Does anyone on Yahoo Answers know what Special Education means?

Question

It is so funny to see absolutely anything but Special Education topics on the Special Education category on Yahoo Answers. Come on...using the Special Education category to find out how to have oral sex...well...perhaps he is a little special himself!

I know what Special Education is....geeze...just the people on Yahoo Answers don't!

Answer 1

The worst part is that there are probably lots of people with special education questions, who come on the site, browse the existing questions, and then decide not to ask their legitimate questions because of all the garbage questions and answers.

I am a special education teacher, and a parent of a child with special needs. I started answering questions on this site because I thought this sort of thing is a wonderful concept.

The sad thing is the number of people who are on here just to "accumulate points," but the points are absolutely worthless for anything, except how many questions you can ask and answer here. So why go all nuts trying to get points worth nothing? That's where you get nonsense answers, short off-topic answers, and wild guesses that are trying to be passed off as legitimate.

Then you have the kids and freaks who enjoy the relative anonymity to be able to show off their enjoyment of being rude, obscene, etc.... essentially electronic graffiti vandalism. Twits.

Finally, there are people in other countries (such as India, UAE, etc.) who are confused by the idiomatic nature of English, and who see "Special Education" as "specialization education." They tend to ask vocational, technical, etc. questions in the sped category because they don't know or understand what it refers to in Western culture. They are the only ones I really can forgive for their error.

When you add in that evidently Yahoo Answers doesn't have enough of a staff to keep up with the violations, and you have to feel awful for the mess that is being made of this site.

The only thing we can really do is RAMO... Report and Move On. Even "miscategorization" is reportable unter "Report Abuse," by the person's name in their question or answer. It takes three seconds. Then move on. It flags the question or answer for the Yahoo Answers staff to review, when they eventually get around to it.

Answer 2

Personally, I don't see why anyone should find the term "Alternative Education" offensive in any way. However, I admit that there are plenty of things going on these days for which I can't provide a sufficient explanation. : ) I like Anjel's answer and agree with much of what she says. My oldest son has Asperger's too and is a brilliant young man. He was not placed into special education classes until 8th grade and the high school he attended was classified as an "alternative school". However, the students attending that school were there for various reasons - some for learning or physical disabilities, some for emotional or neurological disorders and some for behavior issues. My son's IEP made sure he was properly challenged, but in a smaller classroom setting where he could concentrate and focus on his work (he also has severe ADHD and GAD). Thanks to his alternative high school and the classroom structure, he finished 4 years of high school in 2-1/2 years and graduated first in his class at the age of 16 (with college scholarship money, as well). Yes, I'm a proud mom. More importantly though, I'm telling you all this because I believe that schools like this allow children to experience more of a mixed environment. They get to go through school with other kids who have different types of physical or psychological issues (which helps them learn compassion and empathy), as well as children without disabling issues or other disorders. Overall, they get the learning environment they need and are still in something close to a mini "outside world". Best wishes to anyone whose life is touched in some way by a person with special needs. Some days are very tough but in the end, you are much more blessed than you will probably ever know. ~Roni

Answer 3

Special education is a type of eduaction that applies to learners who are not able to learn as well from conventional teaching methods in an average classroom. This means that people who are impaired physically and/or mentally may need special help for them to learn.

People who have behaviorial, psychological, physical and learning difficulties benefit from special education.

Special education is a subject that teachers must study so that they know how to help a person who does not fit into a regular class. It is an important part of educational theory because at times teachers do not recognise when a student needs help. Sometimes a person can't read because they are dyslexic. But with the write help they can. And this does not mean that they are unintelligent but often they get referred to as slow or stupid even though this has nothing to do with it.

It is a large topic and you can learn more here:
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/specialed/

Answer 4

It's for people with learning disabilities who don't quite fare well in regular classes. Special Education is the more archaic term. IEP (Individualized Education Program) is the more politically correct term. SPED (abbrev. of Special Education) is what is used to be called, but is now considered offensive.

The students who are in these programs usually go on to high school with lots of assistance and usually end up in the lower programs. My younger sister is in IEP.

Answer 5

Special Education is when a child needs assistance in school. My son was diagnosed with ADHD and had to have an IEP(Individualized Education Plan) done to show where he needed help. My son was able to be mainstreamed whith some help into regular classrooms. Some children are not as fortunate.

Answer 6

I am assuming you already know what special education means, but for those of you out there who don't...

A student can qualify for special education for many reasons, such as having a learning disability (which essentially means that they don't learn and produce in a subject area as their IQ would indicate that they should.), severe emotional difficulties which impair their ability to perform academically, autism, and physical impairments are just a few. Special education is meant to provide specialized educational programming to meet the individual needs of that student to be success in school.

Answer 7

"Special education" means specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parent or parents, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, including instruction conducted in a classroom, in the home, in hospitals, in institutions, and in other settings and instruction in physical education. The term includes each of the following if it meets the requirements of the definition of special education:
1. Speech-language pathology services;
2. Vocational education; and
3. Travel training. COV § 221-213; 34 CFR §300.26
http://www.pwcs.edu/departments/SPED/IRC/INFO/terms.htm#S

Answer 8

I wondered why people were asking those questions in the SpEd section myself.

Special education, describes an educational alternative that focuses on the teaching of students with academic, behavioral, health, or physical needs that cannot sufficiently be met using traditional educational programs or techniques.

Answer 9

Special Education-is for students or adults with disabilities,or learning disablitites to learn from teachers or others ways of learning General Education or a way of learning living skills.

Answer 10

Yes I agree- that person must be a little special or uneducated.
Special education means that its geared for students with special needs- like (but not limited to) learning disabilities. It does NOT mean slow btw.