As most of my readers know, I was placed in self-contained special education classes throughout all my 12-years in school. In the 10th grade, I was accepted into vocational high school and my time was divided at both high schools. While attending an additional 2-years of vocational high school (comparable to post-secondary programs) after my graduation in 2016, I was in the Super Senior program. In that program, I was in vocational classes that were geared specifically for special education students as well as students with behavioral issues. Mixing the two types of students (and their issues) in the same classroom setting, in my opinion was not good. I witnessed first-hand that process of combining both types of students did not work in grammar school and in middle school. I truly don’t know if my experiences in special education were common or uncommon. All I can say is, I often think back to my experiences on how I was sometimes neglected, treated, taught, or should I say how my teachers tried to teach me without losing their patience with me as well as other students.
I will admit, I did have a few special education teachers that were very good, caring, patient, and who took the time out to really try to teach me. As all special education teachers should know, there are several types of developmental issues, processing disorders, and learning disabilities. To take things one step further, individuals who have various learning disabilities are not the same, their symptoms, issues, and their learning capabilities vary immensely with each student. It is up to the special education teachers and case managers to fully read the students personal files to know about the specifics of the student’s disability, address and update the student’s IEP’s before and during the school year. I feel this is where some, not all, of my teachers went wrong…they did not understand my needs, my various disabilities, did not understand how I needed to learn, or how they needed to teach me. I felt that some of my teachers because of the countless distractions of the behavioral students, as well as my severe struggles with learning, just neglected me and gave me passing grades to move me along to the next grade to have the following teacher deal with me and my issues.
There were several issues in grammar school and middle school that I will never forget. Listed below, I will share just a few:
1. I remember my mother receiving a phone call from my teacher explaining that I was failing in class and it was possible that I might need to repeat that same grade the following year. Looking back now, it was shameful that the teacher called, because it was her responsibility as my special ed teacher to realize what she was doing wrong and why I was not grasping what she was trying to teach me. Did she realize how my learning and processing disability was not being considered, or any accommodation/modifications needed for me to learn the subjects?
2. Another special ed teacher in the morning on the first day of school noticed I was talking to the student next to me. This teacher was in the middle of explaining her “Coin Reward System.” Instead of saying students please do not talk in class if I am talking…she humiliated me in front of the entire class and took away all my coins. She did not take away any coins from the other student who had asked me the question, that I answered. I was never awarded any coins throughout the school year on positive things that I achieved.
3. The same teacher, a few weeks after that incident, accused me of cheating on a test because she saw me looking around the room. FYI… I couldn’t cheat because I could not read except for very easy words and limited sentences until the 5th grade. Newsflash… I still cannot do math or understand currency due to my Dyscalculia (math disability), therefore understanding her “Coin Reward System” did not make any sense to me. It was horrible that the school allowed her to use that system in a special education self-contained class.
Recently, I shared with my therapist I’ve been having many dreams about my early school years and noticed my depression and anxiety has gotten worse. My therapist stated, “now that I’m older and have been remembering my unfortunate situations in school, that I have trauma and suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).” This news was not good to hear, but everything does make sense to me now on why and how I feel about the unpleasant experiences that happened to me in school and how it is affecting me now years later.
After conducting various research online, I found the following and interesting information regarding special education teachers (and mainstream teachers) that I wanted to share in this blog article.
What is a Special Education Teacher and What do they Do:
Special education teachers work with students who have learning, mental, emotional, or physical disabilities. They adapt general education lessons and teach various subjects to students with mild to moderate disabilities. They also teach basic skills to students with severe disabilities.
What Are the Signs of a Bad or Toxic Teacher?
• They're Disillusioned
• They Gossip
• They Display an Attitude of Dissent
• They Only Do the Bare Minimum
• They Don't Try to Do Better Themselves
• They Degrade or Publicly Humiliate Some Students
• They Reject Some Students
Over-Controlling or Unfair Behavior of Teachers
• Abusive teachers may enforce strict rules, punish children unpredictably or for things out of their control, and instill fear into their students
• Not allowing students to interact with non-disabled students
• Deliberately setting up students to fail
• Punishing students for harmless behavior (like rocking back and forth or fidgeting)
• Using excessively harsh punishments
• Not using positive reinforcement and/or ignoring any positive behavior
• Assuming behavior is pointless or attention-seeking without trying to discern the cause of it
• Disciplining disabled students more harshly than their non-disabled peers for the same behavior
• Punishing students for acting slow, sleepy, sensitive, sad, or sick
• Punishing students for disability symptoms (like punishing a child with Tourette syndrome for ticcing
• Punishing a child with ADHD for daydreaming
• Punishing a child with epilepsy for "spacing out" (during a minor seizure)
Things to be Aware of and Look Out For:
Are your child's accommodations being adhered to? If a student has been given official accommodations (like an IEP), a teacher is legally required to adhere to that. Refusing to stick to accommodations, or only doing the bare minimum, is unacceptable if it interferes with a child's ability to function in school
• Blocking or restricting access to assistive technology, sensory tools, comfort objects, or other accessibility aids/coping mechanisms
• Not letting the child go to their in-school services (e.g., speech or occupational therapy, or mental health counseling)
• Not allowing the child needed breaks
• Forcing the student to do schoolwork or tasks that they're not ready or capable of doing
• Attempting to remove services or accommodations without following the proper legal procedures
Closing Statement:
I hope this article enlightens everyone reading it to ensure that their child who has special needs is attended to properly in school and is given every opportunity to learn to their capabilities. Sometimes knowing how to teach various special needs students is not mentioned in any college textbooks. It can mean having the teacher to think out of the box for the student to be successful in learning. Special education teachers should realize what they signed up for and to be patient with their students. Be aware of bad, toxic, or lazy special education or mainstream teachers. Bring inappropriate teaching, lack of teaching, or harsh treatment to the school principal or to school officials. I would like to thank my few very good and caring teachers as well as my vocational teachers at OCVTS – Brick Center, NJ. Being part of the Super Senior program, now looking back, was a great and rewarding experience for me. I am now using all the skills and knowledge I learned at OCVTS, as I now own and operate my own small photography & multimedia business. Hopefully in time, I will be able to make enough money to live and support myself independently, especially after my parents are gone. If you like articles like this one, please reach out to me or leave a comment. I will always respond and in most cases, share your thoughts with my Education and Advocacy supervisor to also share during our Thursday morning staff meetings.
Source of Information: Personal Experiences and Various Google Searches
Until Next Week, Stay Safe and Well!