Special Education Essay

With close to 6 million students aged 3-21 receiving special education services as of 2012 (Institute on Disability: University of NH, 2014), it is obvious that there is a need for qualified special education teachers nationally. One might mistakenly think all that is needed is a bachelor’s degree. The required certification is only s small part of what it takes for an effective special education teacher. First and foremost, a special educator needs to have a sound understanding of learners. It is not enough to simply like to work with children. There has to be an appreciation that each student comes with a completely different narrative. They all learn differently and all come from different homes with different values, different traditions, different lifestyles, different religions and sometimes eve different languages. And because of all of this, they process information uniquely. Special educators must be patient and well versed enough to consider how the children on their case load or even the children they are assigned to work with learn best (Council for Exceptional Children, 2004). This respect for individuals will help the teacher with all future roles in special education. …show more content…
From the time even before a student starts receiving services, the special education teacher has to build teams for the students. They must be knowledgeable of professionals within the district and the community who could assist in building appropriate supports for the student. Beyond that, they need to be able to communicate with the parents to inform them of the special education process, their rights as parents and navigate them through the “edulingo” that can be confusing. After the initial work with colleagues and parents is done, special educators need to continue to collaborate to ensure the IEP and student’s success (Snell & Janney, 2005: