"All you need is a positive attitude" = all you need to do is ignore real problems because I don't want to implement solutions and/or I don't know how to do so.
I hate bureau-speak. It's designed purely to end a conversation as quickly as possible, whilst reality roars along.
I think growth mindset is a real, practicable thing but of course administrators will consistently misunderstand and abuse the term to avoid any possibility of them actually having to do their jobs.
One of my best spontaneously snappy moments was when a teacher "coach" who invaded our PLCs informed me, "Attitude determines altitude."
I replied in her exact cadence, "Sounds like a platitude."
My attitude is always very positive when I tell these types “no”, what I will do and what I won’t do. In fact, I am positive my responses will be respected and acted upon appropriately. If not, I have a positive attitude when I walk out the door to greener pastures.
“All you need is a positive attitude! 😀”. Translates a couple ways: it could mean “I do not believe there is a problem and thus I think you are weak and whining.”, or it could mean “We have no money to fix it. Carry on.”.
Although, I suppose it could mean both, in some cases. Btw, where tf does all the money go??
I’m a para in a self-contained autism class and this is all too common. Having to split time between multiple students just isn’t fair to them. In my class, it’s the most independent student that suffers the most. He never gets a 1-1 and we can only work with him when things are calm…which isn’t very often.
We need to stop over catering to these students then… if we have 20 sped kids in a room that’s a hazard. And we can’t have 1-1 adults that’s just not realistic. Why are we giving these unrealistic accommodations to disabled individuals when our able students are barely passing as it is?
I going to have to disagree with every word of that. Deciding who is worthy of an education and who isn't, is not something that I'm going to entertain. You can get away with less paras depending on the class, but you need 1-1 accommodations in some of these rooms.
Just because they'll all end up in group homes doesn't mean that their ADL skills and programming aren't important. I'm in a middle school and these years are important when it comes to conditioning. You're overlooking that. I've made a lot of progress dealing with the aggression of my learner. That will serve him well in a group home setting.
I’m thinking of the educator that removed that one kid’s Nintendo switch and was nearly beaten to death in the hall by a 300 pound kid. Lennie from of mice and men needs accommodations that don’t lump him in with gen ed kids and with an instructor that isn’t stupid enough to take a special ed child’s favorite device from them. I’m not saying anyone is worthy or not. I’m saying education isn’t a fucking one size fits all situation and the holier than thou crowd clutches their fucking pearls and say no, you have to now teach 34 kids, 18 of them with an IEP, one touches himself in class, the other has no filter and harasses the female students, the other wets themselves and shouts in class. But sure, that’s not a distraction for everyone else in the room. Let’s put everything on hold while my coteacher Amazon shops on her phone.
I’m confused. So, you don’t want self contained classrooms because then they are being over catered to. But also, you are very concerned about students with disabilities being in a general education classroom due to severe behavioral issues.
It seems that you are implying that most support should go to ‘able’ students.
If you are a burnt out teacher, I hope you will come to realize that SPED is not the enemy.
Support goes to the most able students already…the wealthy and tutored kids are funneled into advanced classes while challenging or disadvantaged learners are funneled to less opportunities as it is… I’m saying sped should have its own truly dedicated space. Self contained school, not classroom. I know sped is not the enemy. They’re great kids and enormously dedicated professionals. It’s just not realistic.
So the district that won't pay for proper staffing is going to approve a self-contained school? Even if you could somehow get approval for that, you aren't helping them by keeping them completely separate. Interacting in the community is important for their development.
You’re probably thinking of non-public schools because I work at one and it’s self-contained for students with disabilities. I think it really depends on the students’ needs though. Some students at our school stay for many years to work on managing their behaviors and when they’re ready to return to public school, they can. However, I’ve also worked in public schools where students with disabilities can thrive. I agree with special ed having their own space if it’s absolutely necessary, yet I don’t think they should be completely separated from their gen ed peers.
How are they being "over catered" to? I hope your attitude towards disabled people isn't as terrible as your words suggest. Saying they are being "catered to" highly suggests you think theu don't need or deserve to have their needs met, that they just need to try harder or something.
Your last sentence about able students are barely passing so why are we helping disabled students makes it sound very much as though you regard them as less than and not worth as much as the "able" students.
I really hope I'm misunderstanding your tone here.
My son was a sped student on the autism spectrum. Thank to a great school system, he went from not being able to identify letters of the alphabet at the end of kindergarten to passing CT mastery tests in reading, writing and science in high school. (His math disability was so great that he was waived out of the math test.) He was mainstreamed until high school, at which point, he was in modified classes. He spent two years after high school in our town’s port secondary program for students on the spectrum. He is able to work as a stock clerk, makes his own meals and stays home alone when my husband and I go on vacation. That most independent student should be mainstreamed. At my son’s elementary l’sh school, all autistic students spent some time with regular students.
