Last edited Thu May 8, 2014, 11:28 AM - Edit history (1)
.... since I'll never be in a position to make such a decision ( And how f-ed up is that?) but as a parent I will opine. Hopefully more meaningfully. I'm dealing w. a real life situation that is not very dissimilar to what you describe here:
>>>>Given that a 6th grade is semi-literate, can add/subtract, and has simple knowledge of systems....would you graduate that student from high school? >>>>>
As a *parent* I would desire , hope , and expect that the HS diploma be awarded, that the school NOT tell him that he's going to college ( or that he NEEDS to go to college) and I would investigate post-HS vocational training. Keeping him in HS 'til he reads at "grade level" is nuts. It will never happen.
I don't really think that special ed is a different thing entirely. I think there are a lot of kids in this situation. Whether they've been diagnosed w. a disability or not. And increasingly the gov't has taken the position that effectively there IS NO SUCH THING as disability, at least in ed policy terms. Hence Sp Ed kids must do common core curriculum ( e.g. algebra for 16 y.o. Down Syndome kids) no matter how irrelevant that is to their *actual* educational needs. Also most Sp Ed kids are now mixed in w. gen ed kids for most classes . Another not very bright, govt-imposed ideation. Given the fact that most sp ed kids can be taught more effectively in a separate setting. And their presence in the gen ed classroom makes the gen ed teacher's task impossible
If a kid is reading at 6th grade level(s), I would NOT ( *necessarily*; every case is different.) keep him/her in school until he can. Not everyone should go to college. Not everyone NEEDS to go to college. Unfortunately, no one tells these kids that. And, indeed, there are colleges that will enroll just about anyone who is willing and/or able to pay the tuition.
Believe me, their unsolicited mailings are strewn all over this place.
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