Ruth Kelly believes that she is “doing the right thing” by putting her son through private schooling and it is not a bad decision.
Not from the perspective of a concerned mother who wants to provide the best opportunities for her child with special learning needs, but it is a stupid decision to make from the perspective of a former Education Minister who represents a government who have policies of integrating special educational needs in to main stream schools.
Which child doesn’t have special educational needs? And what exactly does that mean anyway?
The very nature of schooling or teaching is to help students to learn, to facilitate the student with a way of understand and acquiring knowledge on what ever the subject matter may be. The nature of the schooling may need to vary according to the learners needs but this does not, at any point, stop being schooling.
In which case, all learning, whatever the needs are, should take place in "school". One school, for all people, where education can be sort and gained, whatever the students learning requirements maybe.
The idea of integrating S.E.L needs in to mainstream schooling is a vital part of revolutionising the education system in to one that provides all schools with the ability to meet the learning needs of all its students, whatever they maybe.
The decision for Ruth Kelly to put her son thru private schooling did nothing to endorse or install confidence in the policy of integration, quite the opposite.
All she has managed to do is highlight the fact that local schools are under equipped and over subscribed with students with special learning needs, and that if you have money then you can buy your way out of this problem through private schooling.
Her decision was not very politically astute and nor was it very socially responsible either.
I have heard it said that her decision was probably more influenced by her relationships with opus dei , the hardcore recruiting branch of the Vatican, and that she probably didn't want her son mixing with all the unclean little heathen children at the local school but I certainly wouldn’t like to suggest that on this site.
Not from the perspective of a concerned mother who wants to provide the best opportunities for her child with special learning needs, but it is a stupid decision to make from the perspective of a former Education Minister who represents a government who have policies of integrating special educational needs in to main stream schools.
Which child doesn’t have special educational needs? And what exactly does that mean anyway?
The very nature of schooling or teaching is to help students to learn, to facilitate the student with a way of understand and acquiring knowledge on what ever the subject matter may be. The nature of the schooling may need to vary according to the learners needs but this does not, at any point, stop being schooling.
In which case, all learning, whatever the needs are, should take place in "school". One school, for all people, where education can be sort and gained, whatever the students learning requirements maybe.
The idea of integrating S.E.L needs in to mainstream schooling is a vital part of revolutionising the education system in to one that provides all schools with the ability to meet the learning needs of all its students, whatever they maybe.
The decision for Ruth Kelly to put her son thru private schooling did nothing to endorse or install confidence in the policy of integration, quite the opposite.
All she has managed to do is highlight the fact that local schools are under equipped and over subscribed with students with special learning needs, and that if you have money then you can buy your way out of this problem through private schooling.
Her decision was not very politically astute and nor was it very socially responsible either.
I have heard it said that her decision was probably more influenced by her relationships with opus dei , the hardcore recruiting branch of the Vatican, and that she probably didn't want her son mixing with all the unclean little heathen children at the local school but I certainly wouldn’t like to suggest that on this site.
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