Personal Reflection For Special Education

Special education teachers make a conscious decision to work on a daily basis with students who display various disabilities. Some of the disabilities include autism, negative social and emotional behaviors, mental retardation, multiple disabilities, mobility disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, as well as students who suffer from being blind and deaf. When these disabilities interfere with the daily educational activities of a child, the child is in need of the valuable opportunities provided in a self-contained classroom.

After reading chapters one and two of the book “Exceptional lives”, I could more easily understand special education. As a teacher, I will mostly likely have many students with disabilities in my class throughout my career. With

I have distinctly applied for Special Needs Education because special education has always been what’s near and dear to me in the field of education. Being a special education teacher would be an inevitably rewarding job, in which I get to watch my students grow, as I celebrate their small breakthroughs and victories with them. These small breakthroughs and victories will improve over time and turn into giant leaps, which will leave a lasting impact and ultimately change the child’s life. Beyond just educating children with special needs, I aspire to educate the public about children with special needs and special education. By doing so, I hope to remove any uncertainty and fear the public has on this group of children. Not only do I want to impart knowledge on these special children, I also want to advocate for them, which is something that goes

The special educational needs (SEN) team are supported by a very active group who make sure that they provide a range of activities to meet the needs of our ever growing community of special schools, as well as colleagues in mainstream primary and secondary schools. Their aim is to work together to ensure good practice to promote effective approaches to enhance the students learning with Special educational needs.

“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)”.

The leadership of the special education director is an essential role in the educational realm. Two of

I have had the opportunity to work with students in both the sub-separate and general education classroom to enhance students learning through their least restrictive environment. The working and teaching experience has allowed me to carry out the dedication that the Special Education program has for the students with disabilities in the current school system. I have been able to help students achieve educational success through providing a safe-learning environment for all students and helping students assessing curriculum and reach their full potential by promoting and supporting students diverse learning

For this assignment, an intereview was conducted with a principal at district 18, middle school. The interview explored the participants basic knowledge and understanding regarding special education and special education laws and policies. The interview also covered the role as a school building leader, the involvement with the special education director and special education teachers, and lastly, how special education laws may impact service delivery for students with special needs.

Parents send their student to school with the expectation that they will desire to become doctors, lawyers, educators, and perhaps even the President one day. Most educators open their doors on the first day of school longing to receive a classroom bursting with scholars. However, this is not always the circumstance. For this is not a perfect world and there are children who have disabilities and it is one’s duty to stay prepared to educate them too. Therefore, students with these special requirements such as, emotional and behavioral disorders, physical and health impairments, and traumatic brain injury need their educators to know effective teaching strategies based on research, how to develop their self-confidence and develop their self-support

From the first day a child is born, parents are there to nurture their child, to support them as they grow and develop. There is a lot to learn about raising a child under normal circumstances, but when a child has special needs parents must learn this whole new language of medical and special education terms (Overton, 2005). Parents enter this new world where navigating for the best interest of their child is riddled with challenges and obstacles that they need to somehow overcome. This is especially true when parents are dealing with the special education program in their child’s school.

Special Education is a topic of controversy with many advocates fighting for the justice children and adults with special needs so rightfully deserve. With laws being passed and modified so frequently, it is important that the educators being brought into the world have an extensive knowledge of the developmental needs of many different types of children. With this knowledge and their constant measures to keep up to date with the fast-moving world of education, they will be able to deliver an appropriate atmosphere that is in accordance with the law that ensures ethical practices and guidelines are always being followed.

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

In order to get a true understanding of teaching in an inclusion classroom, I was able to observe a fourth grade classroom at Village School in West Windsor, New Jersey. The general education teacher was Ms. Welsh and the special education teacher was Ms. Wilush. Ms. Welsh has been teaching for many years, while Ms. Wilush has only been teaching for two years. Each teacher brings with them different strategies, that together make a wonderful classroom dynamic. The students make up an average size fourth grade classroom of a little more than twenty, but there are three students who receive additional instruction from Ms. Wilush in a resource room throughout the day. During my observation, I was able to sit in on writing lessons and science lessons. There was a wide variety of students in the class with all different strengths, weaknesses, and personalities. Watching and learning from both teachers through observation and interview was an extremely valuable experience.

In discussions with Ben Robertson and Matthew Rose on what our topic for the Instructional Leadership Action Plan (ILAP), we all believed that providing teachers with more information on the Special Education Process would well serve the needs of all teachers. Ben and I both talked to our principals about having the ILAP at our respective schools and both principals agreed that the need for it was great in both buildings. However, when discussing travel for Matthew it was decided that we would have the ILAP at Nickelsville Elementary and would later hold the same ILAP, based on our feedback from teachers at Nickelsville Elementary and our cohort, at Gate City Middle School.

     Special Education 332 (Education and Inclusion of Individuals with Special Needs) has been enlightening for me as a secondary mathematics educator. In the beginning of the semester, my feelings towards special education were those of apathy and insensitivity. I now understand that my feelings were due to my lack of knowledge and my judgment based on stereotypes.