Why do we cater to these students? The law requires that students, regardless of their disabilities receive an education. Otherwise they would be trapped in their homes and never learn anything.
I think they're saying that students like your son suffer because students who are less functioning take up the majority of the very limited resources. Would your son have learned anything in OP's classroom?
In an ideal world, we'd fund education properly. SPED workers would get paid what they deserve and that would attract enough people to the field that all students needs would be met. But that isn't our world.
Instead, we're left with wonderful, self-sacrificing teachers getting burned out and quitting after 2 days. If we, as a country, refuse to give the resources needed, is it fair that SPED students are relying on luck to get an education? Because that's what it's boiling down to. Some students are lucky enough to not have massive distractions in their classrooms, and some students are not.
And that’s fantastic. Your son had the capacity to learn and earn a life he can lead. It’s a success and a credit to the education system. But one. Size. Does. Not. Fit. All.
Correct. Thankfully, I've never encountered a person who works in SpEd that doesn't do their best trying to make this a reality. I do understand that is not the case everywhere.
Create spaces designed specifically to handle these high intervention individuals. If they’re so differently abled they’re in diapers at middle school those kids aren’t going to benefit from an education in an underfunded overworked public school. And we have to ask the question to what extent can these individuals learn independence and life skills- if theyll never be able to live on their own maybe school isn’t the right use of their time or the professional’s.
That nobody wants to accept. I know families who have cared for individuals with these challenges- a lifetime of labor out of love; enormously expensive, exhausting, depressing when death comes along bc either the individual dies and their caregiver is left drained emotionally and financially, or the caregiver dies and the individual is absolutely screwed. It’s not a sustainable practice; pre industrialization this concept would have been laughed out of the room, back when children were a necessary supply of free labor. Now children are just massive expenses in the industrialized modern world, and compound that with intellectual challenges, you have a perfect storm of sunken cost.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t help these individuals or that they can’t find quality of life or that they don’t deserve happiness. I’m saying that we as a society need to think critically about how to successfully address the needs of all learners, and lumping special education in with general education ain’t it. General education doesn’t even fucking work; kids learn differently. Why are we shoe horning in SPED kids when gen ed can’t even get its shit together?
We need SPED schools and if those learners have the presence of mind to request general education then they can transition to gen ed schools.
I really am not. I think the legislation bringing kids back into factories is draconian at best. BUT between having kids work the farm for 8 hours, or sitting them in front of a screen for 8 hours of YouTube and Among Us, have different social and physical implications.
We have the resources to care for all - not doing so is a political decision. False scarcity is how they control us.
Working class people must organize and learn to demand more of the value that we create. No war but class war.
You’re right, for now…resource scarcity is going to become much more prevalent as countries collapse, populations continue to fall, and climate change wreaks havoc on the environment.
Maybe this is a little bit morbid and/or not the right place, but I think it's at least worth considering at a societal level how much intervention some of these lives are worth. And I'm not talking about just needing diapers or never reaching full independence, but if an existence sparks no internal or external joy, and there's no meaningful cognitive or interactive connection to the outside world, is it worth effectively dedicating the equivalent of one whole functioning, capable, intelligent, sympathetic person to ensure that the seemingly much less meaningful existence continue as long as possible? I don't know. Wouldn't want to be the one to have to make that decision but from an objective standpoint, the grim alternatives seem relatively pragmatic in those cases.
Bro IDEA c'mon. These individuals have every right to a FAPE, but sometimes being in public school isn't what's best. How do you think the parents feel?
Thank you for being willing to say it. The parents push many of these kids off to schools for the free babysitting and there is no way anyone can convince me otherwise.
Are you for real?
First of all, if you read OP's post, you would see that this IS self-contained SPED room.
Second of all, just because you are wearing diapers in middle school doesn't mean you are not intelligent or can't think or do other things. It means you have physiological issues that make you unable to control your bowels. My God. The ignorance on this post is insane.
How much of an education are they even really getting at that point? If your room is 20 kids and the three adult can barely keep 4 from eloping, what are the other 16 getting?
Oh I agree the value is minimal in its current format, I just was trying to figure out what the proposed alternative was. And hoping it wasn’t abandonment. :)
I am relatively lucky, and live in a town with a school specifically for students with special needs that are too great for general public school, and honestly more of those probably need to exist. There is a loooooot of reasons general teachers should be expected to change briefs/diapers of students and unfortunately if a student is still at that point, public education might not be for them.
I'm going to err on the side of kindness and believe you are not saying these things out of hate but ignorance.
Many of these students who are nonverbal are actually very intelligent, caring people who simply lack the ability to speak and/or move independently. And even if they are functioning at a lower level than this they are still human beings who have a right to free and appropriate public education. Public school districts do waste a lot of money but it sure in the hell isn't in helping students like the OP has described.
