My boyfriend is working on his thesis and he needs some assistance finding some primary sources. He hasn't been able to find that much about this topic. He needs to find primary sources about how special ed teachers are treated differently from other teachers. For example, how it's not considered a worthy field to go in within education, why special ed teachers don't get the same level of respect, among their peers, etc. Any help or guidance into particular authors or research would be greatly appreciated.
2006-10-21 06:51:30 · 6 answers · asked by penpallermel 6 in Education & Reference ➔ Special Education
Before I started teaching Special Ed my MIL told me to be prepared to be treated like an outsider. She was in the district I was going to be working in for 15 years as a SpEd Aide. I had one advantage, I was a graduate of the high school where I was going to be teaching and had lived in the town my whole life. There were still teachers there that I had as a student. Fortunately for me I was a good kid in school and that reputation has followed me into adulthood.
There were some teachers that did ignore me unless they absolutely had to talk to me about a student. The regular ed teachers also got upset when one my kids was placed in their class, especially teachers who taught electives. They thought that all special ed students should stay with us (there are 5 SpEd teachers at our HS) However, by law we can only have 10 students and we do have the 10 kids that they wouldn't want in their class because of behaviors!!
Since the first year, things have gotten better and I have several teachers that I am friends with, although there is some stigma with me being a SpEd teacher. I am also involved as a sponsor for other things so I can have interaction with "regular" students as well as the faculty as a whole.
It does take a special person to be a teacher and someone extra special to be a special ed teacher.
p/s SpEd teachers in our district get a specified percentage over the base pay for being special ed teachers.
2006-10-21 09:20:39 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As a TSS, I've been many Special Ed classrooms. All in all, I would classify many Special Ed teachers as lazy. The room I'm in right now, the teacher does very little except sit around, gossip, call people on her phone, and deal with personal problems. In turn, she harasses the TSS's and expects them to teach the students so she doesn't have to. In several other special ed classrooms I was in, similar things like this would happen (although none to the degree of this current one). There is little or no structure in the classroom, a free for all. The teacher does little or no planning. The adage, if ye aim at nothing ye shall surely hit it, hits the nail n the head in this classroom. I feel sorry for the kids.
2016-05-22 07:52:58 · answer #2 · answered by Cheryl 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I guess I have it differently than in school district classes... I work at a preschool for children with disabilities, and so special education teachers are the only people on the campus. I can't say that we feel treated any differently than "regular ed" teachers because there is no one fitting that description at my work. I think it is because our center is isolated in that way that all the teachers have a feeling of family and community. We watch out for one another, take classes in college together, and are friends outside of work. Our children in our classrooms are "our children", who we work for the betterment of as a team. In our center, it is a matter of prestige and pride that we work with the population of students that we do, and I think that is because everyone there is committed to helping the children and is passionate about the work that they do. Personally, I think a teacher is far more deserving of respect to be in the special education field. It takes a passion and patience that is unreal- you really have to WANT to be in this field in order to survive and move forward for the benefit of your students. Unfortunately, I have no idea if there has been any research done on the subject, just my own personal experience. But for what it's worth- special ed teachers are as special as the kids they teach!!
2006-10-21 17:37:02 · answer #3 · answered by dolphin mama 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
my mom is a special ed high school math teacher. she teaches the EMD kids and some LD, but her kids don't get a diplomia. She has an aid in her class. In some districts the specail ed teachers get paid more but not in ours. yes, some people think her job is pointless b/c her kids are going to get anywhere, which is bullcrap. She really does more cousling and life skills than anything. Her kids still have to take the HSAP, that she has to completely read to most of them, even they can only get a certificate.
2006-10-21 07:01:29 · answer #4 · answered by lifeisgood20 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Special Education teachers are made to feel like outsiders and inconveniences. Regular Ed teachers in my district don't speak to us unless they have to and they HATE it when our kids are integrated into their rooms. Children who need to be in special education classes have just as much right to learn as anyone else. Children with disabilities can learn just at a slower pace but still they have the right to an education.
2006-10-21 07:05:22 · answer #5 · answered by redwidow 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Someone I know just had her PHD thesis accepted at the University of Iowa on exactly the same subject.
2006-10-21 06:59:22 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