Today, more than ever, all teachers face great challenges - school improvement opportunities coupled with No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; various role expectations from administrators, general and special education teachers, and parents; demanding case loads; increased amounts of paperwork; and lack of resources. Despite these challenges, educators continue to give of themselves to ensure that their students receive the best education possible.
My supports come from collaborating with my colleagues, networking with anyone that is closely associated in the education field (I find that veteran teachers can provide a wealth of knowledge along with constructive ideas), building a strong support team of coworkers (librarian, physical therapist, occupational therapist, administrators and teacher alike) who are strong-minded and flexible in their creative ways. I must say that I interact daily with my two collaborative teachers discussing the needs, strengths and challenges of the lesson. We seem to have a visual (all it takes is a look from one of us and we know that a child needs more attention on a detail) understanding if something needs to be altered, without speaking a word. We are like a perfect match in that we can finish each other sentences. Through regular communication with children’s therapist we cross teach based on the specific needs of a child. There are times when the Occupational Therapist will come and teach handwriting formation to the class, not just to her particular students. The students enjoy the lesson, without realizing they are actually being trained in handwriting development.
Another key support for me is to have a mentor. Someone whom you admire based on their merits and helps you to see your vision. One of the things that strike me as odd is that football players have coaches starting in middle school and lasting through their professional careers. A teacher has, if they are lucky, a first year mentor. The remaining years of their career they are on their own to become the best teachers they can be. How is this possible, without having someone to guide and advise you? Some of the best improvements I have made in my teaching have come from observations made by my mentor of simple things that are easily changed once pointed out. Teachers need coaches every bit as much as a football player.
Think for a moment about corporate America and how employees work in teams, merging their information for increase productivity, more closer to home is the overpowering internet and how people around the world share and exchange information. Some teachers are not familiar with what other teachers on the same hallway are teaching. They are isolated in their teaching and with a district mandate that demand the increase of student academic performance, as well as teaching drug education, violence, bullying, and ever ending counseling to students in general, it is necessary to learn from experienced colleagues through reverent teamwork. It is because of isolation that so many new teachers are quickly stressed and easily burnout.
The challenge I imagined and experienced was that of time management and making certain that all assignments given to me were not a problem in me completing either due to time constraints or lack of resources. As a special education teacher we are given varied task to perform throughout the year (IEP’s for students, monthly progress monitoring due to the district office, school wide professional development trainings in which assignments were given in addition to the duties that I took on as Secretary to PTO and Chair of our school’s social committee. Initially I was overwhelmed but coworkers stepped in and assisted in anyway they could. I was able to management my time effectively and if someone asked how they could help, I let them know. I delegated when I could and we all worked together to get the work completed in a timely manner without feeling excessively stressed. Without the help of my teammates, I would not have been able to complete as much as I did as well as probably failing at some of the tasks assigned.
National Association for the Education of Young Children, (1995). Responding to linguistic and cultural diversity: Recommendations for effective early childhood education. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSDIV98.PDF
Nemeth, K. (2009). Meeting the home language mandate. Young Children, 64(2), 36-42.
Duffy, M.L., & Forgan, J. (2005). Mentoring New Special Education Teachers: A Guide for Mentors and program Developers. Thousand Oaks, LA: Corwin Press
