Journal #2

“All of these thinking ideas are wonderful, but they could never apply or be done with any children who have special needs” (Martin, 211).  During class on Tuesday I highlighted this quote because it really provoked me.  I feel that anyone who believes this is just limiting every child and holding them to the same standards before they even get to know them.  Children, no matter special need or not, have their own way of thinking and processing information.  Who is to say that what works for one general education student is going to work for another.  It’s not, and the same is true about special education.  If we as teachers can provide all students with explicit and appropriate instruction, they can succeed.  Yes children with disabilities have different ways in which they go about their thought process, but that does not mean that their results are any less important.  All of our students are going to learn and process information differently.  The sooner teachers learn to accept that, the sooner teachers are going to be able to stop limiting the cognitive processes of the individuals in their classrooms.  Students in special education have the right and the ability to use these thinking strategies; teachers need to just stop limiting them.
Martin, D. S. (n.d.). Thinking and the special-needs learner.Developing Minds A Resource Book for Teaching Thinking, 211-215.