As a Special Education teacher I wear many hats. My job entails more than writing lesson plans, teaching my class, and correcting papers. Most people don't realize all that encompasses a Special Education Teacher/Case Managers job. I shouldn't feel as though I need to justify myself, but this isn't just for me, it's also for all the other Special Education teachers that are often not understood. For the past 3 days I have been working on putting together schedules for all my assistants and students. I've been making sure that all their needs are going to be met per their IEP's, and that they'll receive the education and services that they need, and that they will see the specialists to receive services. I have been collaborating with specialists and teachers through email. Special education teachers work very hard to make sure that they are not only "educating" their students when they work with them but they are also working tirelessly to make sure that they are receiving the best education they can. My students work very hard every day to learn skills that are more difficult for them to learn than a typically developing student. My students need specialized instruction from me as well as Occupational Therapists, Speech Language Pathologists, Physical Therapists, Behavior Specialists, General Education Teachers, Vision Specialists, AAC specialists, and the list goes on. As their Special Education Teacher I work with each of my students in small groups multiple times a day. However I need to schedule, collaborate, and coordinate my student's schedules to make sure they're also seeing and being taught by all the aforementioned specialists. This week I've been told by many classroom teachers that they admire what I do because of all that it entails, but they wouldn't want to do it. I don't only teach but collaborate each day with numerous people, make phone calls, and send emails. I don't only have to plan lessons for what I'm teaching my students but I also have to put together lessons for what my assistants are going to continue to work on and teach their students when they are in the general education classrooms with their students if the lessons can't be easily modified for the students understanding level.
As you can see I am quite heated by the comment that this person made and that she I'm sure didn't think twice about. However, to someone that has a passion for what they do, believes in their students, and worked extremely hard to get to this point, it was very thoughtless and heartless. I know many other Special Educators that have a deep passion for what they do. I also know many parents that have children with special needs that would probably have lost their mind hearing a comment like this. I do teach my students. I teach them math, reading, and writing through one on one instruction or in small groups. I teach them skills that help them adapt in their every day life as well as their general education classroom, I teach them functional skills, I teach children that have difficulty socializing how to play and work in groups with their peers. I teach children that are non-verbal how to communicate. I teach adults how to educate children that can't read, communicate, or follow simple directions because they've never taught a student like this before and are unsure how to. But wait...someone said I don't teach...
Children that grow up with a developmental delay, cognitive disability, speech impairment, hearing disability, health problems, intellectual disability, (and the list goes on)...struggle to learn. They need teachers as well as paraprofessionals that can bring the learning to their level to make sure they are understanding what is being taught and can learn in a way that their brain can process. Teachers that work with these students ARE TEACHING. Their teaching them more than math, reading, science, or social studies, but they're also teaching them how to navigate in an unforgiving world. They're teaching them how to socialize with their peers. They're teaching them skills that will help them later survive in the great big world. They're providing them with tools to get through their every day life, that is often a challenge. So please, when you are talking to a parent of a child with a disability, a teacher, or a professional that works with these students, please be mindful of what you say. Be aware of the words that you use, because you may say something that you don't realize is very offensive to a parent or teacher that has a deep passion for what they do, a love for their students/child, and has worked their butt off to get to where they are, or to get their child the services they need to be successful in their learning and throughout life."Teaching" isn't just academics, and even a general education teacher would say that to you. In today's world being a teacher, whether Special Education teacher or classroom teacher, is so much more. Teaching children with severe cognitive or behavioral disabilities encompasses so many facets. All I ask is that you keep an open and understanding mind.
~Mrs. L
