What are some daily challenges faced by today's Special Ed Teacher?
815334
PAPERWORK!! is the SE teacher's biggest obstacle (and any other teacher's) and documentation for that paperwork. IDEA (Individuals w/ Disabilities Act) makes certain that all individuals with a disability receive services in the least restricted environment. You will be certified to teach SE K-12. Dealing with parents of SE students is a challenge and dealing with teachers in the regular ed classroom is also a challenge (see the response of one the people above whose parent teaches Calculus and thinks the SE teacher has half the work!) \n\nRegular ed teachers, for the most part, WANT to help SE students succeed but feel their hands are tied due to time factors - modifying tests, having someone read a test to a student with a reading disability, etc. -- seem excessive. But they DO make a difference in students' success in the classroom and are worth the extra effort.\n\nSome parents of SE students want special privileges which the law does not afford, but these parents are also few and far between. But you need to be prepared. \n\nThe SE students themselves are usually a real delight! Most work hard despite and within their disability and don't ask for hand-outs. Occasionally, a few will, but they are rare. \n\nDocumentation/paperwork/corrdination of efforts and time involved ofthese things are the obstacle - pretty much the same in ANY job!!
473645
Try dealing with hundreds of little A-holes all day!  Actually, the teacher's lounge is a gathering place to compare notes on trouble makers, and how they can combine to make his or her life a living hell!  Feel you are being treated poorly by several teachers?  You must have been the daily topic in the lounge! By the way, nice grammar!  go to school!
956117
Make yourself pay attention.  Ask the teacher questions, challenge yourself.
83192
I will include the answer I gave a few days ago to a very similar question about "Mainstreaming" which is just another way of saying "inclusion"......\n\nIt always depends upon how the mainstreaming, or inclusion, is done. It also depends very much upon the needs of the individual and the resources available in the system. There is no easy answer to your question, and unfortunately most people are either strongly pro or strongly con, and often don't see shades of grey. Also are you looking for the information from the perspective of a student, a parent, or a teacher? The perspectives tend to be quite different sometimes.\n\nSome of the postive effcts would be that the student theoretically has the opportunity to make more friends and participate in more activities. This is certainly true if inclusion is done in a careful and caring manner. Students who are mainstreamed have to learn to live by the same rules as other students. Other children become more accepting of students with disabilities. Everyone learns to respect each other's differences, and it should lead to a more tolertant and accepting society overall. Generally in the years since IDEA, students with disabilties have shown improvements in standardized test scores, better social and communication skills, better knowledge of the world and are better prepared for post-school experiences.\n\nSome people say that inclusion lowers standards in the regular classroom. It may not always be possible to meet the needs of students with disabilities in the regular classroom. Classroom teachers do not necessarily have the background or skills to address different disabiities. Some students with disabiities need very specific programming that cannot be delivered effectively in the regular classroom. Some people believe that kids with disabilities fall further behind as a result of inclusion because they can't get the amount or quality of attention they need.\n\nThe key is appropriate training of clsssroom teachers, good specific programming for the students with disabilities, and resources to properly support classroom teachers in implementing inclusion. \n\nI've tried to give an overview of both sides of this issue.  I hope my thoughts are helpful to you.  Take care.
995437
A good teacher will seek additional help for the child as well as work as many interventions into the classroom as possible.  Discussions with parents and other school staff would also be happening.   Also, talk with the student, sometimes knowing you have someone trust worthy to talk to can help a lot!
1040432
In the Philippines, all I can do is offer you this website as a place to start:\n\nhttp://www1.worldbank.org/devoutreach/july05/textonly.asp?id=318\n\nIn the United States, special education is struggling between trying to maximize what is best for each individual student, with funding concerns and a lack of understanding from people not working directly with special needs students.\n\nhttp://www.wrightslaw.com/\n\n\nElsewhere, I know Britain failed to use inclusion successfully because the teachers weren't trained correctly.\n\nhttp://www.bcodp.org.uk/\n\nOther than that, I don't know.
520692
Oh, yes, that's a big one for me! I think special ed teachers should be better trained then they are. None of the ones I've seen seem to be trained on how to handle the behavior issues that go hand in hand with things like autism, adhd, odd, etc. I don't even agree with integration with kids with those disorders, to be honest. The type of socialization those happens in a regular classroom is not the kind of socialization that children with autism/pdd-nos need. I don't agree with the theory that you throw a child with social issues into a social setting to sink or swim, because all to often, they will sink. They can't force themselves to be social, no matter what we do. If schools were the cure all for social anxieties then we wouldn't have 'social misfits' in school, we wouldn't have shy people, there would be no such thing as introverts. So, it's a failed philosophy, and I think they should be in smaller, special ed classes where the teachers have received MUCH MORE TRAINING than what they are getting now, so they know how to deal with each individual dx and work with them. So, yes, it stands to reason that general teachers should have the same training if they're going to have special kids in there class. It's not fair to expect the kids to react normally when they don't have the skills to do so, to me, that's just cruel. Most of these disorders have sensory issues that make it so hard to perform in a classroom, and those are not addressed in school therapy too often. I chose to homeschool my kids long before my Tim came along with autism/pdd-nos (they're not sure of which dx), but having him, and learning about his needs and his limits confirmed in me to homeschool him, I feel it's the best thing in the world for him. He still socializes, but it's on his terms. I know he can only handle it for about an hour, then he tantrums, so we stay within that guideline. He was on a bowling league this last season and it was about an hour, and he did WONDERFULLY. Anything longer, and it would have been a nightmare!
