Special Education Reflections

Some final thoughts on special education as a part of today's school system - reflections captured after completing my first special education course at William and Mary.

Like many other educators before, I entered EPPL 640 with only a brief understanding of special education issues. The few concepts I could grasp came from being thrust into the position of special educator by necessity. Examples of this would be looking at my class homeroom list and seeing seven students with a one letter mark under the disability category, which meant they had been labeled with some sort of learning disability and that I would need to go to the main office and read the IEP. Another example would occur when the assistant principal would come in my classroom during a break and ask me to attend an IEP meeting for one of my students, as a core subject teacher.

In instances such as these, my learning curve only developed to the point of realizing two things. First, the special education community shared a lot of acronyms as part of its jargon. To me, it was like learning a foreign language, and being unwilling to do so, I chose to pick up any information that was necessary to know, and leave the rest for others. Second, I learned that the IEP document had to be followed, so it was important to read the file, and ask for its whereabouts when being unable to find the file for one of my chosen students. Particularly in my three years as an alternative school teacher, I learned that in many cases, the file lagged behind the student, or was not immediately updated in my school. This happened because many of our students were transient, arriving and departing in a fashion which was not orderly. Therefore, as a teacher, it was important to make sure that I was aware of a student’s status by our special education coordinator.

The special education experiences of many teachers mirror my own. We teach general education students, but must work within the parameters of the individual education plan (IEP) set forth for the special education students who are included in our classes. We do not necessarily choose our students, but are required to learn about their unique situations, and some of the rules regarding special education, in the process. It is my belief that all teacher induction programs should include a required course in special education law, because most of us are affected by them.

Reflecting, after a condensed ten session introduction to deeper issues within the special education community, one thing is apparently clear. Each student and situation has to be reviewed from a number of lenses. There is not always a “one size fits all” type of answer to solve each problem. During my master’s degree program at the University of Virginia, I recall a professor who addressed each case study by saying…”it depends.” At the time, it was humorous, because the initial implication was that the professor was unsure, However, after weighing every factor and nuance of a case, it becomes obvious that they are not all handled in the same manner, and it really does depend. To me, this made our case studies the most meaningful aspect of the course, and a focal point of my reflections.