READING PROGRAMS VS. MODIFICATIONS

Althought pull out seems to be a dirty term. It makes more seense to take kids out and teachthem at their level. When teachers and aides go into the classroom for inclusion, all that seems to end up is that the aides watch the teachers teach, instead a of taking the kid out and do some intense teaching.

You have hit on my GREATEST peeve as a teacher, parent, and college professor! Thank you for giving me a soapbox!

Easy answer to a complicated problem - $$$$$. Districts (and teachers) know that it is easier (and fiscally beneficial) to ‘modify’ than to ‘remediate’. As a resource teacher for the past 11 years (in a supposedly ‘cutting edge’ school district - whatever that means!), I have invested a substantial amount of money in my education to be able to provide the remediating services you describe. Remediation is not only the key to student success, but good programs (such as the ones you mentioned) can give students the skills to get out of Sp Ed!!!!! I’ve seen it! Irregardless, MANY board members, principals, and teachers believe that is not possible no matter what, thus let’s accomodate! The vicious cycle continues.

As a professor at a large state university (unfortunately, it is known for medical and engineering schools, not education) I experience bureaucracy at its finest!!! A significant number (at least 150-200 a semester) of elementary teachers leave with little to zero knowledge about special education and what a diservice that is. Only one general course is required! My students (I am in the SpEd dept) get to return the ‘required text’ and purchase good quality sped materials. I teach about potential and possibilites, not labels. It is a start….

Olivia,

I am a parent of those so called included children. My son is in 4th grade and I have decided this year to have him pulled to resource room for reading agst the child study teams’s wishes. I felt this was best for my son. For your information most parents are not told about resource room instruction instead they are told about self contained which in my case and parents with children like my son would not put them there. My son has mild capd. I would never but him in self contained and I would rather but my son in resource room and get remediation than get frustrated being included

PARENTS CANNOT GET REMEDIATION IF IT IS NOT OFFERED TO THEM. I only recently decided to do this because I just got an advocate for my son and she suggested it not the school

Lisa

My son is in a resource room for reading and after I inisisted the school purcahsed the Wilson Reading System, and it was used off and on last year. Just with the off and on it made a huge difference, but the teacher will not use it, he says it requires to much one on one. He also suggested that he didn’t need a parent to tell him how to teach. I am thinking of going to my school board to get him help, I’ve exhausted all other avenues.

This is so frustrating to me as a primary resouce room teacher! I use the Wilson program as a pull out program with my Kdg.-3rd grade students and it’s been such a success. Three of my 2nd graders went back to their 3rd grade reading class with very little support this year. It doesn’t take too much time! You can teach in groups. It does take a lot of organization on the teachers part though. I think that may be the issue and not the too much one on one time that the other teacher referred to. Parents need to stay on top of the schools to make sure the appropriate reading program is in place. Some sort of multisensory alternative reading program.
I can’t say enough about the Wilson program!

I am here at my job. (NOT A TEACHER!) Just a very concerned mother of a 12 year old sixth grader. I feel like I am exhausted. I work all day, and then teach my son at night. It is the only way for him to do his homework. At school he goes to a Resource room for reading. Then is maintstreamed for math, science, language arts, and social studies. The only problem. All of the mainstreamed classes have his difficulty. READING! How can I help my child succeed and have better self esteem if he keeps getting pulled back into the reading errors of a 6th grader on his mainstream classes? I am at wits end. I have not heard of the Wilson Learning Program, but will be checking on it. I understand that there are less and less resources for children in public school, but when does it get better? What happens when we get down the road, and discover that all these children can not even fill out a job application. I am very worried.

Thanks for responding to my post. I, too, am a University professor, and I have chosen this topic as a research focus in one of my doctoral seminars. I am attempting to provide alternatives to the instructional methods INTRODUCED in the texts. I am also fortunate that the university where I teach believes in providing funding and support for faculty to update skills. My only difficulty now is finding student teaching placements for my students since the surrounding districts insist on modifying instead of instructing!

