Special Ed. Teacher

[Elphaba]

Hi All!
I'm an elementary Special Ed. teacher. Stop Right there ! I'm tired of hearing "You must be a special kind of teacher "to work with 'those' kind of kids. My kids belong to my entire faculty ! They are great kids ! Reading well, thanks to direct instruction, and we are all growing ! Learning!

Are there any other Sp. Ed. teachers out there ??? :)

[clogaholic]

Bless you, you ARE special. I'm not a special ed teacher - I'm the mom of a "special" child ( she's an adult now - but still special ). I agree that the special ed students pretty much belong to the whole school. My daughter was everyone's "little sister". The few who dared to look down on her were corrected promply :)

Her little sister is now a teacher, not special ed, but high school science. I think that all teachers are special but my heart will always belong to the ones, like you, that care enough to give the extra that it takes to teach the "challenged"
Of course, my DD is always special to me too :D

[Lee]

I am also the mom to a special needs child, and so far we have had wonderful teachers and are very thankful there are such caring people out there. My son is one of the few kids in middle school who loves to be there. Of course they take him swimming, horseback riding, bowling, and skiing...who could complain! He cannot ski but enjoys watching.

[Kate]

Yay for great teachers! :D My dad teaches in an alternative school for kids who are extremely naughty...you know...gang banger types. But I know that it takes a really neat person to work with high risk kids, special ed, etc. And it's great to hear that yours are doing so well!

[Canadian Girl]

As another mom of a special needs kids (a 14 yo, very gifted, teenager who's diagnosed with Pervasive Development Disorder and borderline Schizophrenia) I know that you are special :heart: Not because you do anything out of the ordinary (though I know that you do) but because you care about these kids... enough to help them grow and, hopefully, become a wholesome part of society. Thanks to caring people like you, and even the "regular" teachers who have all worked so hard with him, he's now gained some social graces and has a handful of very faithful friends.

Thanks to all teachers: you do an awesome job!!!

[leslieak]

I'm not a Special Ed teacher but I do work with developmentally challanged adults,and I to hear "you must be a special person,because it takes someone special to do what you do".I really don't believe that,I feel that I'm lucky to be learning from them as well as me helping them.

[SouthDakotaSherry]

I am one of those "regular" teachers and one of my best friends used to be one of our schools special ed teachers. Sure, I have these kids in my class - and they light up my life. Most of them are happy and a few kind words and they are your friend for life. But I know some of the challenges my friend had during the course of any day. You are special. I think every teacher brings their own set of talents and we all find our niche. That is not mine! God bless you!

Sherry

[Penske40]

I'm a Special Education Assistant AND a mom of a child with Autism.

All kids, not just kids classified with "special needs", are unique and learn in their own way. There are no "those" kids. Kids are kids are kids. They all need a good education and people who understand how they learn! :-D

Penny :banana:

[Jojo]

Hi! I just went back to school to get a Masters in Special Ed. It will take 2-3 years because I have to finish a secondary ed degree. (My current BS is not in Education). Anyway, I have worked as an assistant in Special Ed for the last year and a half. My own son was diagnosed with PDD-NOS, and ADHD, and I guess you could say that my research for him has inspired me. I'm thinking I want to work with LD for sure and am wondering about ED and autism.

So this is my career, full time student for now!!

Jojo

[candyhop]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]That is so funny what you said. I am a special ed. aide and that is all I hear. I love these kids and they are special. Everyday is a challenge. it does take someone special to do this so we should give us a pat on the back.

Candy ;)

[palmasy2002]

I work with infants and toddlers with developmental delays and behavioral diagnoses. :) I agree - I think I have learned more from them about perserverance than they have learned anything from me!