Children with special needs must not be neglected by our education system
Now almost a year into a pandemic, educators are giving their best to the students that need it most
While many students of all ages are struggling to adjust, students with learning and language disabilities are struggling even more.
With varying measures set into place regarding the introduction of elementary students back into schools across the country, there are discrepancies. Every school board is left to set things up their own way. Though many school boards have made it a priority to allow students with special needs to return to the classroom, other boards across the country have not even mentioned this aspect of schooling.
TORONTO Schools in four other Ontario regions will be returning to in-person learning next week, the government confirms. In a statement released Thursday morning, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said that kids within Ottawa, Middlesex-London, and Southwestern and Eastern Ontario’s public health units will return to the classroom on Monday. On the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, with the support of the local Medical Officers of Health, and with the introduction of additional layers of protection, 280,000 students in four public health regions will return to class on Monday, February 1,” Lecce said. According to the province, this means that 520,000 students are now able to continue their education in class.
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Some Ottawa educators say they are concerned about the safety of classrooms that remain open in schools for special-education students.
Ontario elementary and secondary students have been sent home to study virtually because of the dangers posed by rising rates of COVID-19. However, special-education classes are still operating at many bricks-and-mortar schools.
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The special-education classes include students with physical and developmental disabilities, autism and behaviour problems. Some don’t wear masks and require close physical care.
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Masks on faces, markers on floors to keep kids apart and a ban on singing. Endless squirts of hand sanitizer and field trips conducted on video screens.
This school year has been like no other as elementary and high school students and teachers attend classes in the shadow of a pandemic.
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It’s been stressful and sometimes scary. Cases of COVID-19 have popped up at many schools in Ottawa.
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Masks on faces, markers on floors to keep kids apart and a ban on singing. Endless squirts of hand sanitizer and field trips conducted on video screens.
This school year has been like no other as elementary and high school students and teachers attend classes in the shadow of a pandemic.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or Life at Ottawa schools in the shadow of a pandemic Back to video
It’s been stressful and sometimes scary. Cases of COVID-19 have popped up at many schools in Ottawa.
But it’s also been a year of invention and hope. The routines and traditions of school continue, if modified. Teachers have created new ways to learn, from pool-noodle tag in gym class to performing O Canada in sign language.