The Editor,
Re. “Class size concerns” (The Tri-City News, Feb. 1).
In the referenced article, the Coquitlam Teachers’ Association (CTA) outlined the difficulty facing teachers who have to meet the educational and social needs of special needs students on limited funding and resources.
Our current educational philosophy is one of integration, treating all children alike. Sounds like a good idea in theory but, in practice, it is risky business.
All the responsibility is being dumped in the lap of teachers. Whether or not they can deal with the responsibility on a shoe string is the question.
The article focused on the increase in the number of special needs students in classes but not enough was said about the complexity of developing a strategy for the educational requirements in relation to an individual education plan (IEP).
Each special needs student needs an IEP to outline methods for measuring progress in reaching their goals. All the decisions for each student are made by school-based teams. That means each student is at the mercy of the education and ability of the team members in their school to understand their needs and to tailor their education for that year. This is how integration works.
How well does this model work? These are the questions: Is there a body in each school district to oversee this model? Are the school-based teams getting sufficient support in education, funding and resources? Are all students getting the education they need to become productive members of society?
Lucky is the handful of special needs student who have parents who can afford a private school for them. Many students who are not so lucky continue to struggle. They have no advocates because both parents are working.
It is becoming clear that education is not a priority with our current provincial government. I hope we all remember that in the 2017 provincial election.
Nadya Shore, Port Coquitlam
