We are truly a diverse and divisive society. In spite of our country’s overall religious convictions our collective soul is defined more by our overindulgence than by the preservation and love of others. We care for the meek, the hungry, the thirsty, the poor in spirit, so long as their need for blessings do not impact our income and inconvenience our own lifestyles. This division is not so clear-cut along career lines or tax brackets. Amazingly enough it is not just the corporate CEO nor rich southern congressman who holds such beliefs, although it is much easier for us to think in such simplistic terms. Evangelical churches, social workers, and special education teachers also cling to the self-indulgent ideology of the bootstrap mentality.
There are nearly 60 students in my graduate level special education class at the university. The large majority of students are middle aged and are currently teaching. One might think that the students would be similarly minded liberals; however, that is not the case. In fact, it appears that may be just the opposite. This particular classroom is a microcosm of the society at large, resulting in a strong prevalent viewpoint that people with disabilities are a strain on our government, society and educational classrooms. Furthermore, these teachers, many of which are special education instructors, advocate for segregated classrooms and fewer services for children with disabilities.
The instructor presented the class with an story from NPR, thanks to the technology in the classroom, about a young man living in Alabama. He was about to turn 22 years old and at the time of the interview, the young man was living at home with his parents and receiving in-home services. In Alabama, a person with disabilities lost all in-home services once he or she turned 22. The only choice for this young man was to move into a nursing home, the only service option provided by the State of Alabama at that time.
The young man had muscular dystrophy, used a wheelchair, had to have a ventilator to breath, could only move two fingers, and he was able to speak on his own. He was angered that his only option was to move into a nursing home. Studies have shown that in-home care is much less expensive than institutional care. Armed with information and a passion, the young man started a grassroots campaign to change the current system. His routinely spoke to lawmakers and news reporters and his campaign became quite well known. According to the NPR report, his advocacy paid off and the system was changed to provide other services to individuals with disabilities.
After the presentation, our professor asked for our responses. A tall, lanky, blond man probably in his late 40’s instantly commented. He stated that he was a special education teacher, and just wondered why all those people just expected the government to take care of them. The government didn’t take care of other 22-year-olds, so why would it take care of the one featured in the NPR news report. He went on to comment that the man in the report did receive government services; he just didn’t like what he got. He wanted more and more, implying that people with disabilities always want more people to just take care of them and live off the government teat. I interrupted him and asked him if he really felt that a nursing home was a viable option for a 22-year-old; he never responded.
I am not shocked over his response. He is not alone in his negative stereotype against persons with disabilities, be they children or adults. However, what I am shocked about, what really concerns me, is that he is a teacher. Specifically, he is a special education teacher who holds strong negative views about people with disabilities. That is not to say that a teacher cannot hold viewpoints that go against the teaching mainstream. On the other hand, I cannot help wondering why a teacher with such a strong bias against persons with disabilities would choose special education as his calling. His chosen profession is incongruent with his worldview.
One might make an argument that an individual’s personal beliefs will not affect his ability to teach a classroom. That may be true in some circumstances, but in the case of a personal bias against a particular group of individuals, that belief system will undoubtedly affect that teacher’s response to his or her students who belong to the aforementioned group. I know of a retired teacher who taught elementary for 33 years. She has a dislike of African Americas and Hispanics, believing that they, as a group, are incapable of higher level learning or proper behavior. They are not bred correctly to learn or succeed in life, according to her. Were I of African American or Hispanic descent, I would not want her to teach my children. Neither would I want this special education teacher instructing my child if she had a disability. I am certain that she would not receive as good an education from him as she would from a special education instructor who held more inclusive philosophies. Of course inclusive also implies that the child with a disability should be in the regular classroom as often as possible. I would speculate that this man would not agree with that philosophy.
So I come to my greater question. Why would someone who holds such beliefs choose special education for his profession? What would cause him to want to work with a population who he views as nothing more than innately lazy, government milking, system suckers? Maybe he is drawn to positions where he has an inordinate amount of control over others, especially when those people may not be able to communicate for themselves. Possibly he was a regular education teacher that made some type of mistake, and his administration, rather than trying to fire a tenured teacher, simply sent him to the land of special education. Many school administrations view special education as a sub-classroom. Perhaps he feels that he is doing the government a service by trying to fix “those” people, who in his view are flawed and lazy? It’s also possible that the school system decided to promote him to the point on incompetence. Or maybe it’s something else.
Effective, caring and empathetic teachers do not come to a child with an instant bias against that person based on disability, sex, or ethnicity. Good teachers don’t view their children as lazy. Good teachers, especially special education teachers, don’t refer to people with disabilities as “those” people. But then again good teachers are hard to find, even in a graduate level special education class.
