Bibliotherapy

02/04/02 Introduction to Exceptional Education EDS 425 Sridhar, Dheppa, Vaughn, Sharon. (Nov/Dec 2000). Bibliotherapy for All Enhancing Reading Comprehinsion, Self-Concept, and Behavior. The Council for Exceptional Children Teaching Exceptional Children, Volume 33, Pages 74-82.

This article on "Bibliotherapy for All Enhancing Reading Comprehension, Self-Concept, and Behavior" deals with the idea of using children books as a form of therapy. It informs the reader on the theory behind "Bibliotherapy" and also how to successfully implement this process in the classroom. Included in the article is a step by step guide on how to implement this theory into your teaching practice.

For those teachers who have to deal with a lack of family involvement with their exceptional students, this article addresses some of the problems that they may have to encounter. Parette and Petch-Hogan point out how differences in language can become a problem between the teacher and the students parents which can lead to a lack of parental involvement between the school and the parents.

Teacher in primary school in northern Laos

Betonwerksteinskulptur "Lehrer-Student" von Reinha...

Me And My Parents

They confront this situation by recommending bringing in a liaison between the two parties. This liaison will be able to translate information to the parents, to keep them informed, and will give the teacher incite to the parents concerns. It is also noted that this liaison must be a person that the parents trust (e.g. Community leader or Church leader); but it may not be a good idea to use a family member because biases can appear in the interpretation of the discussions. Another reason to the lack of parental involvement, maybe as a result of the location of the meetings that are held as well as were the support systems are offered. Many parents may want to participate and become actively involved and just are not able due to the areas in which the activities are held. A suggestion maybe to provide transportation to the events for parents and the children for those who need it. Another idea could be to move the meetings closer to the parents so that they could attend.

The ideas presented by Parette and Petch-Hogan are very good and practical to be implemented by any school system. It would have been nice to see how much such a program would cost to a school that wished to implement this program. I only feel that this plan should not be used solely for exceptional students. I also believe that this will help some situations but will not be a cure all to the problem, for simply some parents will never become active participants in their children's school life. Parette and Petch-Hogan also point out that a reason for this may result because they wish to choose a higher quality of life rather than being a "fully participating team member."

Parents Go Down (Under)

Parents at the Art and Crafts Exhibition at the Pa...

Parents (film)