As Herbert Spencer, the famous English philosopher once said, “The great aim of education is not knowledge, but action.” While many people believe that special education teachers and general educator teachers have the same experience in the field of collaboration, this is in fact not the case. After interviewing both a special educator teacher and a general educator teacher, it is apparent that the attitudes and perspectives of teachers regarding their role in the collaborative process of their profession varies significantly due to personal expectations and their specific job duties. When asked to reflect upon how the field of education is changing, especially in the area of serving students with special needs, the responses of
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On the flipside, when Rebecca, a special education teacher was asked the same question, her answers were similar, but still varied from Jana’s. According to Rebecca, the field of education is changing as much, if not more, than general education. Students with special needs are finally getting acknowledged, which is both a benefit and a drawback. Although special education students were once unintentionally overlooked, special education has seen an increase in the support, as well as a higher understanding of the specific needs of special education students. However, a drawback to this increase in attention, is the same that Jana has experienced with her general education students, or in other words as time has gone on there are now more expectations for the cognitive skills of children with special needs, which puts more pressure on the teachers and the students. The next question that both Jana and Rebecca were asked was how often they are required to collaborate with other professionals regarding their students. Because Jana and Rebecca are both teachers, they are both have had a significant amount of experience with …show more content…
According to Jana and Rebecca, collaboration is vital to the overall success in the educational process. Jana and Rebecca both stated that collaboration allows for shared responsibility for participation and decision making, as well as shared resources, and accountability for the outcomes. In the end, while special education teachers and general educators teachers have a common or mutual goal in the collaborative and educational process (which is to provide the best learning curriculum and learning environment possible for the child), there are differences between their experiences with the collaborative process and the expectations placed upon themselves and their students. Firstly, special education students and general education students have different needs, and therefore require different learning environments and opportunities. Furthermore, besides the differences in the learning environments and opportunities, the current standards and expectations of the children are different as well. Or in other words, the standards and the curriculum that the government places on each individual teacher is dependent on what the government
On the flipside, when Rebecca, a special education teacher was asked the same question, her answers were similar, but still varied from Jana’s. According to Rebecca, the field of education is changing as much, if not more, than general education. Students with special needs are finally getting acknowledged, which is both a benefit and a drawback. Although special education students were once unintentionally overlooked, special education has seen an increase in the support, as well as a higher understanding of the specific needs of special education students. However, a drawback to this increase in attention, is the same that Jana has experienced with her general education students, or in other words as time has gone on there are now more expectations for the cognitive skills of children with special needs, which puts more pressure on the teachers and the students. The next question that both Jana and Rebecca were asked was how often they are required to collaborate with other professionals regarding their students. Because Jana and Rebecca are both teachers, they are both have had a significant amount of experience with …show more content…
According to Jana and Rebecca, collaboration is vital to the overall success in the educational process. Jana and Rebecca both stated that collaboration allows for shared responsibility for participation and decision making, as well as shared resources, and accountability for the outcomes. In the end, while special education teachers and general educators teachers have a common or mutual goal in the collaborative and educational process (which is to provide the best learning curriculum and learning environment possible for the child), there are differences between their experiences with the collaborative process and the expectations placed upon themselves and their students. Firstly, special education students and general education students have different needs, and therefore require different learning environments and opportunities. Furthermore, besides the differences in the learning environments and opportunities, the current standards and expectations of the children are different as well. Or in other words, the standards and the curriculum that the government places on each individual teacher is dependent on what the government