786514
I understand your frustration.  I have taught high school for 8 years and it is very discouraging at times to see the situations that exist in the classroom.  First of all, there is a mandate that Special Education students be mainstreamed into the general classroom population.  I have had a class of 34 students with 9 Spec. Ed. students (this is becoming more and more typical).  There are supposed to be teacher's aides to help in classes like that, but school budgets are spent so unwisely, at times, that there is no money for a teacher's aide for every teacher with a significant amount of Spec. Ed. students (who either have a learning disability, a behavioral disability, or an emotional disability).  This leaves the teacher and the students at a disadvantage.  Teachers now use more time on class management than on class instruction.  And, it's not just because of Spec. Ed. students.  For some reason many students like to "dumb down" on their own as to not be ridiculed by their peers for being too smart, a nerd, or a "lame".  School administration look at teachers with disdain and often let go of teachers with too high of a failure rate, so many teachers, when presented with a class or classes that do not produce on the expected level then create a curriculum that they feel the students have a chance to pass, even if it does not prepare a student to be on level.  Our educational system is in deep need of reforms that work, not just reforms that look good on paper but have no substance or effectiveness in the classroom or to the students.  I try to prepare students for high school and beyond, whether they are college bound, interested in vocational training, or ready to work once they graduate.  Teaching is a many tiered profession (teacher, counselor, mentor) if children are to be educated properly.  I worry about the same things you do, but I also know that the big decisions about education often do not rest upon  teachers' shoulders, but on an administration that is often too long out of the classroom to remember or know the things that work and the things that do not.  I only hope that it gets better before it continues getting worse.
182592
My best friend is an itinerant teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing.  She had to complete a masters degree after her undergraduate degree and her teaching degree, so she has three degrees.  Her masters is one with a dual focus - visual impairment and hearing impairment, but her primary focus is hearing impairment.  YOu will need to learn ASL, as well as the different theories related to education of the deaf - the "deaf culture" perspective, the "assimilation into hearing society" perspective, the controversies around cochlear implants, and so on.\n\nMany school boards hire teachers for the deaf to travel from school to school spending a half day or a day a week in each school supporting classroom teachers and special education teachers who work with kids with hearing impairment (which is what my friend does). These "itinerant" teachers also work some of the time with the kids who have hearing impairment.  \n\nThere are still a few residential schools for kids who have severe hearing impairment, but not many anymore. \n\nI have attached a couple of websites that will give you some information about teaching kids who are deaf or hard of hearing.  I hope this helps.  I wish you luck in your career.
632283
The biggest problem is funding. School districts are requires by law to provide a Free and Appropriate Education for all children, but the money to make the staffing, training, and materials happen either isn't budgeted by the federal/state governments, and/or it gets channeled into other programs. While the districts get more money for children with special needs, it all goes into the general fund....\n\nSchools, and the professionals who are employees of the district, who are present at IEP meetings, are under pressure to do what they can for a student while "making it work" without spending extra money or setting anything up requiring extra staffing, materials, etc. \n\nIf you want to be the biggest help possible for children with disabilities, there is a shortage of parent advocates and lawyers in certain areas of the country. Parent advocacy is most important...not only being a confident and educated voice for the student and parent, seeking a collaborative effort in setting up a program that is workable and will trully be effective for the child, but also involved in parent education about the law, programs, research, etc. Also, you could run for office and push for both more funding, and closer auditing/accountability for how funds earmarked for special education is spent. More staff is needed to provide lower student-teacher ratios, better training is needed especially for regular ed teachers in alternative instructional methods, and a greater variety of curriculum needs to be available to be flexible and responsive to different student learning styles.
1072833
Since you have a learning disability, you will want to make sure you have prepared ahead of time.\n\nHave a list of answers for:\n--How you will organize your classroom.\n--Your "philosophy of education."\n--What is the purpose of special education?\n--How will you work with regular ed teachers?\n--How will you involve parents?\n--Examples of how you will adapt and modify curriculum and classroom environment for different student needs.\n--What tasks will you assign your E.A.?\n--How will you build in state standards and benchmarks for each child's actual grade level while still addressing their developmental level?\n\nAnd so on.\n\nHave someone sit down and ask the questions to you while you practice saying your answers. Also have them ask questions you haven't thought of, to practice mixing and combining your ideas.\n\nGood luck!
