A positive note: Summer’s special education

[B]By JIM RAYPHAND[/B] [I]Special to the Saipan Tribune

Editor’s Note: The author quotes a speech written by Paul Joyce, the special education teacher for the SVES Outdoor Science Program.[/I]

Sometimes pessimism gets the best of us and our focus tends to lean toward the negative as it relates to the rights and needs of individuals with disabilities, so it’s with great pleasure and appreciation when on occasion I am reminded directly about the good things happening and some of the wonderful people teaching our kids in the Special Education Program. The following is a copy of a speech that was written and delivered by Mr. Paul Joyce, a long-time teacher for the Special Education program in celebration of a successful ending to San Vicente Elementary School’s Outdoor Science Camp:

“It has been an eventful summer at SVES Outdoor Science Camp. As a SPED teacher I have extensive teaching experience in the Extended School Year Program for students with disabilities. Merging our summer program with that of PSS presented some unique obstacles. The program was designed for SY 2011-2012 5th and 6th grade students. Our older kids were included in the science classes with their peers while the K-3rd grade students were grouped together in one classroom. At the outset we were given all the science benchmarks from grades K-3 and asked to come up with a summer program to begin the following day. That task would have taken an experienced curriculum team the better part of the summer to complete. We decided to teach exactly the standards and benchmarks that the other three classes were following. Granted we made some modifications to the material but for the most part we did just what the 5th and 6th graders did on a daily basis. We attended all the presentations and participated in all the field trips and accompanying activities.

“From hiking the Lao Lao Trail to viewing the goings on at Hawaiian Rock, from measuring erosion and deposition on Managaha to learning about the CUC catchment system, our kids were treated to a variety of hands-on experiences. How great was it to see the looks on our student’s faces when they were sailing and kayaking at Bantalan or learning about hydroponics on campus at SVES. SVES is a great place for the Outdoor Science Camp as they have facilities for the kids to feed the fish and also to learn about plants and farming. They learned dissection and even had the opportunity to enjoy eating fish prepared by the interns who worked the summer program. There is no more knowledgeable and enthusiastic person than Val Welch to guide the students in the pursuit of scientific knowledge and discovery. I want to thank Val, Elaine, Peter, Janelle, all the TA’s (Temary, Anita, Edwina, Ote, and Angie from SVES and Amoreleen, Sophia, McQueen and Jack from Dandan), Tasha and the other interns and WIA kids and the staff at SVES for making the Outdoor Science Camp an exciting and enriching experience for our kids. A poignant moment for me was certainly watching one of our kids kayaking at Bantalan. How great it was for the man who was helping our kids just putting an autistic student in the kayak and pushing him off just like anyone else. Our kids are just kids after all. Our students may have disabilities but this program showed that we can focus on their many abilities to provide them a wonderful learning opportunity just like their general education peers.

“In conclusion, I’m reminded of the MasterCard commercial on TV. Summer school transportation… free, summer meals… free, the enriching experience of the Outdoor Science Program for our kids with disabilities…priceless!”

[I]For more on the rights of students with disabilities and/or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), please feel free to contact the NMPASI Office at (670) 235-7273/4 [voice] / 235-7275 [fax] / 235-7278 [tty] or via the Internet at www.nmpasi.org.
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