Special Ed Teacher Experiences

June 28, 2004 9:27 AM

I am considering a career as a special education teacher. I have everything I need in order to become certified, but what I'm really looking for are honest "from the trenches" stories/advice/opinions/general tales of horror and/or bliss. I need to know what I'd really be getting myself into.
posted by Watsonne to education (15 comments total)

The tardblog seems to have gone MIA, but I found a mirror
posted by Capn at 10:29 AM on June 28, 2004

I knew a girl whose mom was a special ed teacher. She always came home with bruises all over her arms. There are also tales of the kids exposing themselves to her, masturbating in front of her, etc. I think it's one of those jobs where it takes a *special* someone who really wants to work with special needs children.
posted by geoff. at 10:39 AM on June 28, 2004

I am in absolute awe of my daughter's teacher and his para-pros. While they all have bad days (to which they are obviously entitled), they clearly care about all of the kids -- and this is what Michigan calls a "Severely Multiply Impaired (SXI)" classroom, so the challenges are many (diapering, feeding, GI tubes, equipment, behavioral issues, etc.). It's interesting to watch a potential new hire come into the room. They're either gone within a week, or they stay for a long time. To a person, the ones who stay tell me how rewarding the job is.

(I'll have to admit, the "tard blog" makes me sad, disclaimer/faq not withstanding. I hate to think of any of my daughters caregivers writing like that, but I guess I couldn't blame them if they did)
posted by pardonyou? at 11:38 AM on June 28, 2004

My wife taught special ed for a few years, and found the biggest challenge was dealing with the school administrations. The administrators often openly disliked having special ed classrooms in their schools, and were about as unsupportive as you could imagine. The degree to which that was a problem varied from place-to-place -- Texas was among the worst, I'm sorry to say, but that was in San Antonio, and Austin might not be as bad. A couple of times she found herself in the position of having to encourage parents to threaten a lawsuit against the school, just so the kids could get the services to which they were legally entitled.

She loved the kids and enjoyed making a difference in their lives, but after a few years the frustrations of dealing with bad administrators (and mistrustful parents accustomed to being mistreated by the schools) just became overwhelming.
posted by nixxon at 11:57 AM on June 28, 2004

I had a friend who worked with the "profound" (his terminology, not mine, it refers to "profoundly impaired," and is not supposed to be a cutely ironic jab at his charges). He quit after one that he was changing defecated on his hands. He says it is taxing, frustrating, thankless work. The kind of job where everyone will admire and pity you at the same time, like you're a hard working immigrant landscaper.

On the other hand, the girlfriend of one of my coworkers is also training to do this, and she seems to find it genuinely rewarding and meaningful work. So my advice: try to avoid the "profound" if you can, and stick to the merely "impaired."
posted by ChasFile at 11:58 AM on June 28, 2004

There are different kinds of special ed teachers.

There are teachers for life skills classes (sounds a lot like what is mentioned above.)
There are special ed teachers that work in lab type settings that kids come to for help on an assignment.
There are special ed teachers that have remedial classes for math, reading, etc.
There are regular ed teachers that have special ed kids in their room for a majority of the time. The kids go to the lab (see above) for independent practice.
Then there is the question of what grade level that you wish to teach at.

Which group would you like information about?
posted by busboy789 at 12:10 PM on June 28, 2004

I'm not a special ed teacher but I've worked with special needs children for 7 years now. I've met a lot of special ed teachers and they are a special sort (see: wonderful people). A special ed teacher looks past the behaviors that would send a lay person running scared and sees children who they're making a difference for. They don't want or need pity, and realize that many of those who pity them just don't understand what they do, and that's fine since most people don't. It's definetly not a thankless job, it just takes the special kind of teacher to realize that your students can thank you, but most of the time it's not by walking up to your desk and saying the words.
posted by tomorama at 12:26 PM on June 28, 2004

I have been doing a very similar job for about 5 years. It is one of those jobs where you have to have a lot of patience. The turnover is quite high because frankly, most people do it for a short time and burn out.

Obviously, I find it rewarding most of the time (otherwise I wouldn't be doing it), but let me tell you, I have days when I am ready to walk out the door and quit on the spot. Ex: you can be working with an individual, and they are making great progress, and then a Dr. or someone who "knows better" changes meds or whatnot and *boom* - back to square one.

Be prepared for a lot of bureucracy dealing with administration and other pencil pushers with no experience with what you are doing, and thus have no idea what goes into this kind of work.

In short: it takes a special kind of person to do this line work. From my own experience (as with co-workers), if you are that kind of person, you couldn't see yourself doing anything else. You should figure this out within your first two weeks on the job.
posted by Quartermass at 12:38 PM on June 28, 2004

And Mefites come to the rescue again... :-)

Thank you everyone who's posted so far. This has been extremely helpful. I'd never considered the diapering factor, and I have to say I need to add that to my contemplations/research. I have to say that at this particular time, I can't picture myself being willing to diaper anyone over the age of 3. It sounds like teaching special ed doesn't have to involve diapering though, so that is encouraging.

Honestly, I'm not sure what specifically I'm looking at. I really want to be a teacher, and I know that special ed is an area where there is a critical shortage. If I'm going to make such a career shift, I want to go into something where I'm really needed.

From what I have read/heard, the people who stick with special ed love it (maybe not on a day-to-day basis, like some have said here, but overall they are very happy with their jobs). I'm sure there are challenges I can't even imagine, but the more I consider it, the more it appeals to me.

The administrative bureaucracy I have factored in already. You really get that anywhere. I deal with that daily at my current job, but I think with teaching at least I'd feel like I was doing something useful for SOMEONE, even if it's just the kids. I remember what a horrible influence bad teachers were on me, and what an incredible, life-changing influence the good ones were. I want to be one of those good ones.
posted by Watsonne at 1:12 PM on June 28, 2004

Watsonne, have you ever heard of Torey Hayden? She's a former special ed teacher who has written a number of excellent books about her experiences. Her Web site is here, and any library will have some of her books.

Anyway, she says that special ed is not for everyone, that it's a vocation you'll either love or hate, and that you need to be the sort of person who enjoys the process of working with the kids. Goal-oriented people tend to burn out, because it could be a year's work to toilet train a child.
posted by orange swan at 1:22 PM on June 28, 2004

Also, you might want to consider volunteering as a way to find out if you're going to like the work.
posted by orange swan at 1:41 PM on June 28, 2004

orange swan hits it on the head: I have seen so many so-called "perfectionists" burn out really fast in this line of work. It is the one field where less is sometimes actually more.
posted by Quartermass at 1:43 PM on June 28, 2004

Another thing to consider in Texas....
once you become certified in something, example special ed since you have done the coursework, you can become certified in other areas by simply taking a test. So, if you get into special ed you can certainly get out if you are certified in other areas.
The job market is not bad at all for teachers in Texas in any area of certification, not just special ed. If you don't have a burning desire to teach special ed, but are choosing that just because of a critical shortage I would get certified in a subject I really enjoy. I think that would make you a lot happier. Take a look at Austin's job openings. There are a lot of openings.
posted by busboy789 at 5:41 PM on June 28, 2004

no link above, sorry
posted by busboy789 at 5:57 PM on June 28, 2004

As far as being a teacher in a needed area. If you are interested in, knowledgeable about, and want to teach math and science, a lot of places have need for people like you.

Some states (but particularly cities) are in need of teachers of any sort, because it's a hard job that you really have to like doing. Some of my friends have gone to teaching in Massachusetts and California (L.A.) to help meet these needs.

Best of luck to you, in making a career decision that could affect many people's lives.
posted by whatzit at 9:00 AM on June 29, 2004