Reflective Essay In Education Template (Page 6 of 9) in pdf

Reflective Essay In Education Template Page 6

SERVICE LEARNING: ERIC

Aside from funding, placement policies determine school

and student success. A major concern of both educators and

critics of education policies is that schools will place students

into special education programs unnecessarily. Too often students

who do not need special education are coded for special ed—

even when they have a learning issue that can be handled with a

good teacher in a mainstream class (D. Carter, class lecture, April

6, 2006). At Waverly High School, teachers and counselors are

not so quick to shuffle Eric into special ed. I agree with several

of Eric’s teachers who feel that he may have a mild learning

disability. I began to feel this way when Eric and I moved from

working in a private tutoring space to working in the library. It

was clear to me that he had difficulty paying attention in a public

setting. On February 9, I wrote in my journal:

Eric was extremely distracted. He couldn’t pay attention

to what I was asking, and he couldn’t keep his eyes on

his work. There were other students in the library today,

and he kept eavesdropping on their conversations and

shaking his head when they said things he did not agree

with. This is how he must behave in the classroom; he is

easily distracted but he wants to work hard. I see that

it is not so much that he needs a tutor because he can’t

understand what his teachers are telling him; it is more

that he needs the one-on-one attention in a confined

room free of distractions.

Even though Eric showed signs of distraction, I never felt as

if he should be coded for special education. I am pleased that the

Source: Hacker Handbooks (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011, 2007).

Reflective Essay In Education Template Page 6