standing up for yourself with adults.?

Question

I had LD,I grew up in the 1970s and teachers,reading specialists told me to
give up on myself and I was wasting my
time trying to better myself.In 1979 I went
to community college and took some
remedial courses in reading and Math so
I could eventually go for a GED.
When I was having difficulty I told the
reading specialist I had LD and she told
me I was wasting my time taking her class
and drop out and I have no right trying to
better myself.,forget the GED.
I was 19 at the time and she was pass 40.
What could I have done to stand up to her
and convince her what she was doing was wrong
and win with her? Could I have gotten a discrimination lawsuit against her? I hope
no one here agrees with her.

Answer 1

If your story happened today you could definitely sue, but in 1979 they did not have all the special education laws and anti-discrimination laws we have now.

I doubt there is anything you could have said to change her mind. You probably should have just told her to go f*#! herself and tried to find help somewhere else.

Answer 2

In 1979 IDEA had been put into effect for three years (passed in 1974 but implemented in 1976). Many teachers with no special education background were remiss in what they told students. Regular ed teachers then often dismissed a disability if it was one that couldn't be 'seen' and many felt that it was not their job to teach kids with disabilities of any type. It took a lawsuit (based on the fact that separate but equal was not sufficient) to make schools include kids with disabilities in mainstream schools and classes. LD to this day is very misunderstood disability and some regular ed. teachers do not understand how a person can be socially adept and function well, but is unorganized, has trouble reading or comprehending material, has difficulty reading off the board and then writing transfering that material to their paper or cannot follow multiple-step directions.
While what those teachers did to you was very wrong, at that time it was still considered something you had to deal with, as no one was really aware of what the law required. Change is almost always very slow when it is as broad as IDEA was, but that is a poor excuse.
You most certainly could have filed a lawsuit, but I really do not know if you could have won it as it would have been a she-said/she-said kind of thing.
You could have tried explaining to the teacher the kinds of things that helped you learn (org. charts, pre-written notes, etc...) and the kinds of things that gave you problems ( large multiple-part assignments that are not turned in in stages, inferential questions, memorization) in an effort to illustrate that you knew how to help yourself learn. I don't know if it would have worked, but it would have been worth a try.

Answer 3

You couldn't have done anything at that time. As others have noted, if this happened today, you could sue.

If the teacher actually told you that you "had no right trying to better" yourself, then she was an ignorant person and not all that nice either. If she really didn't believe that you could handle the material, she could have nicely made some suggestions for you to take another path (take up a trade, etc.).

I'd just chalk this up to ignorance. Unfortunately, that's just life. You'll encounter unkind people who want to bring you down. Forget about them and move on.

Answer 4

is ged general intelligece development??in the late 70 there was not much we could do,it was sought off sit down shut up and listen.im much older than you but it was basically the same.if the teacher asked you a question and you got it wrong,they would usually rant and rave,which does not help you you learn.i left school when i was 13,but did some courses through correspondance,since them i have obtained a degree in nursing,perhaps you could do a course similar the best thing,there is no time limit so you do it at your own pace.im not saying it was easy,but much easier than school.give it a go

Answer 5

Someone like that had no business being a teacher. You should have talked to an administrator at the school.

Answer 6

What is a GED