Special Education
Teaching students with special needs is highly rewarding. “Every child deserves a champion- an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best they can possibly be.” (Pierson). Special education teachers work with and serve as a mentor to students who have a wide range of learning, mental, emotional and physical disabilities.
The history of special education dates back to Europe in the early 16th century. Special education first developed in Spain with classes offered for the deaf. At the end of the 18th century, Valentin Huay of France opened an institute for the blind. “Following Huay’s success, similar schools were established over the next twenty five years in Liverpool, Vienna, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Zurich, Stockholm and Boston.” (Britannica). In the United States, the first public school for children with learning handicaps opened in Boston in 1869. Modern special education of the mentally impaired developed in France in the early 19th century by physician Jean Marc Itard. Throughout the 20th century, special schools and termed institutions for the mentally impaired were accepted and encouraged.
Anne Sullivan Macy was a skilled teacher best known for her work with Helen Keller, a deaf, blind, and mute child. Nothing in Sullivan’s early years encouraged her lively open mind. She did not attend school; she was hot-tempered and nearly blind from trachoma that was left
did not want anything to do with special education. Barb Prusak, who taught special education
Their fame eventually made the Perkins School for the Blind more popular. This school still exists now with hundreds of years history and providing education to children with vision loss in different age groups. The school will prepare them for their future. Anne Sullivan ensured people with disabilities have equal opportunities and were all well educated as others in good health by working with the
Born June 27, 1880 a baby named Helen Keller, she was a normal baby until 19 months of age when she became not only blind but blind and deaf. Anne Sullivan came to help the little child. She taught sign language on helen’s fingers and helped the child to connect objects with her signing. Once that was accomplished then Anne taught her to speak, she could never speak the clearest but what mattered is she could speak. At the age of 16 she could then speak and sign. Being able to attend school and not only finished high school but then she was the first ever blind person to get a Bachelor of arts degree. Her proud parents were Kate Adams and Arthur H. Keller, her brothers were William Simpson, Phillips, and James Keller, and she had one sister
After a long search for teachers with the ability to help Keller, her parents found Anna Sullivan:“Sullivan went to Keller's home in Alabama...She began by teaching six year-old Helen finger spelling, starting with the word "doll,"...When Keller did cooperate, Sullivan could tell that she wasn't making the connection between the objects and the letters spelled”(“Helen”). When Sullivan first arrived she tried to teach Keller her first method of fluent communication, but not understanding what Sullivan tried teaching to her made the situation frustrating for both of them. Sullivan created a revolutionary new path in education, because no teacher had ever tried to educate a blind and deaf individual. Sullivan and Keller moved to a cottage on the plantation, so Keller could concentrate on learning: “Sullivan moved the lever to flush cool water over Keller's hand, she spelled out the word w-a-t-e-r on Helen's other hand”(“Helen”). Learning the word water through Sullivan’s exquisite guidance was the start to Keller’s extraordinary life, and the incredible relationship between teacher and student. Sullivan’s brilliant teaching methods allowed Keller to grow and become an incredible epic hero.
In the article written by Saint Joseph’s University, it says that “a highly qualified special education teacher with an advanced degree, is best suited to help children face and overcome challenges, while striving to be their personal best” (“Saint Joseph’s University”). This quotation shows that if a person obtains the proper education and behaves the correct way, that person will most likely to be more affecting towards the kids while teaching. Special needs teachers need to obtain the proper education, understand how to behave, and know about the kids so they can be a successful teacher for their students.
In the career of special education, teachers are trained to work with students who have either a disability, or requires of a unique instructor. However, in order to become a special teacher it has a variety of requirements. For example, some of the requirements that this career requires is of a long term education that includes: schooling , a bachelor and master degree, at least two years of
Helen Keller’s acts influenced the disabled. Even while being disabled she was still able to achieve her goals. She was born on June 27th, 1880 as a healthy baby and over time developed a sickness which caused her to lose her hearing and seeing, but this did blind. She stop her from exploring the world. Her parents cared much about Helen, they called every teacher or school possible to help Helen get through this sickness. Until they found a teacher that was top rated, Anne Sullivan. She came to move in with the Keller’s. Helen was not a big fan of her in the beginning but created a great relationship with her at the end.
