Special Education Teacher: Who, What and How

Children who experience difficulty in learning and have to face emotional and physical disabilities are identified as special children. Naturally teaching them calls for immense compassion and having a patient mindset.Special Education Teacher

 What is a special education teacher?

Those who are vested with the responsibility of imparting knowledge to these special children are entitles as special education teacher. They give off unique and specific instructions for the children to follow.

For these the aspirants need to undergo teacher training courses that shape their understanding about the teaching process. These teachers can be referred to as the educators who are more understanding and patient than other teaching associates. Their compassionate behaviour and guidance enables the children climb their way to optimal success.

The disabilities in children that the teachers often come across are emotional, cognitive or physical. The children learn basic things and life skills so that they are not left out from the mainstream society.

In most cases the teachers involved with special education are faced with mild to moderate disabilities amongst the children. Only a small number of teachers come across disabilities at severe level.

It is such a teacher who can have the liberty to modify existing education curriculum. The modification is done with expertise so that it caters to the varying needs and learning demands of the children with special disabilities.

This way the individual needs of the children are also met. This can be made a part of your nursery teacher training or early childhood care and education also.

When you are a teacher for children with special abilities, you may be allotted classes in pre and primary teacher training classes, middle school or elementary school level. These teachers can work with children as little as toddlers and infants.

 What do these teachers have to do?

Special education teachers are responsible for the development of children with special needs and disabilities along the right path. These educators, while going through courses in teacher training institutes, are trained in special ways so that the special needs, learning disabilities etc can be identified properly by them.

This training makes them able to make the necessary modification in the curriculum so that the learning outcomes are oriented towards the special needs. These teachers are also entitled to assign activities which would match the students’ abilities, they can solve the problems given and taste success.  

The teachers of special education, like any other teachers, are involved in the academic development of each of the students. But what’s more is that they are also engaged in the behavioural and social development of children.

One major point of action for the teachers of special education is developing IEP. Preparing the structure and curriculum for Individualised Education Programme for each of the students individually is mandatory for them and it calls for immense expertise also.

This programme designing needs to be done keeping in mind the level of abilities of the children and the extent of difficulty they can cross. Thus the individual goals are central to this programme.

This programme includes modifying the syllabus, curriculum and activities to develop new goals for the special needs children. The programme also enables the children to reach those goals with a little effort from their side. This way, their abilities and needs are identified, set for further development and achieved also.

While working with children, these teachers need to work in close proximity with the parents of the children also as they spend most of their times with the parents. Along with that, the teachers of general education are also consulted.

None of these can be possible without the consent and inspiration from school administrators. Thus, the special needs educators have to consult and approve the IEP programmes with them too.

The teachers guide and instruct the parents how to induce learning process at home so that the progress can continue in similar way and successful process for the children. They send home important instructions for parents to keep them updated about their offspring’s growth and development.

If you are a teacher for the special needs children your job will also involve striking communication with other individuals involved in their education process as well as their upbringing and overall well-being. You can also work in coordination with those who underwent child psychology courses.

 How can one be such a teacher?

First you need to possess a special education degree from a certified institute. Grab your certificate at the end of the course and you are ready to apply to any schools offering vacant positions for the likes of you.

 How will your workplace be?

If you possess an international teaching diploma along with your special education certificate, you can opt for jobs anywhere across the globe. With more and more schools becoming inclusive, general educational activities are also meant for special needs children. So, job opportunities are high.

Your workplace can be a classroom exclusively for special needs children or you may find yourself working as special education resource teachers. As the latter, your job is to help a special child cope with general education policy.

 The job is not as easy as A-B-C as it can drain out your emotional and physical strength. But at the same time, nothing can be more rewarding than seeing the tiny tots with special needs become a part of the mainstream society as guided by you. These are some challenges, that you will be more than happy to overcome.

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