:help: Hi. I am a parapro and a college student working towards a degree in Special Education. I am writing a paper for a class. I would be using any replies I get more or less as a survey in support of my argument (or counter-argument). If you have a moment to share your opinion I would really appreciate it. The question is... *Do you feel you have had enough training to meet the special needs of your students?* Feel free to elaborate, but even a yes or no answer would be helpful. To clarify, I'm not specifically looking for special education teachers, but all teachers. Thanks for your help!
No, I think I will always need to continue training to meet the needs of all my students, special needs or not, because all students are different. What I learned to do with one student in the past might not work with a current student.
I'm in a Catholic High school. While other schools do, we make no accomodations for long term special needs. So I guess technically My training prepared me for the job I hold. In theory, I don't have to know much about special ed. I don't remember learning a lot about it at all, either undergrad or in graduate school. That said, I've learned a lot from these boards. And anything that can be adatped to work with one of my kids is knowlege I can use.
I know enough to provide accommodations in my classroom with the help of a Special Ed. Liaison and/or para. I don't know enough to diagnose and/or decide on accommodations, however. Luckily, that is not handled by my position as one of our other AP's has extensive SPED experience.
I know a lot, but I've gathered little bits each year. After 17 years, I've learned a lot of things. It doesn't hurt that my best friend is an elementary special education teacher and one of my friends works with me at the middle school. They're good to answer questions for me.
Thank you to those who have replied. It's an interesting range of opinions so far. I wanted to bump this back up for those who weren't online over the holiday weekend and might want to share their opinion. Thank you!
My school regularly trains us for dealing with special needs students because we are aiming for as close to full integration in our classrooms as possible. We have special education teachers assigned to our classes to help us create curriculum and accommodations available to all students regardless of their IEP status. One area where I'd like to have more training is how to proceed with students who obviously have a learning disability but came to my classroom without previous identification. As I've said, we have built in accommodations, but these students are at a distinct disadvantage for state testing if they need a reader or scribe and cannot have one due to their lack of identification.
I am at a small private school that takes anyone regardless of ability. Unfortunatly we are on our own on how to handle the needs of special ed. Our P and "V-P" try but they are also under educated on this subject. Fortunatly, We have a teacher who worked in the public school system in the special ed department. She is a wealth of information so I go to her several times a year for new and refreshing ideas.
I learned a little before teaching, but most of what I have learned was because I was a general ed teacher in a full inclusion classroom for students who have moderate/severe disabilities. When I say full inclusion...I mean all day, every day!! Nothing like on the job training. I don't think you can be prepared for things like that through a classroom setting. And like someone mentioned before, each child is different!
As a special education teacher, I have had extensive training. But, at the shool where I completed my undergrad and social studies licensure, it was required of all students seeking a teaching license to take a 400 level class on students with disabilities in k-12. A 20 hour field work component in a SPED classroom was also part of that class.
No. It's a field that is constantly changing and growing, and I think every teacher could probably use more training. During my student teaching, I often wished I'd had more classes in special ed.
My BAE in El. Ed in no way prepared me to work with ese students. When I went back for my masters I specifically took classes in ESE as my open electives in order to gain a better understanding. I taught the inclusion class for my grade level for 4 years and every year learned a little bit more. I even knew more than the last ESE teacher to grace my classroom (he was horrid) I had to go back and correct his IEP's. So now a days I feel pretty confident in academic issues but the behavioral still throw me for a loop.
Though I teach in a gen ed classroom (dual certification), I have my masters in sped, so yes, I feel prepared. Can I learn more? Absolutely, but it's like that with everything!
I'm certified to teach Deaf students. While this is a special ed field, I have no qualifications to teach Deaf students with additional disabilities. I remember learning early on in my college courses that 40% of all Deaf students have additional disabilities. Because of this fact, I made sure to learn as much as I could about other disabilities as well. Some of my colleagues, however, feel lost with how to teach some of their students because of this. A common thing I hear is that Deaf students with additional disabilities should be taught in a separate classroom/school. I disagree, but I can see how they just aren't prepared to teach these students.
I have a good bit of experience but I never feel prepared to teach student's with special needs. I do alright but I always feel there is something else I can do that I am not doing that would make learning easier or more fun.
I truly appreciate you all taking the time to respond. It's a great cross section of experience and opinion and will be useful to my paper. Thank you!
no!! This is my third year teaching. This year I will have 3 special needs kids in my class. I only took one sped class during college. I am going to a weeklong training next week that deals with special needs kids so I hope to learn a lot. I feel SO VERY NOT prepared for this year and have no clue how to handle these kids. plus I'll have 22 other kids who need me as well so I feel I need all the training I can get.
I don't think I received nearly enough training by my universities or by my school districts. The best strategies and tactics I've learned have all come from just on the job training and trail/error experience. This is my 18th year (I think), and while I feel that I can handle most issues that come my way, I think I can always learn more!
At university, I did not receive enough training. However, I have part 1 and 2 (of 3) special ed courses in Ontario under m belt and am currently in part 3 (specialist). So yes I have a good handle on the subject, but am constantly learning. That said, most classroom teachers I have encountered do not have enough training. I wish spec ed part 1 was mandatory to become a teacher in ON.
I do too. The reality is that, even though it isn't mandatory, in my board getting hired without some additional qualifications (like Special Ed or ELL) is next to impossible. With increasing needs and decreasing staffing for Special Ed support, every teacher really does need to understand at least the basics of providing accommodations and modifications for identified students.
