[Darrel H.]

I find that a lot of the time, people who take special education classes because of learning disabilities don’t acctually need them. All the ‘special classes’ do is bring individuals further down in thinking that because they have this problem, they can’t do things other people do. What do others think?

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Name : Darrel H., Gender : M, City : Sauk Prairie, State : WI, Country : United States, 

[Shelly27967]

As a former teacher and sibling of someone with significnat learning disabilities, I’ve had the opportunity to see these issues from all sides. As a teacher, most of the students I encountered who had learning disabilities were the most hard-working kids in the school. They were frequently the only ones who bothered to fully complete their homework or study for tests. I think the ‘special classes’ these students were in taught them not only that they needed to work hard, but how to use their strengths and weaknesses to best get the job done. These classes did not label them as dumb or lazy, but instead empowered the students to take control of their lives and work to achieve as best they can. One of my learning disabled students later graduated as valedictorian of her class, so doing your best, no matter what your weaknesses are, can yield pretty spectacular results.

On the other hand, I have seen people outside of the school environment, usually parents and relatives of learning disabled students, who assume the child has significant limitations that cannot be overcome. Consequently, they do not encourage the child to work hard and be successful at all, when instead they should be encouraging the child to be successful to his or her ability.

User Detail :  

Name : Shelly27967, Gender : F, Age : 25, City : Pittsburgh, State : PA, Country : United States, Occupation : former teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Kat]

Much of a child’s performance in school, being disability related, is related to the way the parents perceive the disability. If a parent informs the child that he or she has a disability and makes it seem as a plaguing problem, the child will inevitably not perform to his/her potential, but if a parent explains the disability, not allowing it to be an excuse, the child will be more successful in school. I am a firm believer in mainstreaming, and I believe in giving a positive outlook for disabilities. In my school experience , the children in special classes were able to break the school rules. The so-called ‘normal kids’ were not allowed to bring CD players to school at any time, nor Game Boys, nor food, but in the disabled classrooms, they were allowed to wear their headphones all day while sipping Mountain Dew and eating Skittles.

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Name : Kat, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, City : Osgood, State : IN, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, 

[Dan31663]

I was in special classes for the majority of my time in grade school (K-12). However, I don’t have a typical learning disability. I have suffered from serious mental illnesses and have gone whole years without viable mental function. If I had not been in these classes I would have been marginalized beyond any fathoming and would have never succeeded. I almost dropped out of high school as it was, just because I couldn’t tolerate the environment. Now I’m at a four-year California State University and doing quite well. As for kids with the ‘run-of-the-mill’ learning disabilities, I would agree whole-heartedly with the first poster. There are very few legitimately diagnosed kids who can function to their fullest without some kind of help. Most will sink like stones without help. Some people may think they’re lazy or just plain stupid, but until these people can develop a proper frame of reference, they are not fit to judge how any of them stand.

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Name : Dan31663, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pentecostal, Age : 22, City : Los Angeles, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

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