A Message Designated to the Next President
Student’s Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Name:
Address:
City:
Date
His Excellency the Next President
P.O. Box 1180
Washington
Dear next president;
After the enactment of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, aimed at educating children with disabilities
alongside those who did not have any disabilities, there was a significant
change in the US education (Glickman, 2007). Alongside the approach, a similar
initiative could be integrated into the scheme of special education in K-12. It
is my sincere plea to you Nr. President that you should not forget about our
mentally challenged children. These kids have different requirements and
therefore, it is integral to consider numerous aspects before placing a
disabled student in the classroom. Due to the prevalence of many types of
growth disabilities among young children, these kids first receive their
initial referral for special education by their parents and teachers. Some of
these growth delays are; communicative, social, physical and cognitive. In the
prevalence of any of the delays, then it becomes evident that the kid is in
need of special needs education. However, the level of assimilation of these
children to the K-12 special needs education in this country is still wanting.
The students should be presented with learning aid in the event where the
subjects are disabled. The tutors, on the other hand, should be equipped with
relevant skills and knowledge to facilitate the efficient imparting of the K-12
education. The schools should ensure transparency and a balanced education
scheme not forgetting to encourage diversity in the institutions, as a way of
promoting collaboration and embracing diversity. In the ancient period, there
were only a few classes with disabled individuals and what is more intriguing
is that a significant proportion of these disabled kids failed to attend their
classes. As such, they had to be placed in special schools or classes. However,
this is not the case today as the form of learning has progressively been
replaced by an inclusive program. Mr. President, I would like to request that
the K-12 special education initiative follows the same approach. With clear
goals and specifications on what is expected of the move as presented in this
letter, it is much easier to realize the initiative. Therefore, I take this
opportunity to present to you some of the various advancements that you should
consider enforcing to improve special education in K-12.
It is my urge that energies should be
focused on the provision of resources tailored to facilitate professionalism
and enhance facilities. Just as a hospital remains technologically advanced to
provide sources to the best of its abilities, the K-12 programs should have
access to time, resources and good specialists that they can consult in the bid
to develop new ideas. I believe that the K-12 is a very innovative education
scheme since it emphasizes on reaching self-explanatory inferences through
critical thinking. As such, Mr. President it is my request that you could
consider appointing and training new teachers for the job. The manner of
imparting knowledge at that particular level is ultimately phenomenal and
different. The average teacher employs the tactic of feeding the learners with
loads of assignments all in the bid to develop intellectuals. Mr. President, I
indeed must admit that the approach is fascinating as it facilitates the recall
of what the students had previously learned in class (Glickman, 2007). However,
the K-12 scheme calls for paying individual attention to all the learners. For
instance, if teachers equally focus on the all the students in the class, they
create an opportunity for them to gain insight on their subjects in a practical
approach. Despite the fact that rushing towards such a decision may lead to the
implementation of illogical solutions, I would strongly advocate that the
teachers should be trained to guide the children along the right path while at the
same time equipping them with learning opportunities. Afterward, the children
can discover their learning capacities and their success is determined by their
thinking ability. It would also be realistic to consider the children with
special needs in this program, as they too have the capacity to do great
things. In other words, there should be special needs inclusion.
On the other hand, the future lies with much
hope and potential. Mr. President, I would recommend that our education system
adopts a balanced and transparent system of education. The Individual with
Disability Education Act is a regular expression of a significant milestone
towards attaining a stable education system. For instance, the current
education system is tailored in such a way that it emphasizes on the
post-secondary education level. I must indeed confess that our higher education
system is the envy of the globe. However, what is more, intriguing is that a
significant proportion of the country’s population is not in a position to pursue
the post-secondary education scheme due to the astronomical financial
complexities. Therefore, if much effort was deviated towards popularizing the
K-12 special education scheme, children could be in a position to unlock their
potential at quite early stages even before they could make it to the
post-secondary education project. However, the public and the families of the
kids pay for the resources required for running the training scheme. Therefore,
I would recommend that you enact a policy that enables the public to retrieve
the data from the K-12 initiative, a factor that would make it earn their
trust. Thus, the schools need to be integrated with an adaptive policy that
makes them transparent and open such that the citizens can make decisions as per
firsthand information. For instance, every parent needs substantial evidence on
how the school performs. The mere scores and numbers used in the present day
may cover many stories behind the inscribed values (Glickman, 2007). Therefore,
the most suitable approaches that could be deployed to achieve a balance in the
education system while at the same time creating transparency to the public
include periodical tapes of children reading out aloud what they learn or even
written materials. The parents should be given a choice.