Born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, at only nineteen months old, the diagnosis for a sick Helen was Scarlet Fever. Due to this, she had lost the ability to hear, see and speak which had a huge impact in her life (History.comStaff). As she grew older and wanted to learn, her parents had applied for a teacher for the blind. Anne Mansfied Sullivan had been her teacher for not only school, but also to help her find a way through life and learn how to communicate (History.comStaff). Eventually, with the help of Sullivan, Helen Keller was able to effectively graduate cum laude from a school for the blind in 1904 (History.comStaff). Although she had lost the majority of her main senses, Keller still had the ability to live as normal as possible with many
Helen Keller was born in 1880, she became blind and deaf at the age of eighteen months. She could not know anything happening around her. She was a hopeless girl without any desire for the life she was living on. Not realizing anything around you is smoething that no one in this life want. When she became seven years old her family hired Anne Sullivan, a young extraordinary teacher who has made Helen’s life so much better than it was. Anne Sullivan started to teach Helen the words by a doll. She was teaching Helen by spelling the word into her hand. Day after day Helen was knowing many words until she wrote her first book. The ability to understand the word even if you do not see and Anne Sullivan’s help are the reasons to change Helen’s life form a hopeless girl to a girl who loves her life.
I have been part of the Liberty family for over a year now. I completed my student teaching practicum in the spring at LHS and was hired in the fall for a one on one position as a paraprofessional. On a professional level, I graduated with honors and hold certifications in both special education and elementary education. In having both certifications, I feel I am prepared to meet not only the emotional needs but the academic needs of the students that would be serviced in this position. My current job has allowed me to gain insight into the world of teaching special education by working closely with the teachers that service my student, along with my student’s case manager. I have learned a variety of strategies and technology resources that
I have known I wanted to be a teacher since first grade. I loved helping other in class, and my first grade teacher even let me run the class during our daily warm ups. I never really consider being a special education teacher until I got older though. My cousin has down syndrome and I have been working and playing with him since I was born. I always loved playing with him and going to Buddy Walks every fall to support him. Him and I just get each other and get along very well. About a year ago, for his birthday, he had a party at a bowling alley. He invited all his friends from his alternative class in Evergreen. There were children six children total, five with Down Syndrome and one with Autism ranging in age. I bowled with them the whole
Tori Amos said, “Some of the most wonderful people are the ones who don't fit into boxes”.("Special Needs Quotes”). Kids with special needs don't fit into boxes because they are unique. My goal is to help kids with disabilities be ready to face life, and to help them realize they are valuable. To motivate them to succeed in life, and to show them that there are people that care for them. That I will be give my best to get them through everything and to not only see me as their teacher, but also as a friend. Due to my patience, love and dedication for kids I have decided to get my career in Special Education at Radford University.
“Mrs. Walker come here.” “I wanna show you something,” Terry said, as she tapped me on my shoulder. I didn’t budge as the para-educator and I stood talking.
Teaching is a job that sometimes gets underestimated. Making sure your students have everything that they need to succeed can be hard. Going into a classroom you must remember that you will have students on various levels and you need to fill in those gap in every level. That can get frustrating when you get overwhelmed for feel inadequate. Taking all that and add it to a special education teacher and you have even more to cover along with making sure that student have everything they need that is included in their IEP. Teaching is one of those jobs where having help for your colleges is a must, no matter if they have been teaching for a week or for twenty years. Teachers need to pull together and help their students become successful.
Between 1850 and 1950, special classes with people trained to care for individuals with disabilities began to develop as teachers noted differences among students. During these years, groups of parents of children with developmental disabilities started schools and programs. Although these developments were sporadic, they began to positively change ideas about teaching these children. Attitudes continued to change in the mid-1920s as educators began to see the value of education and community involvement for individuals with disabilities. Still, children continued being placed in institutions as many parents believed these facilities offered the only educational opportunity available to