This is in response to Jo Goodger’s letter. In it she states, “Experts in education need to stop playing God and acting like they can fix up what parents didn’t do.” And, “If parents send emotionally healthy, well-behaved children to school, they will learn.”
By making such a blanket statement, Ms. Goodger offended me and, I am sure, many other parents. As a parent of a 7-year-old son with a learning disability, I personally know what it is like to send a well-behaved, emotionally healthy and happy child off to school but in turn end up with that child having nightmares, stomachaches and headaches as a direct result of a school district that would not listen to an involved parent and disregarded the needs of a child.
My son and I are not isolated. Illinois as well as the other states in our great nation have not been and are not in compliance with the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. More than 11 percent of students should be protected by the provisions of IDEA.
I will agree with her on the fact that “Experts in education need to stop playing God,” but I would end that statement by saying: “And our nation needs to teach them that they are not above the laws.”
