Do any of you even know what Special Education means?

Question

Why is all this random stuff in this category!?

Answer 1

There are three kinds of off-topic questions (and answers), especially in Special Education.

First of all, for the zillionth time, for those reading this who aren't aware... Special Education refers to the education (and parenting) of people with learning differences (disabilities, gifted), especially children.

The first kind of off-topic questions are from juvenile mentalities who enjoy discussing bodily functions, and do it anywhere they can since this forum is essentially anonymous. It's like being surrounded by 2-year-olds jumping up and down and yelling "poopie" at the top of their lungs, except here it's mostly "sex." Sigh. It is essentially electronic graffitti.

The second kind appears to be from people who are in too much of a rush to pay attention to where they're categorizing their questions... therefore the religious, relationship, etc. questions posted under the wrong category. Many of these appear to be serious, which is too bad because they'd get better answers if they categorized their questions right.

There's also the occasionally very high or drunk person, who is a sad mix of the first two above, with a long ramble attached, usually.

Finally (and this is the ONLY one I can really forgive), there are non-English speakers from around the globe who do not understand the idiom. "Special Education" IS an idiom... and oblique reference to what is really meant. The questions from these people usually refer to what could be thought of as "specialized education" ... specific to a particular field, such as technology. Many of these also appear to be serious, which is too bad because they'd get better answers if they categorized their questions right.

Wrong answers seem to fall into three categories....

Wild guesses that end up providing rather lousy information to serious questioners... and could hurt the people asking the questions if they take those answers seriously. These are really people trying to build their points, rather than coming here to share with other people with the same interests.

Personal or insulting comments, a-la the graffitti questions.

Non-answers... e.g. "2-points!" or letter jumbles, just to get the 2-point "award." VERY SILLY, since Y!A points have NO real value whatsoever. Can't trade them for anything, don't earn any extra priviliges except for being able to answer and ask more questions each day, etc.


The ONLY thing we as Y!A serious users can do is RAMO... Report And Move On. In the "Report Abuse" link by the person's question/answer, there is a drop-down box with a list of infractions, including "Miscategorized," "Not a Question or Answer," etc. all the way through more serious infractions involving adult content, personal insults, threats, and exploitation of minors.

It is sad that one can spend infinitely more time RAMOing than answering serious, correctly - categorized questions, especially knowing that the Y!A staff is too small to handle the volumes of infractions committed daily.

Answer 2

Star girl-

You read my mind... I have thought the same thing every time I open up this category! I have lots of knowledge on special education and I look in here to help others but only find like 1 out of 25 questions that is related to special education!!

Answer 3

As a matter a fact, I was wondering the same thing. Special Education is dealing with a variety of disabilities. These include; deaf/hard of hearing, orthopedic impaired, blind/vision impaired, autistic, developmentally disabled, and learning disabled. To those who may not know: a learning disabled student has normal intelligence, but is not achieving at his/her intelligence. These students may seem like your average student, however, they are way below grade level in one or more areas. Students with disabilities are entitled to a Free and appropriate Public Education. For some, that means having a teacher come into the classroom or going to a special class for a short time. Other students, require a small class with lots of individual attention. It is not about being retarded.

Answer 4

Special Education is “classroom or private instruction involving techniques, exercises, and subject matter designed for students whose learning needs cannot be met by a standard school curriculum (American Heritage Dictionary http://www.answers.com/topic/special-education).”

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Acts (IDEIA) (1975, 1995, 1997, 2004) defines "child with a disability" as:
a child . . . with mental retardation, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), serious emotional disturbance . . ., orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities . . . who . . . [because of the condition] needs special education and related services.
U.S.C. § 1401(3)(A). http://www.law.cornel.edu/usc-cgi/newurl?title=20@section=1401(3)(A)@type=titlesetc

I believe many people post items here, not related to special education, because they are not clear what the term means. It means more than the words special and education separately. Since Yahoo has not yet included a parenthetical notation such as “(students with disabilities)” to the heading “Special Education,” a lot of people may feel this is the quick and easy place to put anything that is meaningful to them (special) that they want to tell to others (education). Other categories have parenthetical subheadings for similar reasons.

Next time we each see a non-SpEd topic posted here, we should click on “report abuse” and select “miscategorized” from the pull down menu. Also, we each should request the subheading “students with disabilities” be added to the Special Education heading. If we all did this, I am sure Yahoo would help us clean up the clutter that lands here.

Steve
:-D

Answer 5

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.

This article will focus mainly on the teaching of students with disabilities; see Gifted education for more information on that subject.

Answer 6

I am a special education teacher, and I often suspect that the people who put the random stuff here are in need of special education services themselves. Maybe we are missing many cries for help...

Answer 7

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 8

well here in western australia, its for children who have learning problems, usually with reading and writing, it depends on how bad the problem is whether they go to a spec ed school or to a regular school but get spec ed classes. What are u talking about when u say it?

Answer 9

I used to work with the physical challenged and the mentally ill. So I answer affirmative to your first Q.
Don't understand your second Q.

Answer 10

its for kids with learning disabilities also. who have legitimate math reading comprehension difficulties. Don't listen to the retards who answered before me