Pheonix+Ladd

**__How Labels Inform and Limit Teachers and Students__**

__Benefits of Labeling__ 1. Under our current laws, a student must be diagnosed with a disability, or labeled, in order to receive specialized education. 2. Labeling recognizes meaningful differences in learning or behavior and is a first and necessary step in responding responsibly to those differences. 3. Labeling may lead to a response in which children are more protective and accepting of the atypical behavior of a peer with a disability than they would be of a child without a disability who showed the same behavior 4. Labeling helps professionals communicate with one another and classify and evaluate research findings. 5. Specific categories of exceptionality are used to determine the funding and resources for research and other programs. 6. Labels allow disability-specific advocacy groups (e.g., parents of children with Down's Syndrome) to promote specific programs and spur legislative action. 7. Labeling helps make exceptional children’s special needs more visible to the public and policymakers.



__ How Labeling Limits Teachers and Students __ 1. A student who is labeled may receive biased instruction from an ill-informed teacher. 2. A student who is labeled may fail to live up to their potential because they do not believe they are capable because of their label. 3. Sometimes labeling affects a student's sense of self and can affect their school performance. 4. A student who is labeled may feel like they do not belong anywhere and can become depressed. 5. Sometimes labeling causes people to focus on what the student cannot do rather than on what they can do. 6. Labels may cause others to hold low expectations for a student and treat them on the basis of the label, which may result in a self-fulfilling prophecy. 7. Special education labels can have a certain permanence; once labeled, it is difficult for a student to ever again achieve the status of simply being just another kid.




 * __How Behavior Can Impact Learning __**

When a student is behaving inappropriately, there are different approaches a teacher can make to help the student learn and discontinue the bad behavior.

1. Positive reinforcement: Praise a student when they are doing well, ignore or do not respond when they are misbehaving unless necessary. It is believed that when an action produces a pleasant response, the action is repeated, when it produces an unfavorable response, it is less likely to continue.

2. Rewards and Punishment: Some teachers set up their classroom with rules and have prizes that can be won for good behavior and being on task and things that can be taken away for bad behavior. An example would be five minutes less of recess or not being allowed to attend specials for that day if the child refuses to follow the rules that have been set.

3. Motivation: When a student is motivated, they are more inclined to act in a positive manner and follow the rules. Having good classroom management skills and engaging your students are ways to motivate them and keep the negative behavior to a minimum. There are two types of motivation; intrinsic and extrinsic. If a student is intrinsically motivated, it is unwise to offer a reward or it may lessen their motivation. When a student is extrinsically motivated, a variable interval system of rewards can keep them motivated long after the rewards have been removed.

4. Depending on the disability, a teacher can help the student by being familiar with the disability. A student with ADHD benefits from structured movement throughout the day and many hands-on projects. A student with Autism benefits from a set schedule that is written on the board and does not change without giving the student ample time to become aware of the change and adjust. A student with EBD needs structure and a firm set of rules, and a teacher that is consistent with enforcing the rules. If the teacher has a student with a learning disability they should not call on the child to read out loud in front of the entire class or do whatever they are having a difficulty with in front of the other students. All of these things can help create a well behaved class.

5. When a teacher sees a student act out every time a certain task is asked of them or it is time for a certain subject, they need to take note. Instead of sending them to the principal and allowing them to get out of the task they are trying to avoid, the teacher needs either work with the child one-on-one in this area, or revise the tasks so that they are no longer in the student's frustration level.

[] [] []
 * __ Resources for different Behavioral Methods __**

www.freespirituk.org/ images/labels.jpg rlv.zcache.com/labels_ are_for_cans_not_people... [|www.boerne-isd.net/.../ downloads/kidsphoto.jpg] []
 * __Works Cited__**