Why are so many minorities in Special Education?

Question

The numbers are appalling: black children make 16.1 of enrolled students in elementary education, but 35.2% of the educably mentally retarded and 27.4% of the trainably mentally retarded.

18% of Hispanic children are mentally retarded, while 26% of African-American children fall in that classification. Meanwhile, only 11% of white children are deemed retarded.

Why are there such huge differences?

Anyone who has ever taught elementary school knows that the gap between white kids and Hispanic and Black kids is huge--what takes to the former a day to learn, requires two whole weeks from the latter.

What can be done?

http://www.lcsc.edu/lgustafs/stats/handouts/special_ed.html

Answer 1

Minorities frequently can't afford squat. No learning toys. No daycare centers, maybe a teenage babysitter at best. Sometimes it's generational, where the child might get all the love in the world but no assistance toward learning 'cuz the parent somehow fell through the cracks way back when. Sometimes it's 'cuz of substandard nutrition. Sometimes it's because the family life is so stressed that extra energy for learning just isn't there. Sometimes lower ability to quickly assimilate can be related to nutrition deficits during gestation. Sometimes the retardation of the learning abilities can be attributed to prenatal drug use, which statistically has its origins in the experience of helplessness and frustration. Most people who are slow learners turn out to be quite bright when given an educational boost when younger. You have the ability to make this high level of contribution, should you choose that arduous path. In this country, the key to success is money. Whomever can afford all the specialized things, gets their kids involved in those and voila, we have a new U. S. Senator. Without money, the vast majority of the lower and middle classes depends primarily upon people like you to give them the tools to where they can find their own resources to become the successes they are ultimately capable of being.

Answer 2

The issue arrives from home.
Many young children who have difficulty learning are mistaken for being mentally challenged or for having a low I.Q.
But in reality, it could be other factors such as lack of confidence, shyness, late learners, etc.

When you say 11% of white children are deemed retarded, do not forget the one's who aren't accounted for. I am talking about children whose parents are actual siblings, or other children whose parents never registered them to school. Those kids might be smart, and some might be slow, but we don't know that because they've never been tested.

Answer 3

One of the proposed ideas that I have heard is that the minority children do not have the typical familly structure to come home to. The family may not be there or may not be able to help the child. The mom to help do home work, the father to explain all the little things. So they miss out. The solution that I have heard of is trying to get the rest of the family involved in the education of the child... unfortunatally this has not worked so well since alot of parents use school as a day care system and are not bothered by their childs preformance. Their attitude seems to be, they did nothing in school and they are here now why can't their child.

Answer 4

Obviously there are many social factors here, including socia-economic status of the parents (minority parents tend to be poorer, thus less time spent to educate their kids at home), less health care during the critical pre-K age, riskier lifestyles contributing to more health problems, more babies born to very young and poor parents who are not qualified to care for their kids. Some minority groups do not provide enough English skills help to their young (ie. adults of these groups do not speak English), so more kids in these groups have communication difficulties and thus mis-diagnosed as "slow" or even retarded.

What can be done?

Universal health care would help a lot. Immunization against diseases, education for healthier mothers during pregnancy, and better nutrition can help.

A more urgent fight against drug use can help too (e.g. Malaysia's punishment for drug traffiker is death sentence).

More early childhood TV programs like Sesame Street; would help if there's a bit more biingual programs to increase interest.

Smaller, tighter communities instead of the big metropolises we have today can also help. Kids are raised by communities that way as they need to be.

Answer 5

It's all about the money. Kids from lower class families often have parents who work many jobs with little pay. Sometimes they are from single-parent homes and don't have access to the resources that are available to wealthier kids. White kids have parents who can afford tutoring for academic problems and behavioral therapy for conditions like ADD or ADHD or Autism.

Answer 6

Minority toddlers are no longer located specifically ed. particular ed is for toddlers with particular desires. youngsters that dont talk the language are often located in a type stated as ESL english as a 2d language.