Special Education Pt.1 Discussion Post 1

Discussion Board Response


After completing all readings, respond to the following questions on the Discussion Board: Can using labels and categories of exceptionalism help move towards a more inclusive educational environment? Why are such labels important and needed by teachers? What are some of the issues with these labels of categorization?


Remember to post to the Discussion Board, click on Discussion Board link in the left-hand menu. Comment and reflect on the other participants' responses. Just a reminder that you are required to respond to at least two of your peers in each module. Your responses should be a minimum of 150 words each






What is a label? Well, a label is essentially a "tag" if you will that allows people to get an immediate idea of what something is or "who someone is". If you were to ask me in any other scenario I would most certainly reckon that labels are bad and a damaging aspect to social interactions. Labels allow people to "think" they know everything about a person based on the "label". Realistically, this is what creates assumptions in education and social circles that can sometimes lead to negative associations between strangers.


Labels are a necessary part of special education for the reasons of being able to provide support to hundreds of students and teachers without the daunting bureaucracy that cripples the effectiveness of support processes of schools and classrooms. Labels may sometimes overcompensate for misunderstood classification of students who are unidentified or under observation/on-going assessment.


Personally, from my previous learning experiences-I feel that TELL students are sometimes misrepresented by their language struggles (as students with exceptionalities as well as students without). Labels can make a classroom environment supportive for students with exceptionalities or the complete opposite.