Valdosta Reflection

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.

During my observation and interview with Lauren Ursta, a special educator in a self-contained classroom at Hazleton Elementary/Middle School she explained the foundation of what strategies she utilizes in order to make a difference in her student’s lives. She simply expressed, that for her, it is love. Lauren’s love for teaching and the love she has for her students. Lauren feels it is vital to nurture her students and take the time to teach them the life skills they need to be able to function in the world once they leave the security of a self-constrained classroom (Ursta, L., 2017).

In the profession of a special education teacher, a person commits to helping children achieve their best and to help “students overcome their obstacles” while finding a way that the child can effectively learn (Hollingsworth). My mom’s career as special education teacher for twenty-two years, allows me insight and experience into the tougher aspects of this career, but also the rewards to the job. My mom helps me understand that a special education teacher guides a child to expand their strengths, develop strategies to overcome weakness, and to make best use of all available resources. Through helping her, and learning from her experiences, she taught me that a career in special education can not only challenge me, but may also become a

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

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

A day in the life of a special education teacher is far more different than that of a regular teacher. The video gives a glimpse of what an ordinary day looks like for a special ed teacher. The special educators have to deal with students who have different types of disabilities. From down syndrome to autism to physical impairments and more. Each student is unique and requires special accommodations to fit their needs. It is up to the special ed teacher to recognize those demands. Special education teachers have to set their stereotypes, biases, and prejudices aside while working among students with disabilities. Special ed teachers must have compassion and patience in order to work with these students effectively. The special educators teach

I learned quickly that being an effective teacher is an art that takes time and devotion. Many times, teachers are not provided with the necessary materials in order to maintain the various learning styles in a classroom. It is up to the teacher to create an environment where students can succeed. This is a full time job, meaning that a teacher’s work is not done once they leave the school. A teacher must contribute a significant amount of time and effort in order to see positive results in the school and in his or her own classroom. After observing my cooperating teacher’s strategies and learning more about the profession, I knew that I was going in the right direction with my life. I took a significant amount of knowledge away from this experience and have continued to strive to be the type of educator that I was blessed to work with during this experience. .

The following professional reflections will consist of my personal perspective of truth, commitment to creating equitable pedagogical practices impacted by the strengths and struggles produced by my personal biases, how I will manage current biases so that I can avoid unintentionally impacting students in a negative manner, followed by how will I strengthen my professional commitment to being a student-focused teacher. Moreover, there are several perceptions about students because they are not equipped the same way—students come in all shapes and forms and some might need to more attention than others. I want to be that teacher that will help them achieve their learning potential.

“Special education labels don’t define children; Children define themselves” (Dalien, 2015). I am interested in becoming a special education teacher because I have always loved being around children, and I have a soft spot for kids with autism and other disabilities. The first time that I ever thought about working with special needs children was when I was in the fifth grade. My mom worked at my school as a teacher assistant in a first grade classroom, so in the morning I would go to her classroom and wait for the bell to ring. A little boy named Alex who had Cerebral palsy and a spinal problem, came into class early as well. I immediately connected with him, and began going to my mom’s room every morning to play with him before class. It soon became the highlight of my day. Alex could not talk very well and could not walk, so we rolled cars around the floor, traced shapes on to the whiteboard, or sometimes crawled on the floor chasing each other as monsters. I loved seeing how me playing with him made him smile so big and become more outgoing. My dream is to give kids like Alex a reason to smile and help them reach their full potential. In this speech you will learn all about special education teachers, including, but not limited to: What they do, where they typically work, their environment, how much they get paid, benefits the job entails, the education and skills required to become a special education teacher, and information on the job outlook.

The field of special education is my passion, as I have dedicated tens years to teaching students with moderate to severe disabilities. Over the years I have participated in educational reforms, professional development, and curriculum design. My personal experiences have inspired me to pursue a doctorate degree in Educational Leadership and establish both short and long term goals. In the next few years I plan on obtaining my doctorate degree and conducting research within the field of special education. I currently work in a low-income area that services many diverse special education students.

My 25-hour teacher cadet experience was eye opening and is what ultimately made me decide that I wanted to be a middle school special education teacher. For my field experience, I worked with 8 boys whom all of which had varying severities of autism and levels of cognitive disability. Due to this each lesson had to be accommodated for each individual student which correlates with Standard 1. Diverse Needs of Learners, Element 3. The teacher candidate plans and implements differentiated learning experiences that address diverse learner needs.

Each semester, Supervising Teachers and University Coaches complete mid-term and final evaluations based on observations they have made of the Student Teacher. Once the data have been collected, I analyze it to determine if our Student Teachers are able to put into practice the knowledge and pedagogy they have learned in the classroom. The data is essential to the division’s program development, student retention, recruitment, and national accreditation. It provides the division with information about program strengths and weaknesses and in turn the reports are used to determine how to better prepare the students. The data will also be used during the division’s national accreditation review to demonstrate that our students are able to put into practice the knowledge that they obtained in the classroom. The mid-term and final evaluations also provide pivotal information that can then be reported back to the partnership

As a special educator, my job has been to embrace diversity where the general education curriculum falls short, and to use it as a tool to develop strength-based approaches to learning. I have learned that students who

The program assessment activity is aligned with “Standard 6. Professional Capacity of School Personnel” because it is important to build our teachers’ capacity and move our student achievement. The Program outcome #2, “Employ evidence-based strategies, including observation and high-quality professional development, and intellectual processes to support teachers as they strengthen content delivery, instructional effectiveness, and assessment for all students” is aligned with my internship activity because as school leaders, we need to make sure that teachers receive high quality professional developments where they strengthen their skills throughout their career. According to Mizel (2010), an effective professional development can be achieved by engaging teachers to focus on the needs of students.

When I think about teachers that I have had in the past, several different ones come to my mind. Each of these educators stands out in my mind for a variety of diverse reasons. Whether it is their sense of humor, their tactfulness, their love of the subject matter, their fanatical and sporadic behavior, or their yearning to be childish themselves, I can still remember at least one quality of every teacher I have ever encountered. Every one of these teachers conveyed subject material to their students just as they were educated and employed to do. However, I trust that every professional in the world has an abundance of opportunity for improvement; teachers could discover and improve themselves merely by having