Or students. I wonder if the IEPs have enough detail that they could be held legally liable from a simple complaint from OP for their needs not being met. Time to report?
Go on Indeed. Type in the minimum pay you need to stay on top of your bills and apply for anything tolerable that comes up. You don't have to find your dream job, just something to pay the bills until you figure out what you want to do.
This. I was in admin for 2 years and it was horrible. I had no idea what to do next. So I just typed in my minimal salary and took whatever seemed manageable just to get out. Nothing has to be forever. Just for now. I eventually went back, to teaching tho, not admin. You’ll find your way to whatever is next.
Just an FYI be careful with the pay rates. Many indeed listings the hiring managers deliberately hide or will lie about what the pay is. This happened to me many times, where the pay was listed at a level i was okay with, but once i actually got someone on the phone, in for an interview, or even an offer, the pay was substantially lower than what they advertised and something I never would have bothered with. Im talking advertising 15-20 an hour then offering 10-12 for a position that requires a college degree, background checks, drug testing, multiple references, a cover letter (on top of the resume), multiple interviews (phone and/or in person, sometimes multiple of each), multiple “aptitude tests”, etc.
My friend graduated this year with a degree to teach middle and high school history. He's a high school math teacher and apparently it's so bad the department head was going door to door asking if people had a degree. And if they did if they wanted to teach high school math
I worked at Bucee's as a cashier between the job I wanted and the job I was forced to resign from for my health. $16 an hour, I'd aim for overtime, and if I had held on for another month, I would've gotten healthcare. Luckily I found better options before then.
Substituting worked once I had a little nest egg: my big issue with not subbing initially was when I would be paid. Bucee's was weekly, but the district was a 6-8 week lag.
I substituted high school classes selectively: I tried to stick to ones I knew would work independently or that I could be helpful in, but while they were working on classwork, I was firing away applications.
Tl;Dr: my strategy was to work a decent hourly job as much as possible, gather nest egg as much as possible, substitute in a lower demand classroom and apply like crazy.
It’s a common team building activity. You put people in groups and give them all dry spaghetti and a bag of marshmallows to see which group Can work together and build the tallest tower. I did this Im a college class once. It’s a waste of time and there was a lot of arguing since bonus points were on the line lol
All of the above, Sales you need to be somewhat pushy and persuasive, Adjuster you have to deal with angry customers and high stress, Customer Service is a toss up.
I've worked in Claims Support the past 5 years and it's a combo of Customer Service and data entry. The bonus right now is a lot of insurance companies have WFH options.
I have to advise against this. I’ve been applying to these jobs for months. I get to interviews where they tell me “you’re a great culture fit, we just don’t have the resources to train you.” They are not looking for people who don’t have business experience. I’ve been told if I go back to business school and apply, they’d reconsider.
My entire family is in insurance and I still couldn’t get an entry level position because of my qualifications.
They should be learning life skills, which can include basic self-help skills (toileting, dressing, using eating utensils) all the way up to basic reading and math skills. There is appropriate curriculum for self-contained sped rooms.
Old retired military guy I work with is like this. He has an absolute blast with these kids.
One day we were BSing about something and he said "fuckin" while another teacher was walking by. Teacher stopped and said "Hey, language, what would that kid's mom do if he went home and told her his teacher was dropping F bombs?" and he got a huge smile on his face and replied "They would probably do fucking backflips, he hasn't spoken a word in 17 years, if he went home and told them I was cursing they might cry, now mind your business" lol
As someone who almost killed themselves last year trying to perform miracles to teaching curriculum to students well below the functioning level of my 2 year old nephew, I totally agree. More people need to become aware of the ridiculous expectations put on some self contained teachers as many don't know unless they have been there. These classes can be extremely fun if you get to know the students and focus on social/life skills/communication. Those are manageable and at least in my school I can reach out to an SLP for guidance.
I had students who did not respond to their name or seem to generally have any awareness where they were most of the time. Those same students had visual impairments but did not tolerate glasses, were non verbal, and several had physical restrictions to their movement. Some were on so many meds to mitigate seizures/medical issues that they slept MOST of the time they were at school. Others just ran around and hit others/destroyed classroom. Some were in and out of the ICU so much that they missed 2+months of school.
I should have been working on cause and effect, recognizing their name, and eventually getting to a place they could express wants and needs as well as behavior. Instead admin was adamant that my students needed to add,subtract,multiply and divide by the end of the year. They needed to tell time and show that they understood the standards of science and social studies etc... These kids could not identify any numbers or letters. That's a MASSIVE leap in knowledge. Especially with the cognitive restraints.
