Roles And Responsibilities Of A Special Education Teacher

In today’s world there are more and more children coming into the general education classes having a disability. More general education teachers have to take on a bigger responsibility than what they signed up for, but that is part of being a teacher. I feel as long as the teachers collaborate with each other they will be putting the student’s needs first.

Special education teachers no longer may identify themselves as teachers of just a specific category of students. Rather, they must identify themselves as teachers of all students and be willing to provide whatever support is needed to meet the varied needs of students. Likewise, students should not be identified as self-contained or resource, but as students needing specialized instruction and supports for specific skills/subject areas for specific amounts of time in either a special education setting or a general education setting.

To be an effective special educator, one must possess knowledge of several, various disabilities and also knows how they can affect children so differently. For instance, there is an increasing rate of children being diagnosed with Autism; as a result educators need to be familiar with the characteristics associated with the disease. Symptoms and how severe they may be can vary from child to child, but all autism disorders affect a child's ability to communicate and interact with others. According to Gina Kemp, Jeanne Segal, and Deborah Cutter, specialists in learning disorders and disabilites, most children with Autism will not be able to communicate with the world around them. They have poor social skills, avoid eye contact, and tend to choose self play over group interaction (Cutter, Kemp, & Segal). A special educator needs to know how to interact with these children to have any hope of abiding by the standards of the NCLB. There is no known cause for Autism, therefore, it is important for any special educator to continue in their research in order to successfully educate these children.

My personal philosophy of special education drives not from teaching in the field, but from, observations, and personal experience, and the workshops I attended. I have had the opportunity to work with individuals with special needs in many different settings, all this help cultivate my knowledge in handling the needs of the special needed student. Special needs students have the ability to learn, to function, to grow, and most importantly to succeed. The difference comes into how they learn or how they need to be taught. There are as many beliefs about the "hows" as there are teachers and each of us forms our own philosophy through our experiences and research. As a student in a special education teachers’ program, learners with

One student that is on the autism spectrum may be completely different than another student on the spectrum. Even though the disability is the same, they may be completely different, learn in different ways, and learn better in different environments. Students with a disability that is more mild or moderate may find a better fit in regular classrooms with a regular educator. They may have a skill set that is very similar to other peers in the classroom, but they may or may need accommodations to benefit them in the classroom. Many of these accommodations are easy to provide by the educator.

Some people may think that special education has been established since the beginning of public education. Others may consider a time when special education did not exist and students with disabilities were not able to attend school. The truth is, there was a time when this happened; these students were not allowed to be educated in the general education classroom alongside their peers. People with disabilities were treated differently, and some were forced into institutions because teachers and staff found them to be disturbances to their peers. Luckily, special education has come a long way since public education began. People, especially parents, advocated for their children, and today many laws are in place to ensure that all children

This article discusses whether or not special education teachers, as well as general education teachers, are prepared to teach students with autism. According to the article, autism is ranks at the sixth most commonly classified disability in the United States. There is a very wide spectrum for autism which include disorders like Asperger’s and pervasive developmental disorders not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). 1 out of 150 American children will be born with autism (Autism Society of America, NDb).

The field of education is dramatically changing at an unprecedented rate. For example, a greater percentage of students are identified with autism than in the past ten years. The general education teacher is becoming more and more aware of special needs students due to inclusionary practices and must adapt his/her curriculum to help all students achieve. This can be a roadblock for the general education teacher if the special education teacher is consistently relied on for help. The increase in the special education population is now requiring more educators to be dually certified in order to service all students in all situations.

Teaching students with exceptional abilities requires funding, training and planning. Being in a regular classroom with children from various cultures, ethnic backgrounds and intellectual ability help students learn how to work together toward a common goal: reduce discrimination and stereotyping people with physical and mental limitations. Instructional strategies that break the work down so everyone learns better can improve education as well as reduce cost. This is achieved by including special education students in environments that will allow them to develop normal social interactions as well as receive specific attention to their learning needs. ("What is Special Education”)

“Special education labels don’t define children; Children define themselves” (Dalien, 2015). I am interested in becoming a special education teacher because I have always loved being around children, and I have a soft spot for kids with autism and other disabilities. The first time that I ever thought about working with special needs children was when I was in the fifth grade. My mom worked at my school as a teacher assistant in a first grade classroom, so in the morning I would go to her classroom and wait for the bell to ring. A little boy named Alex who had Cerebral palsy and a spinal problem, came into class early as well. I immediately connected with him, and began going to my mom’s room every morning to play with him before class. It soon became the highlight of my day. Alex could not talk very well and could not walk, so we rolled cars around the floor, traced shapes on to the whiteboard, or sometimes crawled on the floor chasing each other as monsters. I loved seeing how me playing with him made him smile so big and become more outgoing. My dream is to give kids like Alex a reason to smile and help them reach their full potential. In this speech you will learn all about special education teachers, including, but not limited to: What they do, where they typically work, their environment, how much they get paid, benefits the job entails, the education and skills required to become a special education teacher, and information on the job outlook.

As an instructional coach for our special education teachers working with students who have autism, I spend a portion of my time supporting early career special education teachers by just being fully present and listening to their frustrations. Their frustrations are often not based on facts but their interpretation of events. Those negative interpretations can kill early teachers love of teaching. In coaching, I ensure I truly understand their concerns by paraphrasing their frustrations and then reframing those statements using a more proactive perspective from which we can begin brainstorming potential solutions.

Special education teachers are trained to work with children who have a wide range of disabilities. One of the primary responsibilities of a special education teacher is to assess her students' cognitive abilities, and modifies the standard age-appropriate curriculum to create a custom plan for the student. This plan is called an individual education program(IEP). An IEP often includes a number of social and emotional development goals as well as specific academic areas to be taught. The special education teacher’s core task is to meet each of the goals established in the students’ IEPs. In some cases, the special education teacher is located in a separate classroom. When this is the case the teacher will creates lessons geared to meet the objectives of the students’ IEPs. In many instances, special education students are placed in regular classrooms. In that situation, the special education teacher attends classes with her students. She often will work with students on life skills and behavior modification techniques as well. Skills that special educational teachers should possess include, better than average stress management, great multi-tasking abilities, quick thinking, and creative problem solving. A special education teacher must be able to think outside the box and develop an array of teaching methods and techniques to meet the needs of each individual student. Special education requires a vast amount of detailed record keeping, so it is essential for these teachers

Children with special needs are slightly different from non-disabled kids, but they’re should not be a barrier between non-disabled children and children with disabilities. Special needs covers a wide range. Some children with physical disabilities use wheelchair, or cane while other children with learning disabilities such as, autism, or emotional disorder. Children with special needs are like all children they want to make friends. Non-disability children want respect, love, good education and job of their dream. Children with special needs can do the same things non-disabled kid do, but it can take them longer. It requires additional explanation or attention. Parents of children with special needs usually feel isolated and uncertain about their child 's future. Schools can help them find support that children are not alone and help is available. Teachers should meet with parents in order to get to know the children better, the specific of their children. Special teachers may come into the class to work one-on-one with the student, for individualized attention. Change begins with an honest examination of understandings, knowledge and belief. Children with special needs should spend more time with non-disabled kids. Children with special needs should study more at public school to learn from

S is a 59 year old African-American female, born and raised in Anson County who has attended several institutes of higher learning. After earning a Bachelor of Science in Secretarial Administration from Barber-Scotia College, she later received special education teaching licensure from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Because of her love for learning, S has also taken online classes through the University of Phoenix. She has been a secondary special education teacher for three years and currently works with 8th graders at Anson Middle School.

The respondents to the survey include Ms. Jilibian and Ms. Knox who are Special Education teachers in co-taught classrooms. They have both been at the school for more than one year. Dr. Poole, like myself, is new to the school. She is the Art teacher. The request was presented to the aforementioned teachers and one administrator that agreed to participate in the technology mentor group as mentees. They were each asked complete a LoTi like technology survey and an Adopter Survey to assist in determining individual their coaching needs. Of the four invitations that were extended, the three teachers completed the LoTi like survey and two teachers completed the Adopter Survey. The surveys were created within our class PLC groups and adapted as needed to fit the needs of the teachers within my mentoring group. They completed the surveys using Google Forms. Following the completion of the surveys, I spoke with one of the teachers to get a more in-depth understanding of her needs and desires to grow as a technology leader. Each classroom with an eBeam, teacher laptop, projector, and iRespond systems. The general and Special Education classrooms are equipped with at least 2 computers. In addition, teachers have access to two computer labs, three laptop carts, and two iPad carts that are available as needed and must be checked out from the librarian.