NAEAnews. “SPECIAL NEEDS,” August, 2003, Vol. 45 (4) p.14.

Special education and art teachers have learned many management and teaching strategies on their own and from others who have been there. NAEA and CEC attract people from around the country who share ideas and teaching methods so members of the Special Needs Issues Group were interested in the arts related presentations at The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) annual convention. This year CEC was held in Seattle and began on the last day of the NAEA, Minneapolis convention. This column will share some information about The Council for Exceptional Children.

But first, some background. Special education is undergoing changes that threaten many hard won programs. The reauthorization of IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Act, was once an opportunity to right wrongs, to meet the educational needs of people not yet served. This year the reauthorization threatens to dismantle much of the progress special education has made in educating students with special needs. A recent CEC press release sums up some of the issues. “While there are many aspects of this bill that are admirable, the negatives far outweigh the good”, says Deborah Zeigler, CEC's assistant executive director for public policy. “Special education law must move us forward. This bill takes us back two or three decades, to a time when special education was undervalued and we did not have the understanding of the needs of students with disabilities that we now have.” (For more information, contact Lynda Van Kuren lyndav@cec.sped.org.).

In view of this development, those in art education should not be surprised to see the arts pushed to the background. In the past seven or eight years, both NAEA and CEC annual conventions have had similar numbers of presentations directed towards art and special education. But, this year and last year, too, there were few arts related presentations at CEC. They are described below.

Jeff Moyer, a singer, composer, and player of many instruments who is legally blind, performed at the General Assembly meeting. Moyer's songs can be funny or poignant and share issues faced by people who are or feel different.

The International Helen Keller Art Show, sponsored by CEC's Division on Visual Impairments and the University of Alabama, received a prominent place at the entrance of the Exhibition Hall. The Helen Keller organization (more about it in a future column) provides a showcase for the artwork of students with visual impairments and deafblindness. After the convention, their artwork travels to Washington, DC for display in senate and congressional offices. In a separate presentation, Carol Allison and students from the University of Alabama at Birmingham described their teaching techniques in “Helen Keller Art Show – Involving Children with Vision Loss and Other Disabilities in Art Programs.”

While most presentations took place at the Convention Center, many others were located in hotels in a several block radius. Unfortunately, the Special Interest Group for Teachers of the Arts was held away from the Convention Center. Interested people did find their way, but it was not an easy task. Nevertheless, the meeting provided an opportunity to network and share ideas.

Although there were only two arts related presentations in 2002, CEC featured one in “CEC Today” (April/May, 2003 issue). I was doubly delighted because my daughter, Ellen Gerber, a special education preschool teacher, and I gave the highlighted presentation. “Broadway Bound: Using the Arts to Light Up Your Curriculum” was a two-hour workshop that demonstrated how the visual and performing arts can enhance the curriculum. Since CEC was in New York City, Broadway shows provided the subject matter. Workshop participants created scenery, masks, props, and dialogue while learning theatre and art methods.

Members of the Special Needs Issues Group were also interested to learn that CEC offers a free one-year membership to new members. So here, step by step, is the way to access the information. Go to the CEC web-site <cec.sped.org>. Click on “membership” in the menu on the left and scroll down to the bottom of the page. Click on “FRIENDFINDER” and the “Individual Trial Application” form should appear. Fill it out and click on “Submit” for a free membership (including journals). Then click on “Logout.”

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