What Are the Difficulties for Young Teachers Teaching Special Education?
By Justin West, eHow Contributor
The demands placed on today’s educators constantly challenge even the most experienced teachers. New teachers often find themselves overwhelmed by the onslaught of responsibilities placed in their laps from day one. They often struggle to manage the various demands from that point forward. Special education teachers, however, find themselves pulled in twice as many directions as they carry multiple responsibilities both in and out of the classroom.
Teaching Demands
Special education teachers take responsibility for teaching students with a wide range of learning disabilities or health impairments. The specific diagnosis and its severity vary with each individual student. Therefore, teaching students with disabilities requires a great amount of patience as well as extensive knowledge of which instructional practices best suit the learning capacity of each student.
Administrative Duties
Administrative duties such as grading, attendance and discipline records are standard responsibilities among all educators. In addition, the law requires special education teachers to collect, organize and maintain documentation for all students assigned to them to appropriately implement each student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
Collaboration with Colleagues
Special education teachers must routinely collaborate with colleagues and should strive to maintain a positive rapport while doing so. This aspect of the job may be an exceptional challenge for younger teachers inexperienced in communicating with peers in a professional environment. New teachers often find themselves bossed around or taken advantage of by the veteran coworkers, and general education teachers often view special education teachers as subservient.
Communication with Parents
Communicating with parents in a professional manner is an acquired skill typically enhanced only through experience. Extensive legal mandates designed to protect students with disabilities force special education teachers to be even more cautious when dealing with parents. Parents of a special education student are often the strongest advocates for their child’s educational experience. They have the right to press charges should a deviation from the law ever occur.
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