Torey Hayden describes a school year with four problem
children in her book
Somebody Else’s Kids.
Lori Sjokheim is one of her problem children. Lori and her twin sister, Libby,
are seven years old. Their biological parents were extremely abusive and both
girls were adopted at five years old. Both Lori and Libby repeated kindergarten
due to emotional issues. Libby benefited from the extra year, but Lori still
struggled. Soon after, it was discovered that Lori has severe learning disabilities
due to a traumatic brain injury and epilepsy. The brain injury and its effects are
a result of the physical abuse she experienced as a young child. Unfortunately,
Lori’s brain damage severely affects her ability to recognize and write symbols
(Hayden, 2012).
Lori is originally one of Hayden’s resource students. She
and Hayden work one-on-one to improve her reading and writing skills for a
short period of time each day. However, Lori still cannot meet the literacy
demands of the first-grade curriculum, and her teacher decides to place her with
Hayden full-time in the afternoon (Hayden, 2012).
Lori stays in Hayden’s afternoon special education class
for a while with very few problems, but by February, she still has trouble recognizing the letters in her own name. Lori’s first-grade teacher, Edna Thorsen,
insists that she is just being difficult. Thorsen forces Lori to read in
front of the class on a daily basis. It makes Lori so anxious that she is placed with Hayden full-time after one particularly upsetting episode. Hayden
realizes that Lori is not ready to read and write, so she decides to modify
her curriculum. Although she receives a lot of backlash from Lori’s first grade
teacher, Hayden stays strong. Eventually, her district
approves the modified curriculum (Hayden, 2012).
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I could really see
Hayden’s growth from the beginning to the end of the year. At first, I found
myself frustrated with her passive stance in the classroom. However, I tried to
keep an open-mind when it came to her teaching methods. I do not teach special
education, but I can only imagine that these students require more patience
than the average student. At the beginning of the year, Hayden tends to sit
back and let students have their outbursts, especially Tomaso and Boo. As the
year goes on, Hayden becomes very attached to all of her students. She takes
the lead in her students’ education plans, especially Lori.
Lori has a traumatic brain injury that “adversely (affects her) educational performance,” (Understanding Special Education, 2016) which means that she qualifies for an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), children with disabilities have the right to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) (Understanding Special Education, 2016). This law is vague and only states that the student’s education must be “appropriate” considering his or her disability, but I hope to provide disabled students with the best education I possibly can. Lori is no exception. I believe that her frustrations and “emotional outbursts” can be effectively managed if she is given an equitable education.
In order to give her an appropriate education, accommodations and/or modifications need to be made. Accommodations are “instructional or test adaptations… (that) allow the student to demonstrate what he or she knows without fundamentally changing the target skill that’s being taught in the classroom or measured in testing situations” (Crawford, 2013). On the other hand, modifications “change (the) target skill or the construct of interest… by (reducing) learning expectations or (affecting) the content in such a way that what is being taught or tested is fundamentally changed” (Crawford, 2013). In Somebody Else’s Kids, Hayden made modifications to the curriculum for Lori. However, in my classroom, I plan on only making accommodations. I believe that Lori is perfectly capable of learning the material if she is given the proper tools.
Unfortunately, Lori’s disabilities are not visible, which can make it difficult to make the proper accommodations. Lori is
a talkative, extroverted student with a big heart. On the surface, she seems
“normal.” However, her brain damage makes it close to impossible for her to
recognize symbols. Lori cannot read or write. In the education system, we seem
to think that reading and writing are the most important skills for students to
learn, but Lori physically cannot. Hayden decides to make modifications to
Lori’s first-grade curriculum. She pushes her principal to put Lori in second grade by comparing her to a student with a visual impairment. When her principal counters that this student is
different because she can learn, Hayden states that
“Lori
can learn. The truth is that we haven’t taught her. Why can’t we start taping
her reading material? We could quiz her orally. Lori isn’t dumb. She simply has
a disability. All the time in the world in first grade isn’t going to change
that, unless her teacher moonlights as a brain surgeon” (Hayden, 2012).
