Case Study: Opportunity or Stigma - Assignment Example

Manuel is usually on and off. Mr. Fry’s (his teacher) concerns lead to Manuel being taken to child study team for help. According to Mr. Fry, Manuel reading problem results from short attention, lack of motivation, and the inability to understand the content. The study team’s failure led to Manuel being taken for special education. On his view, Dan Singleton found out that Manuel is not handicapped but rather his reading problem stems from lack of practice. Dan’s hypothesis was accepted by many other members of the staff especially after the records indicated that Manuel’s reading problem did not stem from any form of handicapping condition.

The problem is whether Manuel should be taken for special education in a bid to helping him. Important Information for Considerations Manuel’s problem does not stem from any handicapping condition as established by Dan but rather lack of practice in reading. Due to his background, Manuel is usually on and off school hence has no adequate time to practice reading. It is even more absurd that Manuel’s native language is Spanish and he has not received any training for English as a Second Language (ESL).

Looking at his intelligence, there is no doubt that he is an average student. Other than English, Manuel performs very well in other subjects. For instance, Manuel is only one grade behind in math, which is also attributed to the inability to attend classes regularly. Notably, all these problems arise due to the fact that Manuel is a migrant. Migrant workers are poor and work for long hours in order to meet their basic needs. Probably, Manuel could be engaged in such work in order to give the family a support in raising income enough for basic needs.

Importantly, it should be noted that migrants are treated with a lot of discrimination due to their economic and social statuses thus preventing them from achieving most of their dreams and objectives. Reasonable Alternatives Since Manuel’s reading problem is not associated with handicapping condition, there are various alternatives applicable in solving the problem. Firstly, Manuel should be given English as a Second Language training or program. Manuel’s native language is Spanish and he has never attended English as a Second Language program to enhance his reading skills.

The other alternative would be to talk to Manuel’s parents to allow him attend school regularly (Kendall, 2011). While convincing the parents that Manuel needs to regularly attend school, it should be identified whether Manuel is involved in helping to raise income for the family. Manuel’s teachers should give him more readings as well as motivations in order to provide opportunities for him to practice reading. It is only in practicing that Manuel will be able to solve the reading problem (Kendall, 2011).

Endorsement of One Alternative From Manuel’s background, the only alternative that can be effective is being given more readings and motivation to arouse in him the interest of practicing reading. As mentioned earlier, practicing reading will help Manuel in solving his problems (Kendall, 2011). After all, ESL programs are only meant to improve the reading skills of students or learners taking English as their second language. Motivation could be in form of encouragements and positive analogues that will