When looking at the education system, I often look past the area of special education. Back in high school, I remember how the students with disabilities stayed together in a group and occasionally they could be seen around campus picking up trash. If I stopped to think about the situation, it would upset me, but just as quickly as I began to contemplate the special education program, I would be distracted by something else and move on. Until I was in English 309 at Long Beach State, I had never set foot in a special education classroom. By pure luck, I was fortunate enough to spend a semester with a middle school special education class as part of the SERVE program. The first day I spent with the class I remember thinking of the students as children who were not only slow, but also incapable of being independent. I was proven wrong, in the greatest way possible.
I saw the students as individuals. Mrs. Postiff made it clear that her room was “people first” oriented and my preconceived notions of her students instantly vanished. She talked to her students like anyone else, gave each student various responsibilities and played by a no excuse policy if work was not completed properly or on time. There was no babying or hand holding in class just because her students were not like the majority of middle school students. Over time I began to ask questions about special education and the individual disabilities of each student. Mrs. Postiff was very helpful and explained to me how her passion is in working with these wonderful students, yet it becomes difficult dealing with administration, parents who think they know more than the experts, and having IEPs (and other tests that I can’t remember) to complete, in addition to teaching the material required in middle school. She went on to talk about the importance of recognizing and understanding the differences of her students so if a situation occurred she could handle it, as well as having the knowledge to prevent a situation. Though I was only in the classroom for a few hours each week, I saw the work that went into running a special education class. Still, on the technical, paperwork level, there is very little that I know in regards to special education. For elementary school I am completely in the dark, I have no idea what RSP stands for, and I would not know the first thing to do if a student with any disability was placed in my class.
After spending time in the middle school class, I realized how bright students with disabilities actually are. I almost omitted the previous sentence, because it sounds horrible to think about how low my thoughts were for students with disabilities, but the sentence will stay as a reminder of ignorance and education. Students with disabilities should be integrated into mainstream classes when possible. Still, it is important to realize that some students require special attention, and to ignore this is only depriving those students their right to an education. I see nothing wrong with placing students who have special needs in the same class(es) for part of the day, but a unique class that pulls students away from their peers will only further isolate these students. It is one thing to be different, as we all are, but it is quite another issue to alienate students.
If I was teaching now and had students with special needs in my classroom, I am not sure how I would feel. This uncertainty is largely due to the fact that I have never taught a class by myself and regardless of students with disabilities or not, I would be indifferent. I am more nervous about having a student with a disability in my class versus a student without one. If I had the option, I would not mind initially having one or two students in my class with a disability, because my passion is in teaching, and every student deserves an education. However, I do not want to fail those students with individual needs because I do not have the proper training. Ideally, I would love to end up teaching in a middle school mathematics class, and I strongly believe in differentiated instruction. I hope to be able to integrate different learning styles and paces to enable the success and confidence my future students deserve. Hopefully at the end of this semester I will have gained more knowledge about special education and students with disabilities so that my fears will be at ease, as much as possible. For now, I remain in the middle with my feelings on special education, anxiously awaiting new information.