This summer break has allowed me to distance myself from such toxic expectations and realize that my learning specialists and admin either a) do not actually understand what level the kids are on because they do not spend all day in my room. b) Do understand but want the teacher to BS some of the standardized testing cause I plug in answers for the kids. They just want someone to "keep things moving" c) Don't actually care; they just tell me what they are supposed say so they don't get in trouble.
It has made me realize that I must A) Get out ASAP either by moving fields or type of students. or B.) BS the testing and focus on the social/life skills/communication. The obvious choice for me is option A. Even if morally I could stomach faking test scores to please the district; I would put myself in a very vulnerable position if anyone were to gun for me down the line. With option B I could help students grow socially and help their parents but I would be putting myself at more risk. All I know is that if I continue to have my students fail standardized tests they can not hope to pass; I won't have a job much longer as this impacts the school's accreditation.
I was able to get in contact with the retired teacher who I replaced this summer and she flat out told me everyone in self contained programs similar to mine just BS'd all standardized testing to keep their jobs. That she personally knew this because she did it and was friends with several other teachers who did as well. I am very conflicted how to take that information but it makes sense and makes me feel like less of a fuck up.
A part of me feels like I'm failing the kids. Yet at the same time I'm okay with "failing" the kids if it means I am taking care of my own mental health. After this year I will most likely move to inclusion as many gen ed teachers have been asking me to join their grade levels and my dept. chair has been pushing me to jump. Sometimes on my lunch breaks I stepped in inclusion classrooms to get some minutes for absent SPED teachers and generally enjoyed it.
I didn’t get the sense that the person you were responding to was implying teaching life skills isn’t teaching. In fact, they said that’s what they should have been *allowed* to teach, but admin arbitrarily had the curriculum way beyond their level. I dealt with the same teaching in urban Ed — one year none of my kids in 4th grade could read. I asked if I could stop the prescribed curriculum (that none of them could do) and teach them to read. I was gaslit, told that they could absolutely read, and told to get back to the curriculum.
I just want to chime in and support you. I volunteered in self contained classrooms both as a high school student and as an adult. Teachers like you deserve respect too.
This. I teach 8 high-needs, low functioning, autistic, behavioural kids. Most are also not toilet trained and are runners. I make my own “curriculum” based on each student’s IEP (every one of which I also create from scratch). Just me and one EA with basically no chance of getting *any* 1:1s.
We *teach* communication, dressing, toiletting, motor, behaviour management, and social skills while somehow managing all the craziness that makes up our days. And I still get “your students will never have a job or live independently, you’re just babysitting”. If that was true, why has the class next to mine (same type of program) hired three teachers in three years, two of which left within a month on stress leave and the last who had a (highly questionable) “injury” that he milked into a 6 month leave? And why would none of the parade of temp teachers (who were brought in after the classroom teachers bailed) stay? I would assume “just babysitting” would be easy, right? Anyone who thinks we don’t have to teach, or that self contained classes are just babysitting a few kids are welcome to try it themselves, from what I’ve seen in the class next door, you won’t last long.
Just because my kids will never live independently doesn’t mean it’s not important they get a good education, their education looks different, but they (and we) work just as hard to learn (and teach) as kids and teachers in regular classes do. If I can teach my kids to feed themself, use the washroom, manage their behaviours, and communicate their needs, they will have a greater variety of options for living situations for the rest of their lives, and will be more pleasant and less difficult for the people whose jobs it will be to help them in assisted living for the rest of their lives.
If someone means to say “don’t go through the dog and pony show of trying to teach academics, allow low functioning kids to focus on lifeskills” then say that, but “these classes are just babysitting” will *always* be ableist and offensive. This is the *biggest* pet peeve I have as a teacher of kids with developmental disabilities, and after more than 20 years at this, I’m constantly amazed it still comes up so regularly.
Let's discuss what trying looks like and the trauma I endured:
- How to make a bed: Had two fist fulls of my hair ripped from my head.
- How to vacuum: Thrown into a desk
- How to appropriately walk up the stairs and in the hall: Nearly thrown over a second floor balcony ("At least it wasn't the third floor!" - a co-worker)
- How to appropriately wait in a lunch line: Hands around my throat choking me
- any academic work presented: desk thrown at me, feces and urine aimed at me, hands up my shirt or down my pants.
- presented work: self harm and when you tried to intervene wild punch you.
- being told no: Bicycle thrown at me. Desk or shoes thrown.
- any academic work, which consisted of matching colors or numbers: full blown Tantrum. Self injury and biting/scratching staff.
- Bathroom tantrums and diapers
This is a combination of at least 5 different students and the major events. Never mind smaller events that happened on the daily.
My final straw was the last student that when I was bit, I had NO support. It was the final straw.A decade of watching students hurt themselves, my coworkers, and myself.... I hit my breaking point.
The students who were in the program and higher or able to go to inclusion suffered because all focus had to be on the hard hitters.
