Week 12 Reflection

Posted on April 13, 2008

While reading the articles, I kept thinking, are we really preparing our students for the future? Having a para for each student at our school is not preparing them to be independent and to get along in a social world. How we interact with the people we work with has lots to do with how happy we are with our jobs. By having a para with each student we are robbing them of a safe place to practice, to prepare for their futures. School is a great place to practice. It’s what all the students are learning, how to interact with others.

When I read about training paras on facilitating social interactions, I realized we have not really provided them with this very important training. We have just assumed they knew what to do. We want to make sure the students learn how to ask for help, they will need this skill when they are on the job and don’t know what to do. The student will need to learn how to follow directions, and maybe they need to take the wrong turn sometimes without being rescued. They need opportunities to make their own friends, to not always have the para within arm distance.

It is important that my high school implements a Peer Buddy program. So many of the issues brought up in the articles would be eased by having peers interacting with and supporting students with special needs both in and out of the classroom. We can better prepare ALL students for the future.