Lisa,

Make sure that your resource teachers use validated methods. Recent studies show that many times the instruction in the resource or pull-out settings is less intense/less effective than that in the regular classroom. Don’t let them water-down the instruction. Ask for alternative strategies (Wilson, Lindamood-Bell, etc) instead.

If you cannot get the necessary support, try an advocate.

My feelings exactly. I’m tired too! Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I just quit helping. But I know I can’t, my son is so frustrated with school, I’m the only thing that keeps him going.

Hi everyone, Those of you who know me, know that I am a special educator who remediates not accomodates. If I would accomodate, then I couldn’t remediate. Accomodations and modifications are the keystone of special ed and what keeps the students in their deadend labels. ‘Special’ students aren’t passing state tests. (Virginia) Parents are scared and students are depressed. When I told my students (11th graders) that I first was going to teach them how to read and then to write, they were so anxious to start. They asked why was I so sure that this time what I did was going to work? Most of these students had Wilsons for three or four years and still were reading at a fourth grade level. I told them about my daughter’s learning how to read at age 19 and now at college on dean’s list. These are kids that want a future and most want to go on to higher education. I start Phono-Graphix on Monday. I highly reccommend this program particularly for older students. Phonics programs don’t always work with students who have phonemic awareness difficiencies. Wilsons is also very hard to use with students who are at different reading levels. You always have to start at the beginning of the program. Some of my students in the past, needed only multi-syllable work and that is all I did. After that, they were reading at their grade level. Please don’t discount PG when you are looking at reading programs. It works very fast for older learners and really, they have no time to waste and neither do you.

Olivia,

My son 9 is in 4th sped and caught in a total trap. His reading is 1-2nd. He is good at math but of course same old circle when the math gets to be more reading a problem.

I am going to do my best case to get him remeial reading out of sped class. I hear since he is in sped he is getting reading. Not the same to me a remedial reading teacher is a totally different speciality.

I had a RR teacher tutor him this summer and he loved it and did well. I would like to get her back but she is teaching now not at his school.

Do you agree with my request.

Shay,

I also provide Phono-Graphix materials to my college students so that they have these materials as well as many others to use with their students. I am still amazed that we expect LD teachers to have a “bagful of strategies,” but many colleges and university still focus only on the same old traditional ones. Thanks for your response. Have you had much success with the Learning Strategies Curriculum from the University of Kansas? I find it very helpful, especially WORD IDENTIFICATION and the SENTENCE/PARAGRAPH WRITING STRATEGIES for older students.

Chris

You are right - Phonographix is awesome. It is one of the recommended texts I use in my college courses. Many grad students that have been teaching for years have NEVER heard of phonemic awareness.

I have been researching a new phonemic awareness/reading/writing program called Pathways to Learning. Have you heard of it? Anyone??

Hi Chris, I have been trying to get training in the learning strategies but I haven’t had any success. Loudoun County was giving that training to teachers but I had to attend other meetings. So glad to hear that some colleges are giving actual help to teachers on specific methods. After I received my masters from Slippery Rock U, I realized how deficient I was in specific methods so I started researching methods that work with students who need remediation. PG was my first and many more have followed. I have an amazing spare room with curriculum supplies that I have purchased. Schools still tell special educators just to adapt the regular books, amazing. I don’t know what I would do without my spare room. My school did purchase “Roots” from Sopris West for vocabulary practice.

Hi Denise,

I too am at work at a full time job, we raise goats and have horses. I also teach my 9 yr. old son reading I during the summer get him tutored 2 times a week that has been a big help.

The older they get the harder things are for them unless they really know how to read. Every time I see a post about a kid in high school that can’t read I get really upset.

How is this happening all over the County I don’t blame the teachers the school districts have to make an investment in good materials and spend money getting teachers good training in techniques. Also, in reality everyone learns differently not just ld kids so if one method doesn’t work for a kid something else needs to be tried.

I am tired too and it does take its toll on us but we will keep doing anything that helps our kids.

Hang in there.