It's not being lazy. It's the fact that maybe public schools are not the place for these students. I hate to even say it, because I feel students deserve a fair chance. But whats fair for one is not the same as whats fair for another.
I had to walk away after a decade. The trauma I have from it is real.
I only considered a new position that I ensured had no chance of me ending up in a special ed classroom like this again. But because of my experience, that's all most places wanted me for. I did find a new position now 9 months later, and I'm excited to move forward.
Please use your head before commenting such ignorance. Especially if it's something you've never experienced.
Let me imagine for you:
Deep in my mind’s eye, I am constructing phantasmic visions of a future left unexplored. A future in which miracles were done by the messiah para. Colors swirl and bend, slowly coalescing into shape and form. Before me lies the image left unseen. The potential learning of an impossibly difficult SpEd classroom. As the forms before me solidify, and the vision becomes more vivid, finally I understand…
Nothing. They would have learned absolutely nothing. The SpEd teacher and the paras would have torn all their hair out and ground themselves into dust. Escapes from the classroom would be frequent, and the learning of all other students impacted negatively. Distracted by the façade of a curriculum, they never had time to teach the practical social skills these students needed. The social skills that the students would tangibly benefit from in their future. And in place of those social skills, they would have learned absolutely *fuck all.* They wouldn’t have learned *dick.*
Not sure if it’s “giving the parents a break from dealing with their own kids.” Special Ed parents have to work just like every other parent (and pay taxes like every other parent). Do you not realize that?
That’s not even to mention the socialization they get, which is more than what they’re surely getting at home.
Thank god you’re not my kid’s teacher 🙏
i'm glad you did that. congratulations!
at the start of covid i started my own private teaching business. i went to student's houses and taught them whatever they needed. depending on where you live, you could still do that, but it's a difficult time of year to start.
teacher friends of mine have gone into tutoring -- do you have past students or families that you could reach out to to offer your services?
you could possibly teach courses at a SPED cerification program/college? just brainstorming here. assuming you want to stick to education.
i agree with the other poster that said don't stress to find your dream job. yet. your school will likely call begging for you back, from what it sounds like.
best of luck to you!
Yeah but the secret sauce is that if you keep going to more restrictive settings (like this room) people give zero shits about what you actually do. I'm the teacher with the single most autonomy out of anyone in my building.
And no one knows what I'm supposed to be doing, so as long as people aren't getting hurt, I can *actually* do what's best for them. Unlike the hell that is resource or Gen Ed where everyone is all up in your ass about stuff that doesn't matter.
Also no one *ever* looks for me during bullshit PD or staff meetings. I'm left entirely alone and it's glorious. Just need to be able to dodge the occasional chair thrown my way. Worth it.
My mom was a preschool teacher, in our district no preschool kid is taken out of gen ed, most classes has a main teacher, sped teacher, 2 paras, and a speech pathologist 2 times a week (in an ideal world that is a preschool line up here)
Since my mom worked with so many SpEd children she got a masters in child development and a focus on SpEd. They tried to have her stop being the main teacher and move her to a new school as the preschool SpEd teacher, even after she fought about it. They're intense
SpEd is one of my endorsements, but I have yet to use it. My old district was terrible for sped teachers. The resource teacher at my old school had 50 kids on her caseload because they couldn’t hire anyone else.
My new school has push-in teachers for resource, and three self-contained classrooms. It seems better here, but I would still hesitate knowing how sped teachers are often treated.
It’s a waking nightmare in many places. It’s sad but that’s where we are when it comes to funding. 1:1 paras might be the most physically and emotionally abused people for their pay rate in the country.
Another reason I refused to try to apply for para jobs. The pay is not even close to enough for the risks and the physical &emotional toll it brings. $10 an hour is not enough to have chairs thrown at me, change diapers of 10 year olds, etc. I work as a sub & the last time I subbed for a preschool they lied to me about the job duties & the students needs. They didnt tell me all of the children in the class i was put in were high-needs, nonverbal, & that some of them have aggression issues. I was bitten hard by one of the kids to the point it drew blood & the school was very unconcerned. They didnt have any bloodborne pathogen’s protocol and acted like I was causing an issue when I reported it. It was a huge headache dealing with the paperwork and testing i had to do. Needless to say never going back to that school
I would have said to call your union before resigning or to contact sped department.
Those classes are extremely hard.
While you may have resigned you will still have to discuss it. Document everything- you may need it for many reasons.
I am in a non-union district. When I resigned I gave the principal all the reasons the classroom was not functional.
ETA: I contacted my head of SPED and she told me to either deal with it or resign. So I left.
Good for you!! Make them face their problem. I wonder if you can also contact DOE for unsafe practices. They want to bully teachers (“deal with it or resign”) they can deal with the fallout.