There are nearly 60 students in my graduate level special education class at the university. The large majority of students are middle aged and are currently teaching. One might think that the students would be similarly minded liberals; however, that is not the case. In fact, it appears that may be just the opposite. This particular classroom is a microcosm of the society at large, resulting in a strong prevalent viewpoint that people with disabilities are a strain on our government, society and educational classrooms. Furthermore, these teachers, many of which are special education instructors, advocate for segregated classrooms and fewer services for children with disabilities.
The instructor presented the class with an story from NPR, thanks to the technology in the classroom, about a young man living in Alabama. He was about to turn 22 years old and at the time of the interview, the young man was living at home with his parents and receiving in-home services. In Alabama, a person with disabilities lost all in-home services once he or she turned 22. The only choice for this young man was to move into a nursing home, the only service option provided by the State of Alabama at that time.
The young man had muscular dystrophy, used a wheelchair, had to have a ventilator to breath, could only move two fingers, and he was able to speak on his own. He was angered that his only option was to move into a nursing home. Studies have shown that in-home care is much less expensive than institutional care. Armed with information and a passion, the young man started a grassroots campaign to change the current system. His routinely spoke to lawmakers and news reporters and his campaign became quite well known. According to the NPR report, his advocacy paid off and the system was changed to provide other services to individuals with disabilities.
After the presentation, our professor asked for our responses. A tall, lanky, blond man probably in his late 40’s instantly commented. He stated that he was a special education teacher, and just wondered why all those people just expected the government to take care of them. The government didn’t take care of other 22-year-olds, so why would it take care of the one featured in the NPR news report. He went on to comment that the man in the report did receive government services; he just didn’t like what he got. He wanted more and more, implying that people with disabilities always want more people to just take care of them and live off the government teat. I interrupted him and asked him if he really felt that a nursing home was a viable option for a 22-year-old; he never responded.
I am not shocked over his response. He is not alone in his negative stereotype against persons with disabilities, be they children or adults. However, what I am shocked about, what really concerns me, is that he is a teacher. Specifically, he is a special education teacher who holds strong negative views about people with disabilities. That is not to say that a teacher cannot hold viewpoints that go against the teaching mainstream. On the other hand, I cannot help wondering why a teacher with such a strong bias against persons with disabilities would choose special education as his calling. His chosen profession is incongruent with his worldview.
One might make an argument that an individual’s personal beliefs will not affect his ability to teach a classroom. That may be true in some circumstances, but in the case of a personal bias against a particular group of individuals, that belief system will undoubtedly affect that teacher’s response to his or her students who belong to the aforementioned group. I know of a retired teacher who taught elementary for 33 years. She has a dislike of African Americas and Hispanics, believing that they, as a group, are incapable of higher level learning or proper behavior. They are not bred correctly to learn or succeed in life, according to her. Were I of African American or Hispanic descent, I would not want her to teach my children. Neither would I want this special education teacher instructing my child if she had a disability. I am certain that she would not receive as good an education from him as she would from a special education instructor who held more inclusive philosophies. Of course inclusive also implies that the child with a disability should be in the regular classroom as often as possible. I would speculate that this man would not agree with that philosophy.
So I come to my greater question. Why would someone who holds such beliefs choose special education for his profession? What would cause him to want to work with a population who he views as nothing more than innately lazy, government milking, system suckers? Maybe he is drawn to positions where he has an inordinate amount of control over others, especially when those people may not be able to communicate for themselves. Possibly he was a regular education teacher that made some type of mistake, and his administration, rather than trying to fire a tenured teacher, simply sent him to the land of special education. Many school administrations view special education as a sub-classroom. Perhaps he feels that he is doing the government a service by trying to fix “those” people, who in his view are flawed and lazy? It’s also possible that the school system decided to promote him to the point on incompetence. Or maybe it’s something else.
Effective, caring and empathetic teachers do not come to a child with an instant bias against that person based on disability, sex, or ethnicity. Good teachers don’t view their children as lazy. Good teachers, especially special education teachers, don’t refer to people with disabilities as “those” people. But then again good teachers are hard to find, even in a graduate level special education class.
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8 comments:
What you've written is so true. I am still stunned when I interact with social workers who are "haters." They hate that the government helps the poor. They believe families should fend for themselves or basically die. They complain about their clients being too "needy," and they consistently vote for conservatives knowing that these officials will work against their clients at every turn. Why would you become a social worker if you don't believe in what you do? Interestingly, I have found that Professional Counselors tend to be more liberal in their views, and thus more caring, than the MSWs and licensed Psychologists I have dealth with over the years. MSWs are often much more concrete thinkers somehow. I can say this, you see, because I am licensed as both a counselor and a social worker, so I come by this opinion through year of hard-earned experience!
It's frustrating beyond belief. I have suspicions that people with those beliefs are drawn to Social Work and Teaching positions out of a need for power.
