Anne Martin's "Teachers and Teaching" examines the effects of special needs intervention on classroom life. As an abstract states, she believes that special educators often ignore the classroom teacher's key role in helping children learn and grow. Martin offers the alternative suggestion that collaboration among teachers would be in the better interest of the children. She then narrates her experience within such a collaboration.
"Teachers and Teaching" was originally published in Harvard Educational Review, a scholarly publication, but Martin's article is not as "scholarly" as some, because she predominantly relies on her own experiences and observations as a public school kindergarten teacher. Her position is that of an informed insider, one who knows what works and what doesn't, from a practical standpoint. Her choice of terms, some having derogatory connotations, emphasize her defensive stance against those "clinicians" who purport to know more than she what is best for her students.
Martin's article does not contain the customary large number of references found in most scholarly publications. Her few citations do serve her point that personal experience with the special needs of kindergartners outweigh clinicians' statements (which have many times been at odds with behavior she has observed in the classroom).
A short summary and critique of the article will demonstrate that Martin would rather draw her own conclusions--focusing on the strengths, rather than the weaknesses--about her students. She assumes a critical stance against labelling and pigeonholing by support service personnel. The effectiveness of Martin's position against support staff clinicians will be examined in an effort to establish the credibility of her report.
Most teachers who value their autonomy in the classroom will identify with Martin's point that, "it is only through living in the classroom together that [children and teachers] start...