"Koz" wrote in message
...
Jim,

I have to disagree about the implication about the ADA portion of education
(not facilities) sucking from the schools. Actually there is a VERY good
system in place for kids with special needs. They are thoroughly and
properly tested to determine their needs, weaknesses and strengths
(shouldn't this happen to all kids) and an individualized education plan
(IEP is developed that emphasises the specific needs (again, shouldn't all
kids be taught to their strengths and weaknesses?)

The failure of this system currently is that the public schools do the bare
minimum and just throw the kids into the classroom. The teacher ends up
without a real plan or process for educating a particular student and
because they are bored/not served they tend to fail, act out, and generally
be a drain. No real progress happens. Remember that the VAST majority kids
who need these services are just barely below average....you can't assume
that they are the bottom IQ who are thrown in to be babysat at school.

If the IEP system were proper addressed to ALL students, things would
improve a lot in schools.

============================

Teaching those kids is what my wife does for a living, and the quality of
the systems vary widely. In my wife's case, the testing and program planning
for each kid is an extensive enterprise, involving several meetings of
professionals for each kid.

Of course, this is a good system in my town. Parents move here from quite a
wide area just to get the benefits of our handicapped program.

Ed Huntress

Koz