Running Head: PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION 1

Special Populations Philosophy of Education

James Black

Paris Junior College

EDUC- 1301.200

Dr. Marian Ellis, Instructor

April 7, 2019
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Philosophy of Education: Special Populations

Special populations in the field of education are classified as individuals that have

learning disabilities, come from high-poverty stricken areas, displaced workers, single parent

homes, limited knowledge of the English language, and other barriers that prohibit efficient

learning. There are thousands of individuals that suffer from this broad spectrum of

classifications, and as a teacher you have to be able to distinguish, address, and execute without

becoming and creating more barriers.

One class of the special populations includes students that have disabilities, this being a

very open range of options for selection. There being mental/psychological issues that hinder the

learning process. Students that are visually impaired, have cognitive disorders, health concerns,

speech impediments, and other injuries that slow down their retrieval of information physically,

mentally, and emotionally. Addressing these issues have become very common in the classroom

and learning field. How do you teach these students without excluding them from the lifestyle of

the regular student? As a educator you don’t want to leave these students out to feel neglected or

out of reach, there are ways but you have to think outside the box and a lot of time go to levels

below the average learning grade to bring these students current. It is not impossible and there

are laws to protect and make sure that these types are students are properly educated.

Then there are students that come from economically disadvantaged families, including

your foster children, adopted, and homeless students that are taken in by others outside of their

common social environment. How do you reach these students, due to many of their values,

morals, and goals being corrupt? Getting in their world may sound pretty broad but you have to

understand their current situations to be able to help. Teaching these types of individuals includes

breaking many walls of distrust and creating loving and trustworthy relationships. These
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individuals lack support and need to rebuild depending on the circumstances in which they’ve

faced which causes them to rebel, become suicidal, and even be victims of hurtful and abusive

relationships. Teachers have to able to sight these disadvantages quick, but most of all be able to

provide and refer the students to the appropriate help avenues.

This leads to one of the next special populations, single parenting homes. Many

individuals that lack the mother or father in a home lack the social advantage of the child

receiving the conversation and mental processing the individual needs to make social

connections. This in return guides the individual to select not only productive paths but more so

negative pathways. Individuals join gangs, begin to do drugs, and intake other harmful

substances to cope with their pain of the lacking appropriate double sided love and appropriate

relationships. This also allows for the individual to spend more time alone or even raising others

that isn’t their responsibility because the single parent is the initial provider. To make matters

even more rigorous in cases the parents becomes a displaced worker and depends on the

students’ ability to work and provide a liable income, creating an additional burden and hardship

for the learning individual.

Lastly one of our growing issues as America grows daily is the barriers created by the

lack of English proficiency. With migration high and people moving into the country at high

rates, there are more and more individuals that do not speak the native English language. These

students are easily identified, but as educators you have to provide the appropriate resources to

teach the students the native language and ensure that they can receive an appropriate and equal

education.

Special population programs are in place throughout the world to ensure that all

individuals have the right to an equal education despite their disadvantages. Ensuring that no
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individuals are left behind and all can provide and give knowledge back to an ever-changing

system of education. Many new methods are being introduced daily and it’s up to educators to

figure out what works in their classrooms and for their students.