Chap 16 POI's Version 2.0

#1. The IEP in music
#2. Fair and equal music education
#3. The issue of time

#1: Last year I had to research a topic of my choice for my Ed. Psych. class. I chose to research the IEP or Individualized Education Plan. The IEP is a document that is given to a child who has issues learning that can be accommodated for. It is this accommodation that I find very hard to implement in a setting with many studies.

The statistics that I was able to gather show an alarming percentage of students attaining IEP's. While I think it is necessary to include all students in a classroom, it should not be at the sake of other students. I am fully aware of the benefits of talking louder, using bigger hand gestures, using PowerPoint, and overall techniques that help out students who have the IEP. But many of the methods used to help 'hindered' students do not help the academically advanced ones.

This brings me to point #2 of fair and equal music education. I do not think that there is a problem if one child learns slower than another. In fact, it has been that way for centuries. I do have a problem with sacrificing the education of academically gifted students for the sake of the students that need more help.

Again, I do see many benefits in more direct and clear teaching. But students who are gifted should be challenged and have the ability to explore and advance their knowledge with the complete attention of a teacher. I think that the IEP and other laws that have teachers spend a lot of time 'catering' to troubled student's needs keeps the academically advanced stagnant.

To be absolutely fair and equal, the education system should have some sort of an IEP for every single student, or abolish it altogether. If we want to create a society that ignores the academic elite, who have a high potential to benefit our society, then they must be educated with the same tenacity that we are trying to educate students who need a bit more help.

A simple solution would be to have the teacher take time and make individual tests for each student. This is my POI #3: the issue of time. A teacher is only paid for the time that the work in their building. A teacher does not get paid to go home and read essays, grade projects, and fill out report cards. Instead a teacher is paid for their time in the classroom.

I am aware that teaching is not about the money, and it should be about the love of education and watching children learn. But, it is still the time devoted by the teacher that will make their students successful. The problem is that there is not enough time to devote to every single student.

I am all for 'mainstreaming' and I am all for inclusion in the classroom, just not at the expense of learning. With the spike in IEP's and the No Child Left Behind, many children have been left behind. It is inevitable that some children will be, for the lack of a better term, screwed over by any type of education system.

I believe that a teacher must facilitate learning, and must facilitate learning to every student. Yet, there are many factors that are keeping the teachers of America from accomplishing that feat.