A week ago, as I watched the six o’clock news a fascinating story caught my eye. Over the last several months Pennsylvania citizens have been plagued by a rampage of news stories about the dire condition of our public school budgets due to federal and state cuts. This story took an entirely different approach to a fairly familiar topic.
Joelle Ketchem, and her son, who has Angelman Syndrome were the featured story. Angelman Syndrome is a congenital disorder similar to autism that causes severe neurological impairments. These impairments require that the individual receive a high level of care. There were some staggering statistics given, it takes 100,000 dollars a year to educate one student who has special needs and in this year alone, 1 in 50 students will require special education services. These statistics are quite overwhelming when we think of the grand scale of where we stand with the economy. This is not what I found to be the fascinating aspect of this story, what was so intriguing was what Joelle Ketchem had to say about her son.
This mom gave us a quick glimpse of how not having the funds needed for her son took away his ability to be the best person that he could be. She went on to explain how this lack would cause her son to lose the opportunity to experience those things that other children experience on a regular basis. Being a retired educator who taught children with disabilities like Joelle’s son this story tugged at my heart as well as my conscience. We as citizens of this fair city must find a way of not letting our children, especially the ones that need us the most become the victims of federal/state lack it is our duty to utilize whatever resources available to develop a balanced equation that gives all children an equal opportunity and a chance to shine.
Thoughts to Ponder:
As an educator are you personally beginning to feel the effects of state and federal lack on your ability to deliver quality instruction to students like Joelle’s son?
Points to Ponder: 
