Special Education

I think that prior entering the classroom, it would be very important for every new

(and not new) teacher, to take a workshop like the one shown in the video of The F.A.T.

City Workshop (1989). The more information we have, the more prepared we will be to

be able to deal positively with any situation in the classroom.

When we are new teachers, it is common for us to have knowledge about the

most common obstacles that our future students could present, however most of this

knowledge is focused on theory and never on practice. This practical knowledge happens

as we spend our years of service, and we are facing different situations. As it is said, we

learn as we go.

I can recall having the following workshops: first aid, reading intervention,

classroom management, instructional technology, diversity, equity, inclusion,

collaboration, multiple intelligences, active learning, music, etc. But most of them end only

in theory and a few or some examples, and never too deep into the special education

challenges that we could face while in the classroom.

As a disabled person myself, I have found that most of my peers are not trained

enough to deal with people with special needs or disabilities, simply because they have

never had the need to do it, and because they have not experienced it firsthand. I don’t

blame them for not knowing it, because it is not something that thy should know

organically, but something that should be taught and learned by practicing it.

A clear example is that in all my years as a teacher in Mexico, I never received

a single diagnosis from any of my students in my file. Honestly, at the time I also did not
realize that some (or several) had some kind of difficulty doing certain kinds of things,

however, previous teachers included in their file words like: restless, lazy, rude, among

others.

Maybe this has already changed a bit in terms of information, I'm sure the

infrastructure remains the same. However, at that time, it was up to us teachers to devise

ways to encourage, maintain, entertain, motivate, and even grade all students equally,

without having much idea of curriculum differentiation.

On the other hand, I also believe that the educational system in the United

States has done a very good role in providing so many tools that help both teachers and

students to have a database and initial information, which in my country, it is still in a very

early stage.

Having the files of each one of my students has helped me enormously to get

to know them, even before meeting them personally. Over the years that I have been in

this country teaching, I have learned to identify many things about my former students

that now make sense to me. I am a very involved teacher and I like to offer as much help

as possible. Sometimes that is not enough, either due to lack of time, or lack of interest

from the students themselves.

The only thing I feel I would like to have, is an intensive course in differentiation

instruction techniques so I can have more ideas to apply to students who need it, as it is

impossible to apply the same techniques for all the special education students, as they

all have different situations.

Another point that I would like to make is about the other students. Contrary to

what it might seem, in my experience, I have witnessed less tolerance against special
education students, from older students (high school and college) compared to younger

students (kindergarten through middle school).

There have been countless times that I have sanctioned and called out high

school and college students for bothering, showing off, imitating, etc. students with special

needs. From a simple name calling to hurtful and embarrassing attitudes. I have zero

tolerance with this kind of situations, and I make it very clear since day one.

Finally, I want to share an anecdote from when I taught in Mexico. One

semester, I had a college student with a moderate learning disability, he was a very

responsible, kind, empathetic, affectionate, thoughtful, enterprising boy (he had a small

business selling cupcakes). He really needed very little help in terms of redirection and

instruction differentiation, but his attitude was too effusive and often silly, so I just made

sure his peers treated him with respect.

One day when the batteries in my hearing aids were running low, I realized that I

had no spare, so I just told my groups that I needed them to speak louder than usual so

that I could understand what they were saying. Most of the day went on without much

difficulty, but when it was time for class with this student, I noticed that when I turned my

back to them to write something on the board, there was too much noise, and the peak

point was when I heard my student laugh and then two laughs imitating him. I turned with

the most enraged face I have (I know because I saw everyone turn pale), I asked who

had done such rudeness. Hesitantly, the two students involved admitted their guilt and I

asked them to leave my class, forbidding them to return, nor turn in any work for a week.

It probably wasn't the best way to handle it, but it worked for me to end the

semester in peace. Also, sometime later, by chance, in a shopping center, this student
was lined up behind my son to buy an ice cream and without knowing him he filled in the

missing money. So, I don't regret having acted with such overprotection that time.

Bibliography:

- Lavoie, R. (1989). How difficult can this be – The F.A.T. City Workshop.

[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3UNdbxk3xs&t=2388s

- FindLaw’s team. (2022). An Overview of Education Support and Services for

Students With Disabilities. FindLaw. https://www.findlaw.com/education/special-

education-and-disabilities/an-overview-of-special-ed-law.html

- Southwest West Central Service Cooperative. (2016). Introduction to Special

Education and Annual Required Teacher and Paraprofessional Training.

Education & Administrative Resources. https://ugc.padletcdn.com/uploads/padlet-

uploads/12894222/17921607b9aa285bc966bdad8c045c13/Intro_to_Special_Edu

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