Special Education Personal Statement

I have always had a passion and enjoyed helping others. In fact, I have devoted my elective credits to be involved in assisting special education students. Since my junior year of high school, I have been a peer coach by working with students with disabilities. During my peer coach semesters, I have assisted the special education students learn communication and vocational skills. In the communication course that I peer coached in, I have had the privilege to work under the direction of a Speech and Language Pathologist and an Occupational Therapist. In the communication course, I helped students progress on their reading, writing, and communication skills. After the communication course, of my senior year, I worked with a special education

Every mistake I have ever made doesn’t seem to matter when I am around the children, every sad moment is forgotten when I get to spend time with them. Special needs kids never see the evil in the world, they are so full of love that their is no room for hate and although they are supposed to learn from me, I can learn so much more from them. I can learn to love unconditionally, never to be afraid to make a mistake, love myself for who I am, and to give everything I do with 100% effort! I am full of love for these kids, they see everything in such a pure form and deserve the best. I truly believe I could be the best teacher for these kids, I believe that not only my experience but passion, love, and patience for them would guide me throughout my career as a special education teacher. Spending time with the kids gives me a sense of purpose in this world and I want to be able to make the most of that feeling for them. I hope to be able to not only teach but orchestrate special olympics days, create sports teams for them, and create a happy, healthy environment for them to learn and

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

Currently, I am a Personal Care Instructional Aide for a nonverbal Down Syndrome student at West Hempfield Elementary. I work hand and hand with the special education teacher to devise lesson plans to suit the needs of my student. I am responsible for implementing the lesson plans one-on-one with my student in Language Arts, Mathematics, and social skills interactions daily. On a daily basis, I am also responsible for molding and shaping my student's behaviors and prompt when necessary. Working in the learning support room has taught me a variety of ways to incorporate differentiated instruction to suit the needs of all students. It has also shown me the type of teacher I should be, a teacher who adapts content to meet the needs of all learners and the importance of inclusion.

The time is now to become a Special Education Teacher. I believe the best fit for my academic and vocational goals is the UWM Exceptional Education Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification Program.

People are thought as child to dream big and reach for their goals. Throughout grade school to high school there are often asked what inspires them. Some people dream to become police officers, dancers, lawyers, and doctors. There are some people who chooses to become an educator. As they journey through college, to pursue the knowledge needed for their career, their passion leads them to special education. These teachers fine this career to be job satisfying, have empathy for the children, and the vacancy of the position viability. Not all teacher feel the same however, over time their dissatisfied with their job and leave because their brunt out.

One of the most essential aspects of the educational process is to know how to motivate students for learning. A challenging part of being a teacher is to know and learn how to motivate students. First of all, a good definition for motivation is as Byrnes quote “Motivation is construct

After one year's work experience as a case manager, I want to return to academic study and undertake my graduate degree with The University of Texas- Pan American Master of Education in Special Education. As stated above, I work as a case manager with Aim, LLC, providing case management and mentoring by using intensive supervision services incorporating GPS monitoring to keep at-risk youth in school within the San Antonio and Judson Independent School Districts. Working with at-risk youth has made me come to the realization of a rapidly growing population, the special needs students. Many students with learning disabilities who lack proper evaluation skip school or at times even drop out due to not receiving the help they need to stay in school.

As I grew older, I began to realize that students with disabilities have many significant obstacles to overcome. Seeing them get excited about learning things that we take for granted provided me with the desire to become part of their learning. For example, one kindergartner with Down Syndrome struggled daily to learn how to write the first letter of her name. It was such a joy for all of those involved when she finally succeeded. Working with these students furthered my resolve to not only fulfill my childhood dream of becoming a teacher, but I soon realized that special education is my niche. After 13 years of teaching in Glynn County, I still teach with the same fervor and enthusiasm as the first day I formally stepped into a classroom. My principal once said, “Teaching is not a job. It’s a profession.” I wholeheartedly believe in this philosophy. Education was never a back-up plan or alternative for me; being a teacher is who I am. As a special educator, I strive to

I have spent most of my adult life in some form of education. My first professional job was working as a school psychologist. To learn more about the strategies to utilize for students with learning problems, I worked as a doctorate graduate student at KU in the special education department. While in grad school at KU, I also taught at Emporia State University in the Special Education/Psychology Department. My next job, involved a transitioned into education administration; as I was hired as the Head Start Director for northwest Kansas.

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” – Henry B. Adams. For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to play a big part in children’s education, which is why I have decided to enroll for an education course. I believe that educators have a lifelong impact on their students and on the development of resilience. Thus, I aspire to inculcate my love for learning into the next generation, by influencing and inspiring children all through their formal education.

I will help my students get ready for a successful move from the school environment to the real-life environment. I believe that my students are not disabled they are just different as in everyone. All human beings have a different gift or talent that they carry. It is my responsibility to identify those gifts because they are often overlooked. Most people go on thinking about what special needs children cannot do, but I will focus more on their gifts.

The reason why I would like to pursue a major in special education is because it holds a very important place in my heart. Not only has the special education program helped me grow as a person, but it has also allowed me to excel academically as well. With the help from my special education teachers, I am now able to work in a regular education classroom environment instead of sub separate classroom settings. Which has led to me being able to be more social and has given me the opportunity to grow as a student. For example, I am currently enrolled in two honors classes and I am only in need of an academic support class.

Being a special educator, there are different roles and responsibilities separate from a general education teacher. As a special ed teacher, you need to be able to be more flexible and open-minded when it comes to teaching. These students, whether in a self-contained classroom or an ICT class, will have such differing needs than their counterparts. While they may still have some same needs, most of them will be different and individual. Even though we may have several students with the same disability in our class, that doesn’t mean that we can treat them the same; each student has differing abilities that we must figure out individually. This is one huge problem that I see prevailing in schools today. Teachers tend to think that if a child has autism, they have the same issues and needs as another child with autism but this is not the case. One child might need headphones for noise-canceling features while the other child might be ok with sound but need more social interactions skills. The ability to discern what a child needs based on their own performance is a crucial aspect to supporting every student equally. As a special educator, we need to not only look at their deficits but their capabilities as well. To define someone by what they can’t do is such a negative point of view. If we go into the classroom trying to find what is wrong with a child, we may never notice what exceptional skills they may have. For example, in class when Mark Sarabian came to talk about the

The key to any successful school district is the administration. Teachers essentially provide structure, organization, and the background of a child’s future. To educate students with learning disabilities, it is essential that the staff has the training and resources needed for the appropriate people, place, and time (Lazarus) (What is Inclusion, 2001, n.p). It is unrealistic to expect that regular education teachers will always be aware of the latest research or be able to readily adapt the school's