Much like parents, teachers are expected to provide a wide range of support to students on a daily basis. Therefore, it is important for teachers to include emotional and social support to every student especially those who are dealing with a disability. This week I had the opportunity to interview a teacher at the site for which I intern and she discussed with me the many ways in which teachers provide support to their students that are in need of certain accommodations. She mentioned that as a regular biology teacher she is often thinking about ideas and concepts to change or alter her teaching methods. When I asked about certain accommodations she said that they can be as simple as making sure a student sits upfront for visual or hearing reasons and that in some instances this is how she sometimes modifies her curriculum when needed. Also in many aspects she has allowed students to receive extra time for assignments, adjusting the amount of schoolwork and adding extra support if needed.
The only challenges that she did expressed was the lack of support as well as the lack of collaborative efforts with other teachers, counselors and administrators. She also mentioned that this
By having a good rapport with other teachers and parents all teachers are aware of what is going on in other classes as well as home. For example, there may be a student who is giving a presentation in a special education class and this might affect how that student performs in his regular class and because they may be battling something as simple as anxiety due to pronunciations fears not to mention giving the presentation as a whole. He or she may or may not be as productive in your class. Therefore, as a teacher of any class it is important to be aware and prepared for any and all circumstances that may keep a student from being
Graziano’s article over the handling of his son’s disability in the classroom also involves issues that relate to teachers detecting signs of mental illness in the classrooms, how teachers identify a behavioral troubled child, and training school counselors on the Section 504 policy that are all happening in the world today. Realizing these issues can help parents with giving their child the best out of their education and can also help teachers understand the importance of their relationship with students. Everyone should have the opportunity for a brighter future and having a learning disability should not be the end of the road for any student.
It is required that the student be placed in the setting most like that of typical peers in which they can succeed when provided with needed supports and services (Friend, 2014). In other words, children with disabilities are to be educated with children who are not disabled to the maximum extent appropriate. Removal may only occur when education in regular classes, with the use of supplementary aids and services, cannot be achieved satisfactorily (Yell, 2006).
She gave me many examples of challenges but the most frequent challenges were, violence, misbehavior, and the need to be tough. When I asked her what kind of violence she had seen in the school she replied with, “I have been kicked, punched, and headbutted. It was a miracle if there was only one fight a day, most of the time is was three or more.” Other teachers that I met and had a conversation with talked about having to suspend many of their students because they hurt their classmates or they destroyed the classroom by throwing books, papers, and even
Teacher Interview(s): according to Ms. Special Ed, a ten-year veteran of special education who started her career at age twenty-nine, proportionally, 35.4 percent of S.H.E. students have an Individualized Education Program, in conformity with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, herein IDEA. In Windham County, the average public school has 18.6 percent of its student population considered to be learning disabled; S.H.E. has a noticeably higher percentage of students with learning disabilities, compared not only with Windham County, but Connecticut overall, as the average public school in the state is populated by 26.4% of its elementary students with learning disabilities. Further, more males than females at S.H.E. have learning disabilities with a ratio of 10.1% of females to 25.3% of males in the special education program. For the this specific field experience study relating to Students X & Y, both six-year old males, S.H.E. “offers” seven special education teachers and 13 paraprofessional instructional assistants who “service” the special needs of exceptional students including speech services, behavior interventionists and dedicated special education
Couzens, D., Poed, S., Kataoka, M., Brandon, A., Hartley, J., & Keen, D. (2015). Support for Students with Hidden Disabilities in Universities: A Case Study. International Journal Of Disability, Development & Education, 62(1), 24-41.
Unfortunately, a lot of parents may have a difficult time accepting their child, and coping with their needs and the responsibilities. From the book “The Elephant in the Playroom,” some families dealt with depression and physical and mental deterioration of their health. These struggles were shown in the story by Laura Cichoracki. Laura’s son’s name was Patrick. Patrick was a 6-years-old boy with autism. “I wasn’t eating right, I wasn’t showering regularly, I wasn’t sleeping well” (Brodey, p. 64). I also read the story told by Susan Marrash-Minnerly, which highlighted emotions that parents face. Susan also shed light on how wonderful children with special needs can be to a family, such as her ten-year-old third grader who had autism. Susan talked about how it was normal to feel angry at times, especially with the ups and downs a child’s disability may come with. “When I look back, I want to tell other parents that a child’s future is worth grieving over – but it’s not the end of the world” (Brodey, p. 75). After reading these stories, it became apparent to me that families who are raising kids with special needs, need support, kindness, and available resources. “I was fortunate to be surrounded by other moms who understood my pain…who could be supportive and emphatic.” (Brodey, p. 67). Overall, educators can use this kind of information that was shared in “The Elephant in the Playroom” about family systems and risk/resiliency by creating lines of open communication between families. This is to connect parents together that share similar struggles. By creating open communication is can allows for the teacher and parents to be on the same page when it comes to the issues affecting special needs students and
In this interview I conducted with my host teacher at Benton STEM Elementary, I talked about the various ways that she explores strategies inside her classroom for how students are provided access to mathematical learning experiences. My host teacher has been teaching elementary education for eleven years now and is currently teaching 2nd grade. Talking with her about the various methods that she uses in the classroom really informed me of how I want to teach as a future educator. When conducting the interview, we talked from the differentiation practices that she uses in her classroom when teaching mathematics. I will be connecting this interview to chapter 5 by Jo Boaler that I read on tracking in the mainstream classroom and how students mathematical abilities are affected by this.
