Teachers and Teaching: Screening, Early Intervention, and Remediation: Obscuring Children's Potential

Abstract

From her perspective as a public school kindergarten teacher, Anne Martin examines the effects of special needs intervention on classroom life. She finds that frequently a special education focus results in an overemphasis on children's weaknesses. Moreover, she believes that special educators often ignore the classroom teacher's key role in helping children learn and grow. The author offers alternative suggestions for helping children that rely on collaboration among teachers to produce a rich understanding of the context of individual children's lives in school.