution in education. I am not 100% certain of its origins, but it began to develop as more school districts began to see the necessity to meet the needs of all students. This change in philosophy was mainly pushed through more political activism at the district level and legal precidents statewide and nationally.

In the end, schools no longer can exclude or ignore those students and parents who need more "modifications" and "accomodations" to be successful in the tradtional academic environment. In fact, even though education is about change and learning, special education has really been the force behind much change and new thought in teaching strategies and learning strategies.

With that being said, where do these students come from? How did they arrive in the special education classes? Several avenues exist for how students become "special" in schools. For the purpose of this first part, we'll stick to the most common and simplistic tenant: the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree. Yes, that's right: genetics!

Special education, maybe more so than any other area in education, demonstrates how socio-economics impact population growth and development. The reality is that most of your students in special education classes aren't mutants. They didn't just spring forth from a seemingly calm pool of genetic stew. No, they were the creation of parents who themselves either were diagnosed with learning disabilities or posesses recessive characteristics. Now, don't get me wrong, middle class and even wealthy people can have students with disabilities. For the cases of significant disabilities and challenges, though, one doesn't have far to look but an tax return to see that poor people somehow have the higher burden to bear for being disabled.