Personal Statement : Special Education

“Education is the single most important job of the human race” - George Lucas. Ever since I was young I have always had the dream of working with kids. Knowing that I started looking into jobs working with young kids and came across early childhood education. I never knew that I wanted to pursue special education until around my sophomore year when I did a FCCLA project on the End the R-Word campaign. I believe that the career choice of an early childhood special education provider is a good path for me because I love working with kids and I have the passion to make a huge difference in a child’s life and their families life who has a disability.

There are many individuals who contribute to the education of the student with special needs. Their roles and responsibilities are varied, and each play an important part in the education of the student with disabilities. In the early years of special education, individuals with disabilities were not educated in the traditional classroom. Many of the students were left at home to be taught by their parents, or, sent away to institutions if the families were unable to care for them. In addition, some were education in private schools at the cost of the families. It was not until the 1970’s that special education became acceptable in the public schools. The passing of legislation made it possible for all students to have a right to a free and public education, regardless of their disabilities. The individual with disabilities education act (IDEA) opened the door to education for all students and therefore a change in special education.

Ysseldyke, J. and Algozzine, B. Special Education: A Practical Approach for Teachers. 3rd.ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1995.

Special education is such a broad and sensitive topic to talk about as well as the several issues that come with the Special education topic. And although there are a variety of issues, such as: special education children being accepted, segregated from their peers, the financial ability to support many special education programs, and the fact that a lot of teachers are not properly certified and do not know how to handle special needs children; there are also many resolutions. Special education Awareness, peer understanding, support from the local and state government, proper teacher certification, and most importantly social unity and understanding amongst peers are all a part of this controversial issue and they will also help maintain and resolve the growing concerns in the Special education programs and the children.

Smith, T. E., Polloway, E. A., Doughty, T. T., Patton, J. R., & Dowdy, C. A. (2015). Teaching students with special needs in inclusive settings.

During my research for this paper there was so much I knew about special education already. In our Intro to Education class we talked about a lot with this program. As a teacher you have to have your stuff together so you don’t get the students files mixed up. You also have to know exactly what you are doing. This whole thing can be so stressful. You have to make sure the students goals are not too much. Special Education teachers are hard to find. But when you get one you keep them for a long time.

Compared to their 21st century cohorts, early special education teachers were at the bottom of the food chain. In the 1980’s many teachers did not see them as part of the teaching

Special Education was one of those things I never truly understood as a student in the public school system. Who were these children that had to be taken out of the class for reading and math or who remained in a separate class all day? What was so “special” about them? Believe me, I could have tried to find out what was different about them and how they were taught anytime I wanted; my mom teaches Elementary Special Education. I always heard her throwing around terms like resource room and inclusion when she talked about work. But being the typical self-involved child that I was, I never listened to what she said about teaching or asked her more about her students. What I do know is that teaching Special Education involved a lot of ups and down. As a Special Education teacher, the specific tasks of my mom’s job change frequently. She has taught full-time special education classes, has worked with individual students in an inclusive setting, and most recently she teaches resource room. Now that I don’t have to listen to her work stories all the time, I find myself wanting to know more about what special education entails. What I discovered is that none of the methods utilized in Special Education are entirely right or wrong in addressing the educational needs of children with LD. Children with learning disabilities should be educated in the most appropriate way to meet their specific educational needs.

Although the quality of special education has greatly increased over the years, it still has a long way to go. We are always going to be learning how to best educate and treat these children. With research and technology ever changing, so will the needs of the students. The special education programs that are currently in place will proceed to evolve as public awareness, knowledge of disorders, and teacher education continue improving.

In light of questions and critiques from parents and guardians, it is also important to know exactly why you are doing what you are doing in the classroom. The priority of educators and other professions in the area of special education and inclusive education should be to provide the student with the most appropriate, least intrusive education as possible. Again, through Sean’s case study, Linneman portrays the heat that special educators can receive from angry, concerned, misguided parents, and even parents in denial or uneducated on the topic. This book addresses the need for teachers to determine best practices and settings for an individual child, and support and defend these decisions to parents, administrators or any other adults by putting the child’s best interests first.

Special Education is becoming more of a concern with each passing day. There are more and more problems with teaching children with special needs as well as there are problems with diagnosing them. In the first half of the 20th century it started to become increasingly popular in the United States. (Ferguson 148). It is a tedious and time consuming task but it can be very rewarding to see the child progress of time and advance their learning skills.

Bryant, D. P., Smith, D. D., & Bryant, B. R. (2008). Teaching Students with Special Needs in

I am often asked what influenced me to become a teacher. To be a special education teacher, one must exhibit patience and flexibility, and have background knowledge on the types of disabilities they will be exposed to throughout their career. I know that I am able to be patient and flexible with children with disabilities because I have been surrounded by children and adults with disabilities all my life. This is the main reason I want to become a special education teacher.

The importance of education for all children, especially for those with disability and with limited social and economic opportunities, is indisputable. Indeed, the special education system allowed children with disability increased access to public education. Apart from that, the special education system has provided for them an effective framework for their education, and for the institutions involved to identify children with disability sooner. In turn, this promotes greater inclusion of children with disability alongside their nondisabled peers. In spite of these advances however, many obstacles remain, including delays in providing services for children with disability, as well as regulatory and financial hindrances that complicate the program for all involved. Enhancing the system necessitates better ways of understanding and measuring both ends of the special education continuum, namely the services special education children need and receive, and the academic outcomes these students achieve.

As of this beautiful rainy day, I work with school-age children and adolescents who have learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities. I have previously worked in a classroom environment where I loving working with children who have ASD, ADHD and other learning disabilities, for in which case it lead me on my path to wanting to be a Special Ed. Teacher, yet after working in a home environment with a beautiful young girl, I found my love outside the classroom in a child/adolescents natural environment, their home.