Anthony Radice: 'Do we all have special needs?'

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Debbie_Hepplewhite
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Anthony Radice: 'Do we all have special needs?'

Post by Debbie_Hepplewhite »

Anthony Radice writes a very straightforward piece via his The Traditional Teacher blog pointing out the dangers of labelling which may detract from looking at the teaching context and the teaching:

https://thetraditionalteacher.wordpress ... ial-needs/
Do we all have special needs?

Slapping labels on certain people creates the idea that they are fundamentally different, and therefore must be taught in a fundamentally different way from their peers. This idea has wrought untold damage in our education system, whether in the form of learning styles, or spurious special educational needs, or the pervasive idea that personalised education, differentiated for each pupil, is the ideal.

No one would deny that there are a small number of pupils who really do have serious special educational needs. These pupils should be educated in special schools, because ordinary schools cannot possibly provide for them. For the vast majority, however, including the vast majority of those currently labelled as SEN, what they need is what everyone needs: a coherent curriculum and teaching methods based on sound cognitive principles.
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