Neuro-of the brain, Diversity-the state or fact of being diverse;difference, unlikeness
It is a fact that “No Child Left Behind” was born from the disproportionate number of young boys of Color who find/found themselves in Special Education classrooms. Although this law has been an unprecedented failure, we need to look also at how young Men of Color end up as the majority of prison populations across the United States.
#Different Thinkers are called Different Thinkers for a reason! I only taught at-risk children, most of whom were Children of Color. These children are caught in such a web, not of their creation!
As a culture, we are so used to being paranoid the minute we see a Hoody, Dreds or low-lying pants on boys and men of Color, that we do some very dangerous things! We assume they committed crimes they did not, we do not hear their stories, and we lock them up for Life-these are facts!
Why is it that these same boys are imprisoned without parole, when their Caucasian counterparts are somehow not as guilty?!
#Different Thinkers come in a variety of kinds, shapes, colors,sizes and cultures. I have met children who are handling unbelievable stresses that most adults would not handle at all.
In order to change the profile of American prisons, we must change the profile of our preschools! Head Start and most other preschool programs (I can say this from direct personal experience) need a massive overhaul! #Different Thinkers require an organized, scheduled, stimulating preschool experience where real teaching is going on, not just directed play and over-glorified daycare! There are qualified, and quality compassionate Teachers who are aching for more! The children need more!
Having your hands tied and told, literally told not to teach, is an abomination to #Different Thinkers and the qualified Educators who are ready, willing, and able to take these children to the level they deserve!
When Head Start is saying one thing, and the School System is requiring another, there is a huge disconnect! Many, many studies have been done showing that the implementation of Head Start Policy is so varied and vastly different depending on the state, and the situation. This would be appropriate if Head Start was catered to meet the needs of each specific population and situation, but it isn’t. You can talk to two different Center Managers and get 7 different answers, all of which have to do with keeping their funding and preventing Law Suits!
In order to lift all #Different Thinkers who live at risk out of the prison tract, major, thoughtful, honest and realistic changes must be made! These young men who need qualified, focused, support and encouragement that is free from pity and condescension, are some of the Brightest Minds there are! Their talents are being wasted because of so many factors that take little or no effort to change!
The prisons in the United States are costing tax payers billions of dollars every year when the U.S. economy is tanking! There are problems that can be solved and one of the best solutions is quality, focused Early Intervention!
Light and Love to you!
Heather M. McCrae, MM MEd
Neurodiversity Coaching
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Great read. Thanks for sharing!
Kind regards,
Cindi
Thanks, Cindi!
Heather,
Please share what you believe the major required/necessary changes are. Warm regards from Los Angeles,
Emmanuel
Emmanuel, early intervention is cheap and easy! When I taught preschool special education and it was when we had a supportive center manager, we did it! Children who had indicators, i.e.the appearance of speech or other delays, came into our classroom, were given assessments by us, and then according to assessment indicators where given an IEP, we followed the protocols, got the kids what they needed and sent them on their way! They got into Special Education, stayed for a year or two on the preschool level, and were ready for a general education classroom! In and out, many problems solved on the preschool level! I have done it, and it is do-able! Can every child get in and get out? No, but many, many, many, can!
I am a special education advocate. An early intervention plan is designed to hopefully get early services in place to help a child become more successful when transitiioning into kindergarten. Oftentimes, I am seeing this happen; however, with all these budget cuts we are seeing less in the way of Child Find and early identification of special needs. It is the parent I come in contact with that says their child is not doing so well in 1st/2nd grade and as late as 4th grade. The question is: Why aren’t teachers identifying their needs sooner?
well if you have GenEd teachers with no Special Education Training and an overflowing classroom, kids will fall through it-it stinks! I guess the answer is, with all the budget cuts, parents need to find Tutors and Coaches and work around the System as they can afford it. Sad but true until things change!
Love and Light to you,
Heather
Great Post! I have always wondered, having a “neurodiverse” child, how much of the black population had atypical learning styles. I’ll hopefully come back with some facts. It’s funny…this came up at a talk by John Elder Robison, when a black man brought up that far fewer blacks were labelled autistic: Robison noted that many of them were overrepresented in prison, and was very concerned. Forty percent of entreprenuers are Dyslexic; but so are 40% of prisoners, when they only account for 10% of the population. Being a special educator, one KNOWS that black kids may be harder to teach because they just don’t learn typically, ie, the way we teach, and nobody cares.
On the good side, I have a brother who is dyslexic who is a lawyer and passed the bar on the first try. On the bad side, he may one day be a politician…oy…
You bring truth to the discussion, things that people don’t discuss typically. I hope people are wise enough to read what you have to say.
Thank you so much for your input! In the classroom, I worked in the classroom only with Children of Colour and Hispanic Children, and they all learn differently-all of us do too! People of Colour have brought so much to North American Culture, and like everyone else, deserve our respect. We must cater our teaching to best suit the gifts and talents of our Different Learners-whatever their Culture and/or background.
Light and Love to you!
Heather
Schools seem to be testing er, ah, teaching the science/mathmatical mind, If you think that way, you are likely to have success in school. If your gifts are in music, art, hands on mechanical…not so much is taught.
What if they taught only to the artistic way of thinking. There would be a whole lot of us flunking out, or just getting by. Or only mechanics, or athletics. (Thank GOD it wasn’t athletics, I’d have not made it past 3rd grade!)
Schools should help everyone develop a skill and a future, not serve as a winnowing of children into slots they weren’t meant to fill. Until we start teaching to kids, and not tests, there are only going to be more kids looking to belong somewhere, and not being told they are stupid or lazy. I’ve had to battle for my son every step of the way, that he is deserving exactly as he is.
Sorry…you hit a hot spot.
You are Preaching to the Choir Sister! Preach anytime! Me blog es su Blog! LOL!
pardon my poor grammar, I meant mi blog es su blog! LOL!