Teaching is a challenging profession, but teaching special education has specific considerations that must be addressed. This is not an impossible task if you remember a few basic rules.
Instructions
1. Keep it simple. Break down each skill you want to teach your student and teach it 1 step at a time. If your plan requires more than 2 actions, break it down again. Children with disabilities must have things simplified to reduce the required attention for task completion and to limit frustration time with new skills.
2. Leave the miracles to God. Skills have to be taught over weeks in special education, not days. Many new teachers try to solve problems at a rate that is unattainable for a child with a disability and the result is damaging to the child with special needs.
3. Balance your sense of flexibility with a sense of disciple. Yes, you should modify environments for children with disabilities, but you should not let them use their disability as an excuse to misbehave. This is a delicate balance to achieve, but you will not truly teach a child until you do.
4. Study the law and court cases in your state. The special education teacher must balance the limitations of the school system in which they work with the individual needs of the students. If you do not study the law you will not know who is asking for too much or who is giving too little.
5. Keep your sense of humor. Other teachers may see you as less capable than them. Often times your students will not cooperate with lesson plans and parents will expect you to have all the answers. You must keep your cool and just enjoy the small victories.
6. Get a support system in place. Because of all the stresses you will face teaching special education you will need a network of special educational professionals to advise you and to vent with you. If you are the only special educator in your school, look for teachers in nearby schools to meet with on a regular basis.
Tags: child with, special education, special education, teaching special, teaching special education, with disabilities