The Editor,
I have recently retired after 35 years of teaching. In the ongoing contract dispute between teachers and the government, there have been many references to "special needs students" and "specialist teachers." I was one of those specialist teachers who saw her caseload skyrocket in the last decade.
During my career, I worked under Social Credit, NDP and BC Liberal governments and I witnessed a long parade of teaching practices and trends come and go.
In the first two thirds of my career, there were certainly bumps in the road but, overall, public and governmental support for students with special needs underwent a radical and positive transformation.
We evolved from segregation to inclusion, and from a strictly remedial approach to one that embraced prevention and early intervention. We realized fairness was not based on giving each child the same but on giving each child what he or she needed. This change in philosophy and practice required some financial support but it was well worth it.
Sadly, under Christy Clark's leadership as education minister and, now, as premier, our public education system has devolved and is in danger of causing irreparable harm to some of those in its care. Students with identified learning disabilities are among those who have been most seriously affected.
I find that many people have a limited understanding of what a learning disability is. Learning disabled (LD) students are not mentally challenged or slow learners. To receive this designation, students can test out as having an IQ ranging from low average all the way up to the gifted range, but are seriously underachieving in school due to their neurological "wiring." Their learning disabilities affect how they perceive, process or store information. LD students are all very different from one other and they all have the potential to be successful if they are given instruction that is tailored to their particular learning styles and needs. Some of the brightest, most creative students I have ever known, are also LD.
Prior to the contract stripping and ongoing cutbacks of the last 12 years, I was a resource room teacher with a caseload of approximately 10 LD students. I was able to give these students intense, daily, one-on-one small group instruction. I also worked closely with their classroom teachers to help them adapt their teaching styles, programs and evaluation methods to better support these students. Often, the students made dramatic progress and my job was incredibly satisfying.
In the past decade, as a learner support teacher, my caseload exploded to encompass all types of students with learning challenges, covering up to seven classes at one time. My caseload now included the learning disabled, slow learners, mentally handicapped, English language learners and the average child who needed specific support in one or more subject areas. No matter how I juggled my schedule, I could never meet all the needs. I could no longer offer intense intervention to students with learning disabilities unless I shortchanged all the others in my care.
I retired this June and I am blessed to have an infant granddaughter. When she begins her journey through school, I hope she and her peers will have access to whatever supports they may need in order to realize their full potential as learners. We owe that to all of our children.
Janet Wiltshire, Port Coquitlam