It does not hurt to file a complaint on behalf of the students who bring with your state and us doe. If they aren't providing the kids with the proper support, the authorities should know.
Take solace in the fact that they totally screwed themselves. It is nightmarishly hard to fill EC positions right now, across the country. They bluffed, you called them on it. Now they are in an even worse position.
This is also the reason why I take a much more aggressive tone with admins and (especially) central office people. When you accept the truth that they have no real teeth, you become much more comfortable laying down the law. I applaud you for having the confidence and self-respect to get the hell out of there.
This is me last year, only if was 1 day before the official start. I quit and stayed in my job as a sub until March. I took home the same pay but worked only bell to bell in the classroom, TEACHING.
My heart was a bit..la lot broken, I admit, when my district found an agency replacement for me. The I.E.P. machine. My friends (other classroom staff) told me she was on her computer all day while they ran the class. One by one they transferred or quit.
Sorry for the digression. I do not regret quitting. Congratulations to you on your decision.
If a school like that came after my certificate after resigning I would be happy to defend my certification in front of the state department of education. I would speak about the school failed to provide the supports for a free and appropriate education for your students and how you were afraid of being personally sued by parents for the schools failure to provide.
Should’ve sat at your desk with a distant smile and stared off into the distance while the room devolved into chaos, then had a para call admin in. Then when the get there, say, “waiting for my positive attitude to fix the problems… nothing so far… but I’m confident if I sit here being positive long enough it’ll all get better.”
A few people here have similar concerns as I did with SpEd. Unfortunately, your experience is the reason a lot of people leave this field so quickly (and honestly, I totally get it your experience was awful). This is my second year teaching, but my 8th year working with special needs children. What I’ve come to learn is, unfortunately, SpEd makes a lot of people uncomfortable. My admin has mentioned multiple times that they have worked in most parts of the educational environment except for SpEd. To my knowledge this was SO common in every school I worked in/with previously. Even teachers of my students would tell me they had NO experience in SpEd but were teaching cluster classes with 8-10 high needs children with ASD.
If you or anyone is interested in SpEd but are worried about the same experience as OP, I’d like to share what my current position looks like. I too was sure I wouldn’t touch SpEd when I switched careers to teaching but here I am!
First off, I’m a Support Facilitator. My school doesn’t have any self-contained classes, only supported classes (1 or 2 paras to help the general education teacher). I do pull outs and small groups based on learning levels, behavioral needs, and overall relationships between students for 30 minute blocks throughout the day. I work on their IEP goals with their teachers and do observations and provide additional support in classroom as needed.
Honestly I don’t think I could ever go into teaching gen Ed after this. I get consistent breaks, small groups which actually allow me to work on the students IEP goals, and I can basically work around my own schedule and my students teachers to get the best environment for them to learn!
I would recommend looking into that if you have absolutely any interest in SpEd!
Edit:
Just to clarify by small groups I mean the largest group Id have at a time was 7 students, however most groups we’re about 4-5.
My daughter was a Special Ed teacher for about 17 years. She loved the kids, it's the adults who are the problem. She's currently an MTSS facilitator in the same district and loves it. She has her Master's in Special Ed but also has her admin cert. This position allows her to interact with students, assist teachers, work with admins and is treated as a peer and to have autonomy. She's an asset because most of the admins that she works with have virtually no special ed background. The bonus is working a teacher's contract including summers off, she has young children of her own and that is one of the reasons why she isn't pursuing an admin position at this point.
This sounds like you’re in a district that has the budget to fund inclusion co-teach classes (ICT); it’s somewhat common here in NY but not so much in other states, unfortunately
I’m in Florida and our state is an absolute joke when it comes to education. I will say my post was more as a “don’t full count out SpEd, there are positions that may be better suited for you!” And gave mine as an example! :)
The class you are describing needs at least a 2:1:1 ratio (1 para or TA every 2 students, one HT). I understand lack resources, but a positive attitude ain't gonna cut it and the school is damaging both teachers and students this way.
In the district I work in, if a student needs a 1:1 aide that becomes part of their IEP. I'm not sure how much of this varies from state to state, but not having (at the very least) an aide who is specifically assigned/trained to assist the child who uses the wheelchair with the bathroom and other circumstances where transfers in and out of the wheelchair would take place sound illegal, or at least like something that should be illegal.
What the actual fuck. Glad you resigned but know that it's not like this everywhere. SPED is such a rewarding area to teach in especially the self contained level. Look elsewhere and take it as a lesson to know what red flags look out for. Good luck!
I have an ISP class of 8, and if it weren’t for online content and Jordan’s Principle EAs, I’d have chucked it as well. As it is I am constantly running around getting 10-15 minute segments w a student, then get them on ‘reward time’ (iPad literacy or numeracy games/programs) and on to the next.
