Snip snip ~ 128 teaching jobs cuts!
Comments(4)
The Department of Education has confirmed plans to cut special teacher support for around 900 primary school children with learning disabilities.
One hundred and twenty-eight teaching posts are being cut, affected 119 schools around the country, most of them in disadvantaged areas.
The department says the decision has been taken because the schools do not meet the minimum requirement of nine pupils with mild learning disabilities.
It says the affected pupils will have their educational needs catered for in mainstream classes.
The Irish National Teachers Organisation is describing the decision as unfair and wrong, saying the children are being forced into an unsuitable situation for purely financial reasons.
The cull begins.
Special Needs and integration in mainstream schools is something that has exploded as a result of ‘rights’, ‘parental choice’, etc.
Lots of money has been thrown this direction …. Special Needs’ Assistants, Special Classes etc. (a fear of litigation on the part of the D.E.S. perhaps?)
I’ve had my experience of special needs pupils in my classroom and the suitability of the mainstream classroom for special needs pupils is something that I would question.
Most mainstream classroom teachers have/had no experience of what are the needs of special needs pupils and a lot of experience comes the hard way.
For years I asked outside agencies for help/advice …. what I got was lip service.
When I went it alone/without them they got huffed!
Socially I’ve seen special needs pupils do well.
Educationally? ….. well that’s questionable.
What did special needs teach me?
It taught me to keep records.
Lots of records!
Maybe this will allow you to follow your dream!
Well I guess we all knew it was coming. We integrate here as well. Perhaps your ‘special needs’ definition is a little broader than ours. Although I know a VP in a Victorian school who has had to train her standard teachers in dealing with Autism because they don’t qualify for specialist teachers and another who has had to learn to sign because she has five hearing impaired kids in her class. They actually embraced it but it has increased the workload.
GM ~ Waiting to see how the next few months pan out. Well, not quite waiting, I am trying to find out what my options are.
Baino~ aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh
Chin up chook! Spring’s around the corner! Hey, we’re short of teachers here . . if you’re under 45 you’re a shoe-in