Thread: going into special education

You are choosing a most challenging and rewarding field.

What should you expect. Long days of hard work and constant action. No two days will ever be exactly the same. You can expect to have 15-25 students all needing your attention and help at the same time. There are moments of extreme frusteration when you wonder why the hell you are doing what you are doing. However those moments are short in duration and far apart.

You can expect to celebrate your students' successes and encourage them through the times when success seems [to them] to be far away.

You can expect some parents to be wonderful and some to be demanding and very hard to work with.

You can expect to have the time of your life during the day, and be bone tired when you get home.

You can expect to go to bed every night satisified that you made a positive difference for a child that day, and that tomorrow you will have another chance to reach that child that just couldn't get it today.

It's frusterating, infuriating, insanity provoking...and I wouldn't trade one minute of any of it for any other profession.

If you become a teacher you can expect to love it just as much!

Welcome to the profession!

I have to say I am a new teacher, recently graduating with my MSE. I agree with most of what proudliberaldem said about special education. It is very rewarding and tiring at the same time. Everyday is different. I also love my job and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

What I think is being left out is that you don't necessarily have to have a class of 15-25 students. Special Education allows you to work in MANY different settings. I applied to a Central school that was adding a class for young (K-1) autistic students that would have been an 8-1-1 or you can work as a team teacher in a regular ed. class that has special ed. students within it, or like I choose a residential school. Where the classes are small (7-9 students per class). I was told and now believe it that if I could make it in the residential school I can make it anywhere. This are the kids that don't fit into a "normal" school setting. My class consists of 6 boys (all autistic, with other secondary diagnosis) 1 TA and 3 One-to-one aides. I know a lot of people (my family included) think I am nuts putting myself through this, but I love the challenge!

If you are considering Special Education make sure you are up for a good, fun, interesting, stressful challenge. And to all the other teachers/parents out there I know I didn't hit on all the possibilities for a Special Education teacher to work in - in all honestly its late, I'm getting tired and have to get up to go back to "my" boys tomorrow and give it my all for another day!