Category: Education
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When Are Self-Contained Special Education Classrooms (Ever) Okay?
A few years ago, a colleague of mine asked me if I had an example of an “inclusion readiness” checklist to use when considering moving a student from a self-contained special education classroom into a lesser restrictive environment like a classroom with co-teaching services. For example, when a student shows evidence of being “ready” to go back…
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11 Books for Special Education Teachers to Fight Burnout
Of the nearly half a million special education teachers in the United States, about 13 percent will leave their jobs this year. Teaching special education is a tough gig, and not for the faint of heart. Don’t let anyone tell you that it is a piece of cake. Being a special education teacher challenging, which could be why few teachers are…
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The Truth About Self-Contained Special Education Classrooms
As a special education teacher, I taught in a self-contained special education classroom for thirteen years. Nearly every day, I wished I didn’t have to. It wasn’t because I hated my job; I loved it. It also wasn’t because I didn’t feel supported. For the most part, the three elementary schools that I had the pleasure…
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Is Pete Buttigieg’s education policy the one inclusion advocates have been waiting for?
Advocates of disability rights are savoring the significance. For the first time in an election cycle, nearly every major U.S. presidential candidate has put forth policy plans that focus on the largest minority group in the United States: people with disabilities. One in 4 adults has a disability. When Pete Buttigieg released his 19-page plan in the fall of 2019,…
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15 Ways to Support Autistic College Students
When I got an invitation to see my friend Jordan graduate with a BS in Computer Science from Kennesaw State University, I was ecstatic. Jordan and I first got to know each other because we shared a common interest: advocating for inclusive education. Jordan, who is autistic, was included with his typically developing peers throughout his K-12 school career.…
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5 Strategies for Special Education Teachers to Support Students with Challenging Behavior
A question that routinely comes up when I discuss challenging behavior with educators is whether the needs of one disruptive student outweigh the needs of the rest of the students in the classroom. Friends, this is simply the wrong question to be asking. And it’s not just a matter of people not asking in the right way.…
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4 Ways Educators Can Advocate for Inclusion
Even if all special educators believed in and advocated for full inclusive education, it would be doomed to fail. The reason is math: There are more general education teachers than special education teachers. Dr. Erin Studer, the principal of CHIME Institue in California, shared this analogy with me once. When the special education department leads the charge for inclusion, it’s like…
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Why General Education Teachers Are Essential for Special Education
The team of educators—of which I was one—and family members piled papers, pens, and highlighters into backpacks and purses. We had just completed an annual Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting, a yearly review of special education services and hallmark of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which guarantees a “free and appropriate public education,” otherwise known as FAPE.…
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5 Ways Teacher Training Fails Special Education Teachers
Phone. Wallet. Keys. The routine of checking these items to confirm their existence on my person hasn’t wavered in years. When I was in college, I was notorious for losing things. I even lost my car once. One night I went over to the main campus that was across the street from my apartment complex…
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The Best Mistake I Ever Made As a Teacher
When I was going to my teacher education program, one of the things we were encouraged to do was to set professional boundaries with our students’ families. While it is generally considered unprofessional to be “friends” on social media with parents now, one thing that has always remained a faux pas is to give away your…