Another bad idea in education

CNN.com - Parents: Special ed kids used as janitors - Oct. 10, 2003

I've served as a supervisor in our own community work experience programme from the local supervisor--in fact, most of my catalogue was entered into the computer by a student, and others helped me shelve books. I can't believe that there were no other options other than having a quarter of your students sorting through recyclables and dealing with trash in front of other students.

There's nothing wrong with janitorial work...we couldn't exist as a society without it. But some people see it as demeaning work they would not do. And it's true that some kids may go on to do such work. But teens are super-conscious of differences, and certainly students are going to be ridiculed if they are doing such tasks in front of the others. It's something you might find in detention. Actually, it's something parents would be up in arms about if their kids were made to do it for detention.

It sounds like at the best, there was a lot of miscommunication going on. Parents may have known that their kids were in the programme but not necessarily the tasks they were doing. I think the school system didn't see it as a problem. Maybe they should have asked a counselor on that one. Kids with differences, whether physical or learning, already feel outcast. Part of the goal with these programmes is to increase the confidence students have in their abilities so that they will be able to go out into the workforce and gain independence. This seems counter to that. Also, the idea is to leave the shelter of school for 'real world' experience. Instead it put them in the line for ridicule from students. Ironically, most doing the same skills out in the community would not have had that experience, and they would have learnt more about working with the challenges out there at off-school sites.