With there only been short breaks the teacher have a difficult time with that Ms.Cox has been dealing with, she says
Students with learning disabilities can learn; each student has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. Educators must continue to focus on the strengths of each student and building on them, creating a stronger student and person. Identifying the weakness is at the core of getting a student help with their learning disability, but after this initial identification and placement, the focus should shift to the strengths and adjusting the student’s schoolwork to reflect these strengths. For instance, if a student is weak in reading but has wonderful group interaction skills and is good with his or her hands, the students' reading tasks should then be shifted to reflect these st...
Teacher Interview Interview Question Summary 1. How has the student composition in the special classroom changed over time? Though this is not something that I personally experienced, I am aware that more students with disabilities are being educated now than forty years ago. Education systems have worked to create a better environment for these students. This environment is as free from restrictions as possible and challenges the individual.
One obstacle that I believe many special needs students and families will face is understanding and dealing with the disability itself. Speaking from experience, this process can take time to understand and accept. This is where a special education teacher plays a significant role, assisting the student and family with information and support for understanding the student’s disability, facilitating education programs, and most importantly hope and progress for a bright future. Another obstacles that students with disabilities may face, is social interaction and acceptance. It is vital that all special education teachers and programs, try to incorporate strong social connections with their regular education peers and other community members and
Special education is no longer restricted to schools that cater for specific disabilities. Increasingly mainstream classrooms must cater for a diverse range of abilities and be inclusive of children with disabilities, therefore providing special education (Heward as cited on Pearson Prentice Hall, 2010). In catering for all children within a class, teachers also need to provide intervention as necessary. Intervention according to Heward (as cited on Education.com, 2011) intends to reduce, eliminate and/or limit the hurdles faced by students with disabilities that may prevent them from maximising their learning and becoming productive members of society. This essay will discuss how teachers can provide all three kinds of intervention; preventive, remedial and compensatory on behalf of individual students who may require it (Pearson Prentice Hall, 2010). Each type of intervention will be explored with examples to demonstrate the possible use of each one and the potential issues that may be associated with them.
Teacher Interview summary: I had the pleasure of interviewing the 3rd grade social studies teacher Mr. Columbie. As I observed Mr. Columbie on a weekly basis, I would constantly ask him questions on how he taught social studies in his classroom and what strategies he uses. Mr. Columbie informed me that he teaches social studies in his classroom once a week, but now that the students are preparing for the FSA test he has not been teaching social studies. He explained that the schools main focus is that every teacher is teaching and building students math and reading skills. He also explained to me that he can get in trouble with the principle if he were to teach a full social studies lesson in his classroom. He told me that for social studies he is giving his students reading passages and the students are answering comprehension questions at the end of the reading.
I chose to do my teacher interview in my home town at Richard D. Crosby Elementary School. This K-3rd grade building is very new, it was built in 2010. It has 4 pods, one for each grade level and has a large discovery center in each pod. The school is very colorful, with each pod a different color so the children find it easy to go from area to area. I did my interview with Mrs. Doe, a special education teacher. Her room has a lot of materials for learning and is set up to have several work stations for group activities. Mrs. Doe shares her students with other special education teachers and also has a special education classroom aide. My research question is how does a teacher’s perspective on learning reflect theories and concepts in educational psychology? Mrs. Doe is faced with many challenges in her classroom, overcrowding, multi-cultural differences, learning disabilities, several students with low socioeconomic status and English language learners. There are many challenges for Mrs. Doe to deal with, but she has been teaching for 21 years and has a lot of experience. She started out as a regular classroom teacher, but switched to special education and has done so well that when she asked if she could return to the regular classroom setting, the Superintendent begged her to stay in the special education department because of her success.
Education is a profession which requires a teacher to be able to communicate with a multitude of students on a variety of levels. There is not a class, or student for that matter, that is identical. Therefore, teachers must be able to identify and help educate students from all different types of backgrounds and at different levels. Teaching a singular subject presents difficulties, but teaching students with disabilities should not be one. There are three main teaching areas that need to be focused on when teaching a student with a learning disability. Teachers need to focus on the strategies that will assist students with reading comprehension skills, writing skills, and maintaining appropriate behaviors in a classroom setting.