On the other hand, the theme of diversity is
inevitable when one reflects on the issue of education. Much focus has
previously been inclined on trying to illuminate the reason as to why some
students are performers whereas others are always lagging behind. For the K-12
initiative to be distinct from the common education system, Mr. President I
would like to propose that teachers should undergo a training program in the
bid to foster alleviation of the discrepancies. The students of the K-12
education system are quite young, and some of them are from different
nationalities. How can we forget of the cultural influences? Many of the
teachers tend to approach the impartment of knowledge to the K-12’s from a
color-blind approach. It is indeed a good way of dealing with diversity and
doing away with all forms of discrimination, however, the students are still
social beings. Many of the instructors tend to support those cultural and
ethnic elements do not influence the manner in which they interact with their
students. Although this is the approach deployed by many of the instructors,
research purports that ethnicity and culture are indeed different elements that
strongly determine an individual’s attitude and conduct towards the other.
However, many of the instructors dread that if they acknowledged racial
differences for their students, they could be branded racists. However, the
alternative is worse as the failure of the teacher to recognize the values,
perceptions, cultural beliefs and ethnic identities is a clear indicator of the
tutor’s failure as a culturally responsive educator. Therefore, Mr. President
it is my request that you will implement a sensitive diversity system of
education right from the early stages; the K-12 phase. It is indeed true that
educating instructors to be culturally competent is a complex issue but poor
multi-cultural understanding is more dangerous as it can lead to hostility and
stereotyping against children who have ethnic diversity. Furthermore, children
can retain and consequently enjoy the culture of their predecessors while at
the same time feeling comfortable in a multicultural environment (Glickman,
2007).
In summary, the K-12 initiative is an
efficient approach for revolutionizing the education system across the United
States. However, despite its high potential and the many features that it had
been tailored to provide, there are still some adjustments that need to be
incorporated for the country to excel in particular K-12 education.
Furthermore, the initiative should be an inclusive program that should capture
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and consequently call for the
integration of the physically and mentally challenged learners. Mr. President,
America has undergone various revolutions that have seen it acquire a strategic
position as a provider of post- secondary education. The same move could be
deployed for the K-12 to ensure that the special form of education gains
popularity across and beyond its borders. Furthermore, the schools need to be
advanced and in line with the current state of technological advancement. Such
can only be made available in the event where there are resources set aside to
solve the mentioned predicaments. Besides, the system should be balanced and
transparent such that it is as equally recognized as the paramount
post-secondary American education. The public and the families catering for the
expenses need to be kept abreast. Such education initiative could benefit the
society in diverse approaches, but the prevalent drawbacks have to be
identified such as the inability to recognize diversity and consequently
addressed effectively. As such, this is a call for all the Americans to work
collaboratively with your help, Mr. President to ensure that we attain a
sustainable position in the K-12 education system just as it is with the
post-secondary education.
As an experienced educator, a student as
well as a potential parent who never had the opportunity to pass through the
K-12 learning scheme. However, it is beyond reasonable doubts that the benefits
of adopting the plan are far much beyond the anticipated drawbacks. Therefore I
would humbly request you to approve the initiatives.
Thank you in advance
Sincerely
(Signature)
(Name)
References
Glickman, C. D. (Ed.). (2007). Letters
to the next president: What we can do about the real crisis in public education.
Teachers College Press.
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