Teaching Special Students

Paper Summary:

The writer discusses how he is expected to meet the individualized needs of every student despite the challenges inherent in the job. The writer reveals that there are too few special needs teachers, the teachers must deal with students who have a wide range of personal and academic needs, they are increasingly held responsible for their students' performance in the classroom and are not appreciated by many families. The writer reveals that he is disillusioned by the pressures but emphasizes that he sees special education students as valuable children and adolescents and recognizes that he needs to do his best as a teacher in helping them achieve their potential.

From the Paper:

"Determining my personal professional and ethical standards for working with students whom have developmental disabilities and mental retardation has been a challenging process. I have found myself increasingly prone to frame my interactions with these students in terms of priorities, specifically how and to what extent my interactions with one student should take precedence over another. This should not suggest that I do not value each student, nor consider that every student under my care deserves different levels of commitment. However, I find myself asked to give significant time, care, and classroom resources to every student, and there are simply not enough of these to meet every unique need. And it is especially evident that there are pressures from the parents, the school, and the state to provide greater aid to some students than others, even if I believe that the second student may extract a greater overall benefit."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Algozzine, B & Ysseldyke, J. E. (2006). Teaching Students with Emotional Disturbance: A practical guide for every teacher. New York: Corwin Press.
• Bell, S. M. (2006). Discipline of Special Education Students. New York: Lorman Education Services.
• Lewis, R. B. & Doolag, D. (2005). Teaching Special Students in General Education Classrooms. (7th Edition). New York: Prentice Hall.
• Shelton, C. F. & Pollingue, A. B. (2000). The Exceptional Teacher's Handbook: The First-Year special education teacher's guide for success. New York: Corwin Press.

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