The provision of education without any discrimination is the right of every member of society. However, when it comes to special education, you will have to face many difficulties as a teacher.
Special education is for students who may lack a physical ability or lag socially or mentally. To ensure their education and instill skills, one can not use routine teaching techniques.
Though they lack physical or mental capabilities, they certainly possess some talent that needs to be in the spotlight. To identify the skills hidden behind their disabilities, a teacher has to adopt unconventional ways of teaching.
These ways require patience and can be tiring but are worth it in the long run. Here are some of the difficulties you may encounter as a special education teacher. Just have a look at them and get prepared beforehand!
1. Varying Disabilities:
In a special education setup, students usually differ in their abilities and disabilities. Some might have a cognitive impairment, others some emotional impairment, while some may suffer from other learning and physical disabilities. Consequently, each student will have a different learning pace.
The students would require different ways to learn the same skill in such learning variabilities. As their mentor, you will have to design different strategies, as one might not work for every student.
To gain this skill, you can pursue an online Special Education Teacher Masters degree due to its convenience and productivity.
It is of prime importance and your utmost responsibility to focus on the individual limitations of each student and deal accordingly.
2. Lack of Appreciation:
As a professional in special education, be prepared to work without receiving your due share of appreciation and support. A teacher’s success is usually judged by what a student achieves in life.
While the special children are unique in their way, they usually do not outcompete their peers who are physically and mentally competent.
No one highlights their contributions to society, no matter how little they are. As a result, not many people would appreciate the nature of your work. However, no one can deny the nobility of your task!
3. Following the Individualized Education Program (IEP):
Students with disabilities can access the Individualized Education Program (IEP), where the parents and educators work together. The IEP team sets the goals for students for each school year.
As a team member, you need to provide updates on students’ progress. The difficulty can arise in the data collection as you have to provide proof of everything you do.
The data must also coincide with the IEP of the student. You might also need the help of general education teachers to collect data when you are not available. You have to back up your every claim and design the instructions accordingly.
4. Lack of Interest From the Parents:
For children, parents are the center of their world. What can be worse than the parents not supporting the welfare of their disabled child? Moreover, the concerns of parents with special children can be detrimental as well.
The reasons can be multiple. The lack of interest can be a result of a lack of optimism. In this case, you will have to instill positivity in the parents to have faith in their children. The broken dream of a perfect child can also be one of the reasons.
In contrast, being over-protective can also backfire. They might have concerns regarding the acceptance of their child in society. All these reasons can set up a barrier for you to work on the child’s progress.
Without proper understanding from the parent’s side, it would become difficult to work for the cause. You would require some serious efforts to get their involvement.
5. Communication With the Children:
Teaching is primarily all about communication. It is a two-way process that must be smooth for efficient education. When it comes to children with special needs, communicating can have hurdles. For example, some children might have defective hearing and speaking capabilities.
They may sometimes not be able to communicate with you effectively. Some children are slow learners and may have a problem understanding what you say.
You might have to put in extra effort to convey even a simple message. But don’t worry! The innocence of these children would prevent you from losing patience.
Conclusion:
Imparting education is noble, but walking with those left behind is even nobler. Being a special education teacher can have its challenges, but it also has many charms.
They can only be discovered once you jump right in with the motivation to teach and conquer. With all the problems and professional isolation you might face, the nobility of the task and innocence of these special children would motivate you to keep moving forward.
However, you must possess qualities such as patience and perseverance to step into this challenging career.