Passion For Special Education Essay

Passion for Education

This semester I have been learning a lot about special education and the important role general education teachers play related to implementing IDEA. For my practicum one last semester I had Mrs. Bailey, the Spanish teacher at Van Buren High School, and I observed her get together with the special education teacher to discuss accommodations and modifications for her special education students. I decided to interview her because I observed her passion for education. Similarly, this semester I went back to interview my junior high English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher and observed how she helps the English Language Leaners (ELLs) students who are also receiving special education services. The majority of Mrs. Powell’s students are Spanish heritage speakers and she has only one Laos’s student. Mrs. Powell, the Darby Junior High ESL teacher, and Mrs. Bailey are two passionate educators who seem to care about

all their students.
The strategies Mrs. Bailey uses in accommodating students with IEPs and 504s in her High School Spanish class were similar to the one Mrs. Powell uses in her ESL classes. First they both take the time to look at the students’ IEPs and 504s, to ask questions to the special education teachers if they have any, to get to know their students well, and they take the time to meet parents. As I interviewed Mrs. Bailey she said one of the most important things to do when dealing with special education students is to respect their decisions and not force them to do something they don’t want to do because that’s only going to make them uncomfortable. In the same way, Mrs. Powell takes the time to know all her students since the beginning of the year to know their likes and dislikes and how they learn best, she takes in consideration the recommendations in the IEPs but she also includes her own intervention and sees how it benefits special education students. For example, in addition to the accommodations she makes for her ELLs students in regular classes like extra time reading a certain material, she also makes modifications for her special education students who are also ELLs like reading assignments at a lower level. Mrs. Powell admits sometimes it is hard to implement IEPs and 504s for her ELLs who on top that are under a special education program. Both Mrs. Powell and Mrs. Bailey agree that their students are very involved with technology; the teachers use the special education teacher as a resource so they can be advised on which apps are better to use. They try to use as much technology as possible and use several applications that can be used online and in any electronic device for students to be more engaged and be able to practice at their own free time and their own pace. They both are very concerned with the education of their students.
Last semester Mrs. Bailey had a few students with learning disabilities or IEPs in all of her 6 Spanish classes and this is because most of the time students who are receiving special educations services are not allowed to take any language classes unless they are doing extremely well in their other classes. Mrs. Bailey wishes that this would change a bit because those students need to be taken out of their daily routine. Learning a language is hard even for regular students who are not under an IEP or 504 so Mrs. Bailey collaborates in a daily basis with the special education teacher to help those students learn and maintain high expectations. Mrs. Bailey said she has to do a lot of differentiated instruction to be able to help those students achieve their academic goals. Sometimes she asks the special education teacher if she can come to the class and help out with activities.
On the other hand, Mrs. Powell likes to do hands on activities with her ELL and special education students to keep them active and engaged. She says the students with learning disabilities benefit from the activities because the other students can help around explaining in a way they understand better and because they are still very active in the junior high level. Mrs. Powell likes to do a lot of group work but she says she also has to do independent work to see the progress of the students when working alone if they need more challenging material or need more practice with what they are currently doing. Mrs. Powell says she had to do a course on accommodations and modifications for her ESL certification so she knows how to implement them. She also communicates with the special educations teachers, but not as much as Mrs. Bailey.
Mrs. Bailey has a similar response to how she differentiates instruction for these students; she says that she has her seating arrangement in pairs placing students who know a little more with students that have a learning disability or IEP so that they can help if she cannot help them all at the same time. She says it has help the students improve their grades and learn the language better. She also mentions that when she has projects she always makes the students work in pairs. Her style of teaching is using cooperative learning and she uses a lot of technology because she found out that the use of technology in her classroom made her students more engaged in the lesson.
Mrs. Bailey and Mrs. Powell did not specify what were the students’ IEPs or specific learning disabilities but they did mention some accommodations they had to do for some of those students. Mrs. Bailey mentions three of her students had preferential seating, and she had to have a different test for two of her students with IEPs. She also mentions that when explaining a concept or grammar point she has to have some form of chart or visual for four of her students. Additionally, Mrs. Bailey leaves the door open and seats one of her students closer to the door because the student is claustrophobic.
In contrast, Mrs.

Powell mentions she has to do different tests for almost all her students including those with IEPs and 504s. She has to do different tests because some of her ELLs are at different levels and in different grades. She has students from beginning levels to intermediate levels who range from seventh grade to nine grade so it wouldn’t be fair to give them all the same test. She has to create individual tests for almost all her students and seeks collaboration from the special education teachers to help with the ELLs who are also receiving special education services. Like Mrs. Bailey, Mrs. Powell also has students with preferential seating. Mrs. Powell has a paraprofessional to help her out with the ELLs and she said having an extra hand to help benefits both the students with learning disabilities and the teacher. However, Mrs. Bailey said she doesn’t have another teacher to help out in her class but she would love to have co-teaching because she can take turns with the other teacher observing and helping the

students.
In conclusion, Mrs. Bailey and Mrs. Powell are two different teachers because one teaches Spanish and the other teaches English as a Second Language but both have passion for education. They both have high expectations for their students with learning disabilities, they both collaborate with the special education teachers, and they both seek help from parents. These interviews gave me a clearer idea of what other teachers do and how they handle special education students.