I know very few MSW's. The two that I do know are lovers and not haters. You've made an interesting observation. As a general rule, I would have thought it the opposite.
Hey Jack,
More than likely he became a special education teacher because it payed more. Many school systems are haveing to pay special education teachers more because people don't want to work in that field. It takes more effort, time, and patience. I would guess he is in it for the pay increase.
Monty
I vote for Monty Anonymouse's (that's a cartoon, isn't it?) theory. Start perusing the Human Resources page on the SPS website this Spring and throughout the summer to check out teacher vacancies and then follow it into the Fall. It seems like they are perpetually recruiting Special Ed positions. Central High School alone has a huge team of special educators.
Hmmm...60 students in a graduate level special education class at MSU...You implied that was a pretty large class. Education funding shortfalls aside, could this reflect the University's valuing of teaching the disabled?
Jack,
The comment from the special education teacher saddens me, but does not surprise me. I know teaching special education can be challenging and there is a possibility of burn out. I believe this man is too far above on his lofty perch to really care about or want to enrich the lives of his students. The education system does weed out some of the good special education teachers. They usually tire of fighting for their students to get the best education possible in the "least restrictive environment". The heads of the special education departments often decide which services that they will allow the students to have long before the IEP team meets. I know that part of their job is to keep the cost of special education down, but it is at the expense of the children who receive these services. There are some great special education teachers. I hope that school districts recognize who they are and try to keep them in their districts.
Marmoo
I am sorry that I am arriving at the party late for this post. There are some things being said that I agree with and some that I completely disagree with everyone on.
Firstly, I agree that it is sad that a Special Ed teacher would take this particular stand. My assumption is that he might be a High School LD teacher. I say that from my experience with High School LD teachers has been one where they are very frustrated because it is hard to motivate LD students that have felt like all they can do is fail. I am not defending the man at all.
It also saddens me that if he is a conservative, that he does not get that these services are going to cost less to provide than the Nursing home. It does not make sense that you would miss that key element. Less government spending and involvement is a conservative ideal.
Here is my frustration with the post and comments there from. The assumption is that these professions such as teaching and social work should be good liberals. The post started out discussing diversity but I guess that diversity does not include conservatives. Nice! Also the idea that conservatives = haters! Also nice. Thanks for the stereotype.
Not all conservatives share in the idea that everyone should pull themselves up by their bootstraps. There are people that cannot and those people should have assistance. My goal as a conservative is for as many people to be self supported as possible. I understand that services for people with disabilities are needed and required. Often these services assist people in being more independent. My blog as continually railed against the MAWD cuts in Missouri.
As a conservative, I go and volunteer my time for people with disabilities. I serve as President of a board of Directors for a support agency for people with disabilities. I lead a group for people with disabilities that are living independently with some supports. This is time my family sacrifices because of my desire to help people. Yet my political views make me a hater. How sad!
Larry,
First of all, there was no mention of political alignment in my post or in the comments section. There was a general observation between the political beliefs of Professional Counselors nad MSWs in this area.
Secondly, these folks are not talking about all conservatives or liberals. Rather, there was a discussion on a global level about the attitudes of teachers and social workers. Furthermore, the discussion centered around those persons whose belief system centers around the bootstap mentality. That is not to say that ALL conservatives or liberals believe X or Y. I believe you grossly misunderstood the discussion.
The posters (and myself) were questioning why someone would be in a helping field IF they believe that the population they are serving are nothing more than lazy drains on the system. I am certain that I did not label him a political conservative.
The real issue, Larry is this: Would you want your child in a classroom where the teacher had a bias against girls, believing them to be intellectually inferior to boys? The teacher has the right to believe that, but make no mistake, that will affect how that teacher interacts with your daughter or with mine. It is inconsequential whether that belief is conservative or liberal. What matters is, how that teacher will act in the classroom.
I would argue, why would a teacher seek out a job where they are forced to work with girls, if they think they are so stupid? The same applies to persons of any race or religion.
If I were muslim, would I want my child being taught by someone who really hated or was afraid of all muslims. Someone who thought all people of middle eastern descent was a terrorist?
None of this is about conservatives or liberals, Larry. None of it. It's about how our attitudes affect our our job in the helping field. Plain and simple.
Jack,
Thanks for the clarification. I would like to apologize for charging in here like Don Quixote at full tilt. I was wrong not to clarify what was being said.
Here is the line that started me down this path. "One might think that the students would be similarly minded liberals."
It is the line from Thinking Things that helped escalate my frustration.
"Interestingly, I have found that Professional Counselors tend to be more liberal in their views, and thus more caring, than the MSWs and licensed Psychologists I have dealth with over the years."
So if you are not liberal then you don't care enough is what I interrupted. And the term hater was being used along with it.
That is where I got all up in arms. Again, I am sorry for not rationally and calmly clarifying before storm trooping the comments.
Larry
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