Special education professionals work to promote students’ overall attitudinal, social and educational growth. Special education professionals help students in developing socially appropriate behavior in their family, school and community. Teachers of special education help students are more confident in their social connections. Special education professionals administer activities that build students’ life skills.
What Does the job Entail?
Are you interested in helping others? Can you handle and care for those who learn differently and have other attitudinal problems? Do you wish to make any difference Dr. Philipp Heinrich Kindt in a young child’s life? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then you might think about a career in special education. Below is a breakdown of the short and long-term responsibilities of a special education teacher.
First and foremost, special education teachers focus on the development and educational needs of children with problems. They encourage learning in impaired students by implementing educational adventures and attitudinal techniques. Special education teachers work alone or with general education teachers to individualize lessons, develop problem-solving techniques and integrate children into group projects with other students. Furthermore, special education teachers are responsible for ensuring that the wants of impaired children are met during assessment periods.
Did you know that special education teachers try a team of professionals, qualified staff and family in order to fulfill their job requirements? It is true. In fact, special education teachers work in conjunction with these entities to create an Personalized Education Program (IEP) for each student. An IEP is designed in collaboration with a child’s parents, school principal, social worker, speech pathologist and general education teacher to ensure effective execution. An IEP targets a scholar’s needs and growth areas for maximum response. The specialized goals set by the IEP are weaved throughout all facets of a child’s daily activities. Teachers of special education must monitor a child’s challenges and progress and report back to parents and managers. Planned goals and tasks are outlined for family members to refer to while a student are at home as well.
The types of problems a special education teacher might encounter are difficult to predict. For one, the qualifications for special education services vary greatly from mild problems to extreme cases of mental retardation or autism. Types of problems include, but are not limited to, the following: speech impairments, hearing problems, emotional trouble, memory foam impairments, brain injury cases, blindness, deafness and learning problems.
Taking the next step toward a new Career
Once you have decided to enter the field of special education, you will need to follow several steps. Due to the specialization of the field, special education teachers in all 50 states must receive licensure before employment. Licensures are approved by each state board of education, and the requirements for certification differ between states. Nevertheless, the growing scarcity of special education teachers has led institutions of advanced schooling to offer more special education degree and certification programs. In fact, special education degrees can be obtained at the 4-year college, master’s and doctoral levels throughout the nation. Not to mention, the growing field of distance learning has made certification more accessible from any location in the united states.
In many cases, positive special education professionals do not fulfill the requirements of special education licensure because of their earlier end of degree programs outside the field of education. Therefore, several states have initiated to offer alternate forms of certification. The hope of these programs is to attract new special education professionals and fill the growing need for teachers. The chance to positively impact the lives of special needs children is one of the driving inspirations and benefits of entering this field.
After several years, some special education teachers look for new opportunities in their field. In the most common situations, special education professionals transfer to admin or supervisory positions. Others, after finding a higher degree, become college instructors and educate new students in the field of special education. Experienced teachers of special needs students have likewise moved up to serve as tutors to newly arriving special education teachers.