38049
I am a special education teacher.  I believe that all people should be given an education to the their own particular abilities and interests.  Very few people are totally helpless, even some people with severe physical disabilities have normal IQ's.  Those with severe mental handicaps should be taught at the very least to bath, feed and toilet themselves.  Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Edison would all be considered Special Education students today.
552053
Your district should have prevocational and vocational skill task analyzed assessments and questionnaires available, if you are a SPED teacher.\n\nIf you are a pre-service (student) teacher, a parent, etc., try looking over these sites:\n\nhttp://www.nichcy.org/pubs/outprint/ts6.pdf\nhttp://www.khake.com/page3.html\nhttp://www.tsbvi.edu/publications/bs.htm\nhttp://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=K5HVEsK9V-wC&oi=fnd&pg=PP7&sig=yjS1CgL5X2lsQ9Q3pVkgn2Hdb1U&dq=%22Jonassen%22+%22Task+Analysis+Methods+for+Instructional+Design%22+&prev=http://scholar.google.com/scholar%3Fq%3Dauthor:%2522Jonassen%2522%2Bintitle:%2522Task%2BAnalysis%2BMethods%2Bfor%2BInstructional%2BDesign%2522%2B%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D
447278
Student-teachers, but a lot of the time it's public humiliation.\n\nMy history teacher told a student to stop fiddling around and take notes the other day. "Maybe if you do," he said, "you'll do better in my class."\nI think that was completely uncalled for and I'm sure the kid was embarrassed. Grades are between students and teachers and should not be discussed or hinted at. Sorry, it still bothers me.\n\nOh, yeah. We also have a few 'slow classes' that help people with a learning disability or otherwise. But I think that's about all.
621379
i had a friend with dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyspraxia... the only thing that worked for him to learn was repeated hands on teaching, he also had to be very very interested in what he was learning, because then he would try his hardest to actually comprehend the information given to him. this is a very difficult situation because most children at the age of 10-15 do not enjoy 90% of what is being taught to them.  My recommendation is to have a teacher that he/she  likes.  Someone who is willing to sit down and teach them 1 on 1 and have a lot of patience.  This person also should be very creative with the way he or she teaches due to the backwards mindset of these disorders. The ADD will make it harder to concentrate, but it shouldn't be as much of an issue if the teacher is animated as well.  I know what you are thinking... where can I find someone like that, and as for that i don't know. The one teacher's attention divided among 23 students, i think will not work
1039472
Do you mean full-time special education class?\n\nDemerits: \nIsolation from the regular education community. The adult workforce is not segregated... you don't get put in a different work area because you have a learning or phyiscal disability. You are expected to have production levels like anyone else on the job. Special education is supposed to provide students with the supports they need now, so that they can build the extra skills they need to perform as much as possible like everyone else as an adult. \n\nPerception by the rest of the world of people facing learning or physical challenges as being separate, different, and lesser, because most people will have no direct experience to teach them differently.\n\nReduced access to curriculum, computers/technology, and other materials, because the regular ed classes tend to get access to the new stuff first.\n\n\nMerits:\nTeachers highly trained in individualizing instruction to meet strengths and weaknesses of each student, and in specific disability needs and instructional methodology.\n\nFull-day instruction defined by student level of development and need, not leveled averages that are provided with a "sink or swim" mentality like in regular ed.\n\nSmaller student to teacher ratio, so that the teacher has LOTS more time to spend with each student.\n\nIsolation from regular ed student teasing, reduced issues with self-esteem because the student is not constantly comparing him/herself to students performing at regular ed levels.\n\n\nFull-time special ed classes have their place... they help students new to special ed programming become academic achievers at their own individual levels, and for students with severe/profound needs (whether intellectual, physical, or emotional) it provides a safe and highly-individualized learning environment in which they can maximize their true potential.\n\nHowever, for students who have underlying normal or better intelligence (learning disabilities, physical impairments, hearing or vision issues, etc.)... if they spend any time in a self-contained class it should only be for a short while. Students with disabilities should spend as much time as possible in regular ed... especially for science, social studies, fine arts, etc. where modifications to student response methods are easier. Pull-out programming that provides specialized instruction should only be for a portion of the day, focusing on the student's specific areas of academic weakness. Without the gradual return to the regular ed classroom, the separation may be lifelong and permanent. We want these kids to be productive members of the workforce and their communities... and they need the exposure to that level of expectation, building their own coping skills gradually to a point where they can spend all their time in regular ed... successfully.
142095
Ask one of the teacher's for help.