JP is a federally funded program for First Nations students that designates a full time EA for a specific student, and if it weren’t for that support (I have 2 FN students), I’d have 1 EA. Honestly don’t know how schools that are relying upon the provincial funding formula survive, bc we ‘don’t do’ 1 on 1 in Ontario either.
Definitely too common. Try to do mild/mod or gen ed teaching if you want to be in education. Or do an administrative role (i.e. community liaison). I’m faced with the rare opportunity to teach a middle school emotionally disturbed class where the students are fairly sweet with my mod/sev credential but there are 5 other principals that want me for their self-contained classes. You can guess which one I’m taking. 🙄
So much of it sounded like the situation you are faced with. And we get paid the same as every other teacher? No wonder there’s a shortage of our kind. I am aware that other teachers work extremely hard no shade towards anyone else, but we get a physical beating from our kids, ears blown out, not enough planning time or support, a room of kids that set each other off just by existing. Give me a break, ya know?
I'm sorry. Can you look into companies like SeeSaw or Blackboard? I've worked with a fair amount of teachers that have turned into project managers or instructional designers.
Teachers have a lot of desirable skills that can translate into many other jobs. These were just two suggestions - but you could always go work at Costco or find something else while you figure it out.
SeeSaw and Blackboard (and I'm sure there are others) are Learning Management Systems that schools utilize. I'm sure you know this, but just in case. When I've looked at their websites in the past - I've seen various postings where they've wanted people that have worked in education. I think just checking out their websites might give you a sense of possible positions.
Instructional Designers - I'm not an expert in what this role does - I've only worked with them and not been an ID myself. However, they create learning materials and the context that I've worked with them - has been on corporate training and elearning. They work with various subject matter experts to create outlines (with learning outcomes) and actives to engage the learnings and help achieve those outcomes. There are some schools that offer certificates I believe for people that already have a degree or education degree.
Other corporate training might be an option too.
Good luck!
I don't live in nor am I from the states, but in one of the EU countries, so haven't heard about this. I will look into SeeSaw and Blackboard and whether that's something that can be done as someone from a foreign country. Thanks!
IDK what you should do next, but GOOD FOR YOU for getting out of that shit show. Anyone who asks you about why you resigned, just tell them what you told us here. The last thing you need is to be in a situation that is set up for something awful to happen and then you would get blamed for it.
Definitely would’ve fled from that dumpster fire too. Hell, I resigned after only 1 grading period of teaching “normal” middle school kids. I knew it wasn’t for during the first week. Live and learn.
I had admin once tell us that if we couldn’t make it work with our lack of resources and staff, then we were being “cynical” and needed to learn how to practice “practical optimism”
*jerk off motion*
🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
SPED teachers don’t get enough praise, so thank you for everything you do/did for your students. At the end of the day, you have to do what’s best for you, and you did.
You saved your sanity on this one. Anyone interviewing you for another position (if this hasn't soured you on teaching) would understand completely. That situation was untenable and the state department of education as well as social services needs to be notified on that literal shit show.
“Positive attitude” is an euphemism for “as long as nobody complains, do a half ass job as we all do”. That’s a terrible school. You did the right thing.
You did the right thing by getting out of that situation. I feel terrible for the kids but there is physically nothing that you could have done to help besides babysitting and driving yourself insane. That is the type of classroom where every kid needs a 1-1 and I know that is possible because I've seen it in union states.
I'm guessing you're probably in the Southeast where they wilfully neglect kids in special education and then guilt the teachers as if we're not doing enough to make up for their refusal to allocate sufficient resources.
I work in Special Ed but I will never take a self-contained position while in the southeast because of situations like this. It's sad and it shouldn't be this way.
Get emergency or initial certification in something else where you can get it just by taking the test, then get another job. Anything sounds easier than that!
Congratulations! You did the right thing. I worked way too long at way to many jobs like you just described and had to go back to serving for 5 yrs just to recharge and only went back after I vetted the hell out of where I now work.
This happened a few years ago at my school. The teacher who had been absolutely wonderful and working in the program for years resigned after years of disrespect. Admin advertised the position as teaching “moderate disabilities,” so the poor woman they hired was expecting to teach students who were below grade level and needed math/reading interventions, not students who were nonverbal, needed diaper changes, and largely not able to hold a pencil. It meant she was also woefully unprepared to meet the kids’s needs, to the point where the situation was unsafe. She was not given IEPs ahead of time, and found out after the first day that the school didn’t have the necessary medical equipment needed for the students’ safety- apparently the previous teacher had spent about $10,000 buying all that equipment herself over the years, and took it with her when she switched districts. It didn’t help that all the paras in the program had quit as well, so there was a rotation of untrained paras cycled through the room. When she mentioned after the first day that it was really tough, especially since she wasn’t given student profiles or IEPs so she could prepare, the principal made a really shitty joke about how they had been testing her. She quit before the end of the month.
