That Linehan gene strikes again?

Those Linehans (Conor, Brians Jr and Sr, and Auntie Mary too) are great for opening their mouths and letting any old thing flop out.

According to www.kildarestreet.com, in an attempt at glossing over Batt O' Keeffe's axing of vital supports for special needs children, Conor Linehan explained to the Dáil that -
"The mainstream approach to those with mild general learning disability is universally understood by educators to be the correct approach to this learning disability, which is general and mild by its nature".

What?

I am an educator. I don't understand any such thing, of itself, as a stand alone statement, without further supports. I support inclusion, but it has to be supported inclusion. We do not have supported inclusion in our schools, we have inclusion on the cheap.

A mild general learning disability IS NOT what it says on the tin, as Linehan makes out! It certainly is not MILD, as in not very serious, as Conor Linehan infers. This is a serious and a life-long learning disability.

In layperson's terms (this is for you, Conor!)-
Children can have a (1) high IQ; (2) an average IQ; (3) a low IQ; (4) a very low IQ and (5) an IQ which is difficult to measure.
Children who have been diagnosed as having a mild learning disability fit in to category (3). It is a LEARNING DISABILITY! This LD needs specialist teaching and support. Placing such a child into a mainstream class does absolutely nothing for them, they don't breathe in intelligence from other children in the class. They need careful and caring teaching. Class teachers find it really, really, really hard to cater for Batt's increased class sizes, not to mind catering for children with SEN as well.

Don't fall for FF's claims that their record in special education is fantabulous! It is NOT. Yes, provision for special ed has improved very much since 1998, but that is because it was virtually non-existent prior to that year. FF got their act together, because parents like e.g. Kathy Sinnott dragged them off to court! Today, in 2009, the special ed provision in Ireland is still bottom of the pile. It is a disgrace! The most that this FF crowd will give to a special needs child is FIVE hours of specialist teaching A WEEK. Yes, I did say a week! These FFers TOOK AWAY support hours (2 and a half hours per week) from pupils with Mild learning disabilities in mainstream classes in 2004/5. They also removed support hours (two and a half per week)from pupils with dyslexia! (The Minister who did this was Noel Dempsey. I will never forgive him for it). Those hours were miserably inadequate, but they were better than nothing. These children now have NOTHING, NO ENTITLEMENT TO ANY SUPPORT TEACHING, unless they are lucky enough to be in a special class, but now Batt is axing those.

Don't fall for FF's claims that these children will get support under the general allocation model. That's another crock! These children have NO ENTITLEMENT to any support in mainstream schools under FF's rules. What happens is that schools stretch and stretch their support teachers as best as they can in order to sqeeze in these children if at all possible. Schools are so over-stretched though that it just is not always possible. For a fact, the children do not get the amount of support that they need, which in my professional opinion is at LEAST one hour per day, every day.

The amazing thing is that when these children transfer to secondary school (if they do) then they DO get support teaching hours there. How typically FF stupid is that?!! It's in primary school that the foundation should be built for the child.

I am so disillusioned with this Government. They are not fit to govern. Dempsey stole support hours from learning disabled children in the middle of the boom years! Batt stole what was left.

Shame on ye all.
Shame on those who voted against the FG motion yesterday.
Shame on those yellow greens!
Shame on the FFers who spoke against the motion and showed that they hadn't a clue about this issue.

I work in this area every day. My pupils are fantastic, but they are not getting anywhere near the support that they need in mainstream schools. It is very unjust.

Don't worry, Conor, the boot up the backside we will give you, and the other Linehans,and the yellow greens shortly will only be MILD.................