This week we have talked a lot about the principles of IDEA. One of the principles that stuck out to me was LRE or the least restrictive environment. Essentially, a regular classroom is the least restrictive environment, and home is the most restrictive. In between, there is a whole set of options to help a child work towards being in the least restrictive environment, or in a normal classroom. I love this principle! I think that it is incredible that we have so many options to help children be their best. Sometimes it is tempting to think that it is all or nothing with students, but even within the classroom there are a lot of options and different professionals who can help students.
I also took some time to study the different professionals that could potentially be involved with helping students to reach their full potential. I had the same impressions studying this that I did when studying the principles of IDEA. I love that there are so many people that are available to help children. Even though there are so many people that are there to help students, I am realizing that the teacher is often the first one to recognize and observe problems that students have. It is so important for me as a future teacher to learn about potential disabilities, and to learn what steps need to be taken in order to help students. I also need to be aware of what help is available so that I can know who to contact when I suspect a problem with one of my students.
It is crazy that as a future teacher I had never heard of IDEA or LRE. I think it is so great that these students have so many different options to receive an education. Going through all the laws and everything were super interesting and good information to know!
ReplyDeleteI also really liked learning about LRE. It makes me realize the potential of a student and that they can always be progressing. As teachers we need to make sure that we don't cement a child in a certain category because they can always be growing and developing. It truly is amazing how many people are involved in helping students. I agree with you that we need to have knowledge so that we can be there to help our students. If we don't have the adequate knowledge then we need to research.
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