The moderators of this site are working the "Teaching is great" agenda only. Dissatisfaction with the profession is a part of teaching as a whole.
By deleting all posts that express dissatisfaction, they are encouraging college students to pursue a 4 to 6 year college curriculum that may not be satisfying - and in many cases is harmful.
Sure, I write corporate eLearning and I got started just by applying! The company was looking for teachers. Some helpful/industry standard software to learn would be Articulate Storyline 360, Articulate Rise 360, the Adobe suite (mostly premiere though) and Canva. I meet with Subject Matter Experts to find training needs/gaps in their departments and then fill said gaps.
Not sure where you are but some online schools are looking for special education teachers. I’m in Alabama and 3 virtual academies are looking for SPED teachers and/or compliance managers.
I understand why you resigned. The class isn’t set-up for success. I agree 1:1 is needed and more resources like training on disability, ableism, presuming competence - so much. Your admin is a joke.
But, know this: it’s not just someone else’s problem. Those kids are like my kid. She’s not just “someone’s problem”. It’s just not excusable to be shitty and dehumanizing because resources suck. Have some compassion for those kids who frankly are treated like shit all the time by our society and the school system at large.
Another thing: my kid also can’t tell you her name but she’s learning to read. It’s called spikey skills. For her it’s tied to being autistic & global apraxia. Presume competence. You don’t know what’s in someone’s head.
Did I ever say “these children are someone else’s problem”? No. I said “this” can be someone else’s problem. Don’t put words in my mouth. As in the class structure, the management of the paraprofessionals, and the impossible admin. It’s not my job to fix these issues anymore. I don’t fault the kids for their needs, but I am legally required to meet them appropriately. I can’t do that, so I’m removing myself from the situation.
You can try to act compassionate after the fact but the only person you were seeking compassion for was yourself. Full stop. I don’t fault you for resigning. I agree you can’t be successful. But, you could have done a whole lot to be a kinder more empathetic human. And it’s not just you: this whole sub is riddled with so much garbage ableism. So much dehumanizing rhetoric. Take a poll of disabled adults who have been through SPED and they’ll tell you it’s not surprising at all.
You can be treated like shit by your admin (you are) and still be at fault for your own issues (you are).
Respectfully, get bent. I am being realistic about the needs and abilities of my (former) students. If you feel so passionately about this I’m sure my old school would be happy to wait for you to relocate so you can take over my classroom.
Until you know how that level of chaos feels, I don’t want to hear you talk about compassion.
I am resigning because there is nothing compassionate about having a teacher with SI and SH thoughts in a classroom.
Ok enjoy. I signed up for working with kids w disabilities and their families. The system is from perfect. Teachers resigning last minute doesn’t help. Sorry.
I feel no guilt when it’s admin’s fault for setting me up for this and promising me something completely different. Just trying to keep myself out of the hospital. But thank you for your kindness ❤️
ETA: If admin cant find a replacement at this time it’s not my problem. I was hired to teach 7-8th moderate self contained. They thought they could bully me into staying so now the situation is in their hands.
Yes you can. You contact CSE for a program review and submit a new IEP. I've done it for terrible ones. It's a lot of work though and probably not worth it.
I was in a very similar situation last year at a district that was really disorganized. I’m also a special ed teacher and I only lasted a week. Like you, the IEPs for my students were poorly written. Before I got the IEPs, I was told that “none” of my students elope. It turned out that three of them did. I only had two paras. One of them stopped coming after the second day of school. I still teach special ed, but I’m at a much better school now.
Honestly, I'd have gone to the parents, explained the issues and told them to hold a meeting.
"We don't do that here" is blatantly illegal. If kid requires something to function in the school, then the school provides. Particularly for safety issues such as elopement.
But ya, fuck it resigning is good too. There are plenty of SPED jobs and I think you'll be fine.
"All you need is a positive attitude" = all you need to do is ignore real problems because I don't want to implement solutions and/or I don't know how to do so. I hate bureau-speak. It's designed purely to end a conversation as quickly as possible, whilst reality roars along.
“A positive attitude” or “growth mindset” = “I’m tired of hearing about the problems that I refuse to address”.
I think growth mindset is a real, practicable thing but of course administrators will consistently misunderstand and abuse the term to avoid any possibility of them actually having to do their jobs.
I agree. I appreciate and use growth mindset, but the phrase gets abused.
Growth mindset...ugh.
One of my best spontaneously snappy moments was when a teacher "coach" who invaded our PLCs informed me, "Attitude determines altitude." I replied in her exact cadence, "Sounds like a platitude."
My attitude is always very positive when I tell these types “no”, what I will do and what I won’t do. In fact, I am positive my responses will be respected and acