Re: 鈥淪pecial-needs students told to stay home,鈥� Feb. 6.
I am shocked by the recent news that parents of children with special needs were told not to bring them to school due to a shortage of educational assistants.
As someone who has spent most of their schooling receiving some form of learning assistance, I find this disturbing. I know from experience that I would not have fared as well had it not been for the help I got. Having a learning assistant available made learning course material easier.
These are the most vulnerable students and cannot afford to miss their education, even for a short time. This also does nothing to foster inclusion for children who are already at a disadvantage and are struggling to find a place in schools. Keeping children away from school is no different than separating them into special classes.
While I understand the lack of qualified educational assistants has to do with compensation and wages, and there is no standard across the districts, more help is needed so children don鈥檛 continue to lose out on their schooling.
Amanda Smith
Victoria
