6 Expertise and Expectations: Joaquin’s Learning Opportunity

Joaquin was several weeks into his first year as a fifth-grade special education teacher. Assigned to teach a self-contained class for students with mixed support needs, his students’ schedules varied. Some of his students spent the entire day in his classroom, and others only stayed for reading or math. He taught the same standards and concepts as his general education counterparts, but with a smaller group and added support. Luca Strauss was an eleven-year-old student in his class. She had cerebral palsy, used a wheelchair, and was mostly non speaking. She communicated effectively using an AAC device. She had been in self-contained classes since preschool and he thought that she had thrived in this environment. Looking back on her old IEPs, he could see how much she had grown over the years. While she was still a few years behind in reading and needed some support in math, she participated and wrote independently.

She was also highly opinionated and loved expressing her big ideas. She always raised her hand and responded with the right answer using her AAC during science class. 

During science class, Joaquin taught his students the order of the planets. They learned a song to help remember the order and practice labeling the correct planets during class. For homework, he assigned them a worksheet from the back of their science textbook. The students needed to find each planet and color them according to the directions. Joaquin thought that this was a fun way for the students to show they knew the order of the planets. However, the next day, Luca came to school without her homework finished. This wasn’t the first time this had happened, so Joaquin called home to Mrs. Strauss to ask if she knew that Luca wasn’t finishing her homework. This was the first interaction between Luca’s mother and Joaquin. He was shocked when Mrs. Strauss responded that she told her daughter not to do it. “Coloring is baby work,” she told him. “Luca shouldn’t be doing that.” He tried explaining to her that the worksheet was more than just a coloring page, but he couldn’t seem to get through to her. Frustrated, he helped Luca complete the assignment during class. 

Where might the disconnect have happened in this scenario? How might Mrs. Strauss have felt about Luca’s learning? Let’s consider her perspective.

Maura Strauss loved her daughter, Luca, and had been a vocal advocate for her throughout her young life. When she learned that Luca’s teacher had never taught before, she told the principal that she didn’t want Luca in his class. Luca’s needs were far more extensive than most students and even exceeded some of her classmates’ needs in special education. Moreover, multiple teachers expected far less of her than she was capable of, placing even greater work on Maura to supplement learning opportunities outside of school. She experienced these low expectations year after year, never gaining the support that she knew her daughter needed. In fact, the school year began without a single individual interaction with the teacher. He never reached out. She previously worked with an advocate who had expertise in special education and disability law, but the school only made modifications when this extensive process took place. The amount of time, energy, and cognitive focus required of Maura took a toll over the years; her frustration mounted and she found herself simply directing Luca not to complete work that appeared to be a continuation of the school’s low expectations and seemingly ableist practices.

Mapp and Bergman (2019) identify educators’ low expectations of families and learners as a barrier to effective family engagement, and, ultimately, student and school improvement. They also note that many families, like Luca’s mom, have experienced negative interactions with educators, leading to feeling unheard and not valued. Let’s instead reimagine the first interaction between Luca, Maura, and Joaquin to see what might be possible in the face of these past experiences and challenges.

Before the school year began, Joaquin asked the school counselor and special education department chair for a list of students on his caseload. He sent each family a handwritten note with his contact information and an invitation for a conversation so he could learn more about each student and their family. He followed up with all families, regardless of response, as he knew that student records can only provide so much information. He also realized that families with students who receive special education services have to navigate a bureaucratic system that can leave many with a sour taste in their mouth. Maura Strauss responded and seemed hesitant about bringing Luca to the first conversation, but agreed to do so. He thanked Maura and Luca for joining him and invited both to tell him in what areas Luca excelled. Luca immediately responded, “science!” and Maura laughed, nodding in agreement. Luca also told him about her favorite book series and Joaquin took notes. He then asked Maura what has worked well for Luca in previous school years, and what may have not worked as well. Maura shared her prior frustrations and told him that she knew Luca was capable of more than previous teachers thought. Maura said that was “tired of people giving her daughter easy work.” Joaquin reviewed Luca’s past academic performance and, after the conversation, asked about the possibility of Luca transitioning into general education for Science and Social Studies with a paraprofessional. The school year began with higher expectations and supports in areas of strength and a cautiously optimistic parent who began to feel heard for the first time.

Both parties (educators and families) believe they know what is best or consider their perspective to be right, meaning that the other’s perspective is wrong. This creates an unnecessary adversarial relationship. Instead of trying to convince someone else of our expertise, we might instead begin from a place of inquiry. Joaquin began the initial conversation (in the second version of this scenario) by thanking the family for their time and prompting them to tell him something positive about the child’s learning. He could then build on what works while finding creative ways to respond to ongoing challenges for the family. In this scenario, no one was wrong and no one was right. Everyone’s perspective was valued.