Personal Statement : Special Education

The amount of people who live with disabilities is a controversial number. Depending on what law and diagnostic tools used, a person may have a visible disability, or one that may lie beneath the surface of his or her appearance. Some people believe that the term “disability” is merely a label use to hold back, or prescribe helplessness. Meanwhile, individuals who have been properly diagnosed with disabilities struggle to maintain respect and acceptance every day. In plain language, there is a lot of misunderstanding between people with disabilities and those without. It is firstly important to get everyone on the same page regarding the definition of disability.

2.3. Motivation is what causes us to act, it is either intrinsic (from within) which means to learn for your own fulfilment or extrinsic (from without) which means they may be an external factor motivating the learner. To help motivate learners you can set targets, be professional, create interesting and relevant tasks or activities, engage students and give them the opportunity to

“The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows.”, Buddha

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” – Henry B. Adams. For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to play a big part in children’s education, which is why I have decided to enroll for an education course. I believe that educators have a lifelong impact on their students and on the development of resilience. Thus, I aspire to inculcate my love for learning into the next generation, by influencing and inspiring children all through their formal education.

The time is now to become a Special Education Teacher. I believe the best fit for my academic and vocational goals is the UWM Exceptional Education Post-Baccalaureate Teacher Certification Program.

Engaging students in the classroom can be a difficult task. Understanding the process of how students learn can help a teacher adapt the lesson to meet the needs of all students. I will encounter students that are not intrinsically motivated so I will need to find different ways to motivate each and every student. Understanding how my students learn can provide me with insights as to how to help each student learn which will minimize classroom management problems.

My personal philosophy of special education drives not from teaching in the field, but from, observations, and personal experience, and the workshops I attended. I have had the opportunity to work with individuals with special needs in many different settings, all this help cultivate my knowledge in handling the needs of the special needed student. Special needs students have the ability to learn, to function, to grow, and most importantly to succeed. The difference comes into how they learn or how they need to be taught. There are as many beliefs about the "hows" as there are teachers and each of us forms our own philosophy through our experiences and research. As a student in a special education teachers’ program, learners with

One of the reason people chose a career in special education is job satisfaction. Special education teacher perceived their job to be rewarding. They get personal fulfillment and gratification in teaching special need students. “It truly must be passion to continue working in special education because we all know it is a tough job.”(Participate 2010,”Motivational factor towards pursuing a career in special education”)They have the opportunity to make a positive difference in the students’ lives. When the student who is struggling in school graduate it brings great satisfaction to the educator. The most important part of this field is to help a child develop to their highest potential.

Motivation can be defined as the desire or inspiration to carry out specific tasks or to do something. Motivation is required when goals are being set and more so in their execution. In a work setting, motivation can be defined as a process through which individuals choose between alternative forms of behavior with the aim of achieving personal objectives. The goals sought by individuals can be extrinsic or relatively tangible such as monetary rewards and promotion, or intrinsic or intangible such as self esteem or job satisfaction (Armstrong, 2006). In learning, the desire to attain good grades is what motivates a student to study hard everyday as they prepare for the exam. On the other hand, for a teacher to put his best foot forward, he

In 2004, my teacher sent me to obtain special educational support. As a fourth grader, I was extremely embarrassed when I had to spend more time than other students working on vocabulary, speech, and reading. For years, I would work one on one with public school teachers to improve my knowledge, thus becoming a stronger student. The help of these professionals paid off when I entered high school and was placed in all Honors classes. In 2010, I was finally equal to my peers when I suffered a severe concussion. Doctors at AI Dupont hospital unsure if all parts of my cognitive function would return. With the special assistance from doctors, occupational therapists, tutors, and educators, all cognitive function of my brain returned. Suffering from serious side effects of my concussion, I became a non-traditional student and attended private school, public school, and one year of

When I was asked to reflect on my experiences in EDSE 316 and the fieldwork, I had to think long and hard on how I would sum up four months of classes and fieldwork into four pages. I have learned so much about the various disabilities and how it has change the world of special education. I think a better term would be the “endless possibilities of education”. It wasn’t too long ago when children with disabilities would be stuck in a room in the back of school only to be seen in the beginning and end of the school day. They were the ones who rode the other buses and no one really talked about. This class has allowed me to speak of my own family and how special education impacted my life. I have a brother whose whole life was spent in the special education class, and my own sons with speech and learning disabilities who are now receiving special education services. It also allowed me to reflect on my own participation in the special education program in my early elementary years when I was struggling with my own speech disability. This class gave me the chance to see the timeline of special education, from its earliest beginnings to what it is now.

I first would like to start off by saying, how lucky am I, for the opportunity to attend Colorado Christian University. I think some things in your life you were truly meant to do, and this truly being one of mine. I love working with children, and to have the ability to teach and invest in future lives is phenomenal. I always thought I would go into nursing fulltime as this was definitely one of my passions. I can remember being three years old saying “I want to be a pediatrician and help sick kids, Momma.” My Mom would say in return you can be whatever you put your mind to. And so from my youngest memories, I wanted to take care of children. In the future my biggest accomplishment would to be a Mother some day. I still believe it will happen.

There are different things a teacher can do to trigger this type of motivation in students. “Some examples of

Renae Stirba, the teacher that I interviewed, is a twelfth year, kindergarten teacher at Westbrook Elementary School. She has a bachelor's of science in elementary education from the University of Nebraska with a minor in early childhood education. She also has her masters in curriculum and instruction with an endorsement in reading. She also has an additional 30 credits as well. She was initially certified in the state of Nebraska. The special education philosophy at Westbrook is that every child should be able to have an equal learning opportunity, which means that the building is a full inclusion building. Renae’s personal philosophy on special education is pretty similar to the building’s philosophy. She also said that every child should be included in the daily life of the school environment, yet they should be supported in a way that will make them reach maximum success in their lives. For this interview, I chose questions that I wanted to learn more about and how some of these situations looked in an actual classroom, or how they looked for a general education teacher.

A second way to intrinsically motivate students is to “understand the children” (Specific Classroom Management Methods). Originality and creativity should be encouraged in all students. Make a point to give students opportunities to express themselves in different ways. Each child is unique and self-expression is a great way to learn about each and every student. When starting the year, “Knowing what background your students bring to class and starting the course at an appropriate level can increase a students success and…positive feelings they have about your