Special Education - One Teacher's Thoughts

Something else that is taking place is parents are becoming more and more aware of the laws and demanding that their child's needs be met in the regular ed. classroom. Now the law is holding school personel accountable for the education of these children. Now the law states not only do you have to implement the IEP, but you have to prove that you have been following it and making the necessary modifications for this child to succeed. Teaching is becoming more and more paperwork - the kid of paperwork that has nothing to do with grading papers.

I think the accountability is good. I think the Least Restrictive Environment is good. HOWEVER - I do feel that if legislators are going to pass and enact laws, they ought to have to back them with funding. There are teachers in the main stream spending too much time making sure they aren't going to get sued, and retiring early because it's becoming too much. It's getting harder and harder for school districts to find teachers. Special ed. is one of the areas with the largest teacher shortage. Private industry offers more money, and a lot less homework! If anyone thinks the life of a teacher is great with all the time off and summer vacation, try working the hours a teacher puts in during the year. If she's not writing lesson plans, grading papers, or gathering materials to support what she wants to teach, she's on the phone with parents or attending meetings. Regular ed. teachers also participate in the planning of this child's individual education plan. They should have in-put if they are the ones to implement. Regular ed. teachers are attending almost as many meetings as special ed. teachers!

I am a special ed. teacher at a middle school in Texas. I see kids that are in an academic self-contained program (this will be changing next year) and a class of kids that are in the mainstream. I teach 6 classes a day and what I will write mostly about are things I see as a teacher. I am also a parent of two teenaged girls - both either are now or have been in special education in some way. I am also an ADHD, dyslexic, learning disabled adult. There are days I look back at the time I was in public school and I think that if there had been some

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