"="

At a math training session last week Thursday (right before the "big" wind storm that came through), we were reminded to teach our students that "=" isn't an indicator to perform a mathematical operation. It simply means "is the same as". "2 plus 2" is the same as "4". "9 x 2" is the same as "6 + 6 + 6" which is the same as "18". Mathematics is "the science and language of patterns and relationships and our job as teachers is to help students discover those patterns and relationships" (I'll insert the reference later - I forgot it at school). I'd never thought of math as a language, but when you think about it, it really is.

Many of us have a holiday today because of a man who believed that we should use that same symbol between two men (or women), regardless of race, color, creed, social status, education, etc. His work helped set the stage for the laws that were passed which made special education services possible in our public schools. Therefore, I owe my job to Dr. King, for which I am thankful. I can't think of another job that I would rather be doing right now. Because my school integrates the students receiving special education services in the general education setting, they each have the opportunity to succeed and receive the same education as their peers. While they may receive more help, an altered assignment or more/longer opportunities to complete something, they are given access to the same curriculum. By including them in the regular classroom, the other teachers and I work together to promote this equality. The idea is that if an outsider were to walk in to our classroom, they wouldn't be able to distinguish the students with identified special needs from those without.

While the whole idea of equality and receiving special education may seem paradoxical or polar opposites, isn't it the same with what Dr. King promoted?