Reflections on Barsch's Perspectives, and a Few of My Own

Abstract

1 enjoyed reading Barsch's article, reprinted in this silver anniversary edition. I can't remember whether I read it in 1968-or, if I did, what I thought of it. I probably gave it a light to moderate skim in search of words and phrases that had a behavioral ring, words like "reinforcement," "operant," and "baseline." And when they didn't come forth, I might have put it aside and turned to something else. How was I to know that it would achieve status as a seminal paper! But I did read it this time around, 25 years later, and found it most informative.At the structural level, I was fascinated by Barsch's infatuation with metaphors. His paper was saturated with them. Although any comments about his multiple metaphors, or colorful language generally, are not exactly germane to the mission of my paper, I can't resist offering a word or two, for one can tell a lot about a person, about the way they conceptualize issues and phenomena, by the metaphors they use (or don't use).Barsch was fond of incendiary metaphors. In referring to the brain-injured child, he said, "In historical review he will probably be credited with sparking the total movement now designated as the field of learning disabilities, but we must not lose sight of the fact that embers of historical origin have been quietly smoldering for many years." I can envision a clutch of little braininjured children running around with sparklers and Roman candles, trying to urge their teachers into action. Later, and with a flare, Barsch offered inspiration for educational researchers: "The perpetual flame of research burns because of man's insatiable drive to answer the question."Barsch seeded his paper with agricultural metaphors: "Once planted and nourished by concern the blossom and fruit are yet to come," and "a time for developmental opportunity to ripen and mature," and, later, his recommendation that educators should "move in many directions in the educational forest" to seek various educational techniques. Barsch spoke of the teeming vineyard of daily practice and the terrain of learning disabilities, and often made reference to forests and trees, not being able to see one for the other. Those botanical clips remind me of Peter Sellers in the movie Being There, wherein he portrayed the rather slow-witted person who thoroughly enchanted (read that conned) Shirley Maclaine and others with his references to flowers, gardens, and the like.And although Barsch was no Roger Angell, he drew on the world of sports for half a dozen or so metaphors: "No professional who has experienced the team process . . . " and "Some teams are often forced to forfeit the game because the full complement did not appear on the field. Some managers look forward to the day when they can enter a team in the league." All in reference to multidisciplinarianism.And, predictably, for few can resist them, Barsch consulted the medical profession for colorful terms. The following from genetics: "Absorbed in interdisciplinariness, his own discipline is enriched by the cross cultural process. L...

Russian “Defectology”

“…Someh o w , Russian professionals should incorporate the knowledge that has been thus far accumulated in the field, to meet n e w societal expectations and to elude difficulties that have been encountered by special education professionals in other countries (e.g., Adelman, 1992;Lovitt, 1992). This is a challenging undertaking for the concerned individuals and institutions that will assume the enormous task of becoming effective agents of change for Russian children with learning disabilities.…”