This section really stuck with me because I want to
give Lori similar accommodations in my lesson plans. I believe that once Lori gets to secondary school, it will be much easier to make accommodations for her. By the time she gets to my
class (algebra 2), her progress will be monitored by her ability to understand
and apply the material, not her ability to read and write.
In my lesson plans, I try to include assistive technology
whenever I can. For example, if we are using a site like Desmos that does not
have a built-in text-to-speech feature, I would encourage Lori to use an app
like
Windows Narrator. I believe that Windows Narrator is a great tool to make
computers more accessible for students with learning disabilities. Any time Lori
hovers over words or passages with her mouse, Windows Narrator will read them
aloud to her. The only stipulation I have is that I would require her to wear
headphones while using Windows Narrator.
This year, I will encourage my students to constantly
reflect on their learning. Originally, I wanted to use an online journal like
Penzu, but that would require Lori to use a separate voice recorder or video
editing program to do her reflections. Instead, I want to streamline the
process and use
Microsoft OneNote. I used OneNote in some of my college classes
to take notes, but I know it has a lot of other capabilities, such as scanning
in worksheets, drawing diagrams, and recording audio. I plan on using OneNote
to check in with my students. I am going to grade their notes and reflections
very informally, so they can use whatever medium they want. For Lori, she can easily record her notes and send me a link to her OneNote notebook
so I can check her progress.
Although there are several accommodations that can be made
for Lori, there are some drawbacks to her individualized plan. Since she cannot
read or write, all of her assignments must be given verbally. Her tests and
quizzes need to be proctored in a separate room. It will take extra time to coordinate with her IEP team.
For Lori, there might be potential issues with assignments
that cannot easily be read to her. If she does not have an aide, there will not
be a person designated to reading and writing her assignments. If I change
seats often enough, I can have the students around her help with reading and writing (Powell & Kusuma-Powell, 2011). My
biggest worry is with any sort of literacy activity. I want to periodically
present my students with texts to encourage them to make connections between
mathematics and the real-world. However, I have to be mindful of Lori’s disabilities
by choosing texts that are accessible online with text-to-speech options.
I also need to keep in mind that Lori needs to
verbally record her responses instead of writing them down. I want to give Lori
a space to do her work. Unfortunately, this year I am in between two classrooms
and do not have a lot of control over the space, but I would try to sit her in
a corner of the room so that she can complete her assignments with few disruptions..
I think one of the most important things I can do is to make sure that I do not treat Lori any differently than my other students (Center for Teaching). Although Lori needs extra accommodations, that does not give me the right to treat her any differently than the rest of my students. In
Somebody Else's Kids, Lori really wants to be included in normal first-grade activities. She wants to go to class parties and participate in the talent show (Hayden, 2012). I might feel protective of Lori due to her learning disabilities, but that does not mean that she cannot participate in fun activities. For example, even though she cannot read, there are plenty of things she can do in the talent show, like sing and dance.
However, I want to make a distinction between equality and equity. It is so important for educators to make the proper accommodations for students who need it. If a student is struggling with a certain topic more than the rest of the class, the class should be able to work independently to master the topic while the struggling student gets extra help. This is known as equity. Every student is capable of learning, even if some need more help than others. I want to promote an equitable classroom. Some students might need extra help, but that does not make them any different.
In conclusion, I do not see Lori as "somebody else's kid." When she is in my classroom, she is my student, and I am responsible for providing her with the best education I possibly can. The obligation to give disabled students the proper accommodations and modifications they need should not be pushed onto somebody else. I cannot just give up when the going gets tough and place Lori in a class that is not appropriate for her. I know that it can be difficult to deal with disabled students, especially when their disabilities are not obvious, but they deserve the same opportunities as every other student.
References
Hayden, T.
(2012). Somebody Else’s Kids: They were
problem children no one wanted... until one teacher took them to her heart.
New York, NY: Avon HarperCollins.
