Special Education Student Interview Report

I completed my field experience at Cedar Crest High School in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Since I serve the role of building principal, I am exposed to many different special education situations on a daily basis. Through this leadership field experience, I have learned a few additional things. It has taught me to stop and listen to what is occurring in our special education classrooms. By completing classroom observations, I was able to focus on the students, instead of rushing through a classroom observation on a teacher.

For this assignment, I interview a service provider for special education services. The service provider I interviewed, takes part in the educational team, and provide services. The service provider is developmental therapist. I was able to develop a better sense of the importance of inclusion. After interviewing the service provider, and learning her philosophy of inclusion I have was able to better understand the accommodations and modifications for special needs students.

The mother reports having a normal pregnancy with no complications, and that her pregnancy was easy. This was the second child for the mother, who has another child who was five years old at the time. The mother also disclosed that at the time of the pregnancy she was in the process of separating from the child’s father and that this caused a moderate level of stress. At the time of the pregnancy the mother was also working full time as waitress in a local restaurant, the mother reports that her job required she be on her feet for a long period of times, but that she was able to work until around a week before her child was born. The mother reports that the child was born around two weeks early but that labor was easy and the child was

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

I interviewed several service providers in my school, Stephen Knight Center for Early Education, that included the psychologist, special education teacher and a general education teacher. I interviewed Ms. Iris, the school psychologist, Ms. Kathy, the special education teacher, and Ms. Hilary, a general education teacher. Ms. Iris’ responsibilities include working with students who have social emotional needs. This can include behavior challenges, learning new social skills, managing grief, etc. She works directly with parents and teachers to provide resources regarding the child’s well-being, and ensure good attendance by setting up plans. Ms. Iris works with children in general education, counseling groups, and one-on-one situations, including special education minutes. Ms. Hilary is a general education classroom teacher. She is responsible for the well-being of her students academically, socially, physically and developmentally. Ms. Hilary also advocates for families and students to receive the support that they need to feel successful in their first years of school. Finally, Ms. Kathy is the staffing

Tuesday was my first day in my general education classroom. When I arrived, there was a substitute in my classroom for the first half hour of the day, because Ms. Keane was in an IEP meeting. The substitute and the paraprofessional showed me around the classroom and told me about some of the students. There are 20 students in the classroom, and two of them are English language learners.

According to Gable, Mostert, & Tonelson (2004), “collaboration affords general educators, special educators, and support personnel staff to establish rewarding and long lasting social and professional relationship (p. 4). Furthermore, collaboration is progressively becoming a commonality for schools and other professionals (Cook & Friend, 1991, p. 6). Thus, I decided to interview a parent of a child diagnosed with Autism and a behavior analyst who works on his ABA program. Both parties regularly collaborate with the client’s school and staff to promote the best effective treatment possible. This brings a unique perspective of the use of interagency collaboration among parents, teachers, and an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) agency.

“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.

The special education teacher interviewed, co-teaches algebra into three class periods. She is able to teach up to 50 students. In her classroom she can teach children with disabilities or up to 25 at-risk students.

The modern classroom has many challenges that face it. Shrinking budgets, less parental involvement, higher expectations, and growing class sizes, just to name a few. If this list was not daunting enough you also have the special needs students that have an array problems in your classroom that need specialized attention, lessons and seating. There are many forms of diverse learners from students who suffer from ADHD to physical disabilities to students with autism to ones that are bullied in school. There are so many things going on in our students lives we sometimes forget they have lives, pressures and disabilities that affect their performance and attitude in our class that have a profound impact on how they learn. For this paper I

I interviewed a woman who has a child with special needs. The child is now in kindergarten. The mother reported having a normal pregnancy with no complications. This was the second child for the mother, who has another child who was five years old at the time. The mother disclosed that during the pregnancy, she was in the process of separating from the child’s father and that this caused a moderate level of stress. At the time of the pregnancy, the mother was also working full time as a waitress in a local restaurant. The mother reported that her job required her to be on her feet for long periods of time. She was able to work until around a week before her child was born. The mother reports that the child was born around two weeks

When I was asked to reflect on my experiences in EDSE 316 and the fieldwork, I had to think long and hard on how I would sum up four months of classes and fieldwork into four pages. I have learned so much about the various disabilities and how it has change the world of special education. I think a better term would be the “endless possibilities of education”. It wasn’t too long ago when children with disabilities would be stuck in a room in the back of school only to be seen in the beginning and end of the school day. They were the ones who rode the other buses and no one really talked about. This class has allowed me to speak of my own family and how special education impacted my life. I have a brother whose whole life was spent in the special education class, and my own sons with speech and learning disabilities who are now receiving special education services. It also allowed me to reflect on my own participation in the special education program in my early elementary years when I was struggling with my own speech disability. This class gave me the chance to see the timeline of special education, from its earliest beginnings to what it is now.

The classroom follows a partial day inclusion program. Ms. Welsh’s classroom on the second floor of Village School is considered their base area. The student’s belongings are all kept in the classroom upstairs and they spend the majority of their time there throughout the day. All students are taught by both teachers for math, science, and social studies. For reading and writing, Ms. Wilush teaches three students in a pull-out resource room on the first floor of the building. When it is time for students to review those lessons, the three students make their way down to Ms. Wilush’s classroom with the folders and other materials they may need. Once reading and writing periods are completed, the students either return to Ms. Welsh’s classroom or go to an alternate room for specials such as art or music. Ms. Wilush and Ms. Welsh’s relationship can be described as both friendly and professional. Ms. Welsh is currently going to graduate school for special education, so she is learning a lot from Ms. Wilush’s work. At the same time, Ms. Wilush is taking the opportunity to learn from such an experienced teacher as Ms. Welsh who has taught for ten years. They believe that the best way to work efficiently and achieve the most success for each student is

One of the most controversial issues facing educators today is the topic of educating students with disabilities, specifically through the concept of inclusion. Inclusion is defined as having every student be a part of the classroom all working together no matter if the child has a learning disability or not (Farmer) (Inclusion: Where We’ve Been.., 2005, para. 5). The mentally retarded population has both a low IQ and the inability to perform everyday functions. Activities such as eating, dressing, walking, and in some cases, talking can be hopeless for a child with mental retardation.