Personal Narrative: My Interview With General Teachers

On Monday, September 25th, I was invited to sit in as the general education teacher in an IEP team meeting. The meeting was held for a student with down syndrome, identified at birth, who qualified for services under the category of intellectually disabled. This student is in a self-contained classroom, therefore, his current teacher, served as the special education teacher for the purposes of this meeting. Meeting participants included: Mrs. Fields (ARC Advocate), Dr. Neiman (Main speech therapist, participated over the phone), Mrs. Bennett (LEA representative), Mrs. Diggs (ACS EC Director, as a precaution because the parents expressed concerns for the education of their child), Mrs. Sikes (General Education Teacher), Mrs. Bernard

“One of the essential roles of special education teachers is coteaching and working with other professionals, as well as communicating with family members and between special education teachers and other school-related professionals(Vaughn & Bos, 2015, p. 114)”. With the importance of a least restrictive environment special education and general education teachers are working together in a classroom with varying levels and abilities of learners. It is vitally important to have an effective relationship between the two teachers while developing and implementing lesson plans for learners with special needs. The physical space and dynamics of the classroom should fit the needs of the students and the established procedures should ensure a highly functional environment. Importantly, educators need to communicate to families “encouragement about what they can do at home and about an effective plan for providing instructional supports for their child(Vaughn & Bos, 2015, p. 114)”.

While in conversation I came to learn that parents have a major role because they are the advocate for their child and they have a common right to be a part of IEP meetings. Not limited to making decisions on how the student will be taught and where they will be taught. Mrs. Mangum stated, “Every school has a special education

The special education coordinator noted that “[the principal] really understands what it means to have a well-designed learning environment for our special education students.” She facilitates the development of appropriate student placements and specialist assignments that represent classroom support needs. She is also involved in the IEP process, coordinates with the special education department chair and coordinator, promotes instructional practices responsive to student needs, and implements professional development requirements. Her most important functions in an Admission, Review, and Dismissal (ARD) meeting are to commit resources and ensure the services set out in the ARD meeting will actually be provided. These efforts are documented and placed in the student record (J. Harrison, D. Gibson, personal communication, February 27,

Interviewing the special education supervisor has made me aware of how important my role is as a regular education teacher to special students who need additional support in my classroom. The goal of the teacher is to ensure that the IEP is followed to ensure the academic success of all students. IEP stands for Individual Education Plan and the plan is usually developed when students have several deficiencies in certain key subject areas such as: reading comprehension, basic reading, reading fluency, written expressions, math calculation, and math reasoning. Students are referred to the special education department usually in elementary school, additionally; according to the high school special education supervisor there are very few referrals

Although knowledge provided by textbooks is essential, being able to receive advice from someone whose daily life is spent teaching and interacting with students with exceptionalities is also very valuable. When I asked for advice that would be helpful for new teachers who will work with students with special needs, I received a plethora of suggestions. Ms. Moos said that a new teacher needs to have high expectations for all students, including those with exceptionalities. She also said that it is important to keep in contact with special education teachers and the students’ parents. The one piece of advice that stood out to me was to no believe everything within an IEP. Ms. Moos said this with caution. She noted that the information provided within an IEP is important and useful, but if not read with proper thoughtfulness one may understand the student differently than they may be. To combat such a situation, Ms. Moos, first, recommended that we get to know the student first before we judge them based on their IEP. She also suggested that the circumstances in which the parts of the IEP were based on may be different than circumstances a student could currently be in. This piece of advice, along with tips, gave me a new perspective on approaching an IEP.

In this case the IEP is the best tool to communicate the needs of the student. This is the first step I and the special service personnel take in communication and collaboration with each other. I follow the goals and strategies that are presented in the IEP in order to meet my students’ needs. At the same time, these information helps me design lessons based on their learning disability and best reach each student. Another important part in this collaboration is to keep the case carrier inform about the student’s development, and for this part I use report forms that I email to the case carrier. Also if there is an issue with the student I right away inform his/her case carrier and counselor, and they always help me resolve the problem. For

A few years ago I began to work extensively with the Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation (NCCF), first as a tutor, then later as a liaison for my high school. From two years of one-on-one study sessions, alone in a classroom, I could fill a book with memoirs of families rocked by medical expenses that, without NCCF, threatened to bankrupt every person I met—children and adults sacrificing their prom, their college fund, their 401k, to the untrumpable cause of their son’s-daughter’s-brother’s-sister’s-niece’s-nephew’s-grandchild’s health. As a tutor, it was my job to help any student put before me to understand whatever had gone over their head in school; as a person, it was my job to let them cry for the first few minutes after the door of the classroom closed behind them when, for a moment, they didn’t have to bear the weight of so many worlds. It was my job to let them talk

I find myself reading this short paragraph over and over(above). My topic sentence makes me happy and proud. Going back to school was the best thing I have done. I chose to talk about going back to school to the “future employer” because it shows I am motivated as well as dedicated. This class has brought a lot to my attention. The mannerism that is expected in the “business world” is to speak and write well. It is extremely important to know how to write (type) a meaning full and proper paper whether it is for school or work. I have noticed a great impact in my vocabulary and writing skills. My boss told me on Monday he is impressed with the new docs I typed up for our new clients (with no help from him). I was not excited about this class

paraprofessional help keeps the students on track. Mrs. McDermott told me that every week, the special education teacher and her meet to talk about the week ahead. They communicate lesson plans and how the students with the IEP’s are doing. They talk about strategies they could use to help those students improve. Overall, the special education teacher, paraprofessional, and Ms. McDermott have good communication.

Both Teaching Secrets: Advice for a New Special Ed. Teacher and Advice for New Special Education Teachers teach ways to focus on the student rather than the behind the scenes paperwork and chaos. Glenn Schmidt gives the advice to try and get past the IEP and other administrative duties and focus on the students. He recommends finding a way to use the bureaucracy to help the students. Elizabeth Stein encourages teachers to ask themselves, “What can I do for the student?” When the teacher is fixated on helping the student, the students are benefited.

I met with Steven when I shopped at West Side Bazar the day before yesterday. I got some information for vacancy announcement. I was really happy to hear that from Steven.

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

A special educational needs assistant would make sure that they help the children if they are having any learning difficulties, but they would teach them somewhere else because the children might want privacy. Generally they would discuss this in another room where there is no one.

An effective teacher of students with disabilities is one that actively utilizes the available resources to positively influence students’ educations. This includes anyone that may be on the IEP team or other school professionals that could be of assistance at that time. The most common person