WHY RESOURCE ROOM 220?

Why have I decided to create a blog named  Resource Room 220.  It is pretty simple actually, I am a Special Education Teacher, who’s classroom number is 220.   As for using Resource Room – I dislike many of  the terms/acronyms like SPED or SPECED or other abbreviations used by others for Special Education programs.  They are usually used in less than complimentary ways by both students and other educators and are negatively directed at those who are involved in Special Education (which in and of itself states that we provide “different” education) -  that is why I opted for Resource Room as the primary name for this blog.  It is a much more positive term, but even it has been “bastardized” into an Epitaph on many occasions.

I don’t have a chip on my shoulder about how Special Education is viewed, but I have a pet peeve – it sometimes it seems as though Special Educators are seen as second class teachers.  In both the how some view our teaching methods (as less than rigorous) and how they view our students (the dumbest, worst behaved or the one’s shouldn’t be in school with the regular education students).  None of those views are politically correct and are not spoken aloud (very often), but still do exist and are held by other parents, politicians, administrators and other students. 

Often Special Education Students or Educators are included in “activities”  as an after-thought, not an integral member of  the school or member of the teaching team.  It sometimes seems that some would just as soon let us go to our “SPED” rooms and not be visible or heard from.  The old “you should not be seen or heard, until spoken to” attitude until they want something from us.

I know that this is not how it is everywhere, but it is an attitude and stereotype that I have encountered both as a parent and an educator, that we in Special Education have had to fight against since its inception. 

 I have been on the regular education side as a student in the early 70′s back when IDEA first brought special education students out of institutions and into the schools (the prejudice those students endured from my friends and myself back then is something that I regret terribly, but I cannot change what I did back then out of sheer ignorance).  I have been on both sides of the table at PETs, having been a parent of a Special Education student who made it through the Special Education system in 6 different states, as well as being a certified Special Education Educator for more than seven years.  I believe that I have some experience in Special Education and bring to the table some views and opinions that may be somewhat different from what the prevailing view is.

I am not a negative person or a starry-eyed idealist, who plays Don Quixote on every issue.  I tend to believe that I am very rooted in reality and understand the realities of issues whether they are policies or politics at the local, state and national levels or how others view Special Education.  

I am hoping that my classroom (and the Resource Room 220 blog) will become a resource for students,  teachers, parents and other interested adults who might like to read my view on different issues in Special Education, as I get my feet back under me after a 15 month hiatus in State government.  In other words I plan to give the reader a glimpse into how a Special Education Educator sees things.