Why I Selected a Career Path as a Special Education Teacher

Why I Selected a Career Path as a Special Education Teacher

A career in special education offers challenges and rewards, and plenty of opportunities for those interested in the field. Special education teachers have a wide range of choices which determine the specifics of their tasks. They have the choice of working with children of any age, from infancy through high school graduation, for instance. They might choose to work with physically challenged children, or they might choose to focus on children who are mentally or developmentally challenged.
Special education teachers help children grow socially and emotionally as well as intellectually. They attend to the special needs of challenged children, and teach their students basic life skills suitable to their level of development and learning capability. Special education teachers require a special set of interpersonal skills. They must be patient, organized, motivating, positive, passionate, flexible, tolerant and compassionate. They must respect, even celebrate, differences among people. They must be assertive and resourceful enough to obtain the services their students need. They should be good at analyzing situations and solving problems, and they should have strong leadership qualities and a good sense of humor.
As a special education teacher, I believe that it is of the utmost importance for our society to value and provide for those less capable, especially disabled children. I also believe that as an educator, I should provide a positive example from which others can follow and learn. Therefore, I will provide a small scale societal model in my classroom. If others observe that disabled children are capable and desirous of learning, they will have less fear of including and incorporating them into society on an everyday basis. In return, productive and happier people will reward our society. Through providing accommodations, resources and the means for disabled people to participate, fewer handicaps will develop which hinder both the disabled and society in general.
Teaching is my passion, and I pursue it with a great deal of energy. I continuously look for ways to improve my teaching, through innovative materials and processes. I always ask my students for suggestions on how to improve the class, and every semester, I incorporate some of their suggestions. I want the students to view their learning experience in my class as something different, something that holds their interest and helps them to learn. I want them to look forward to the class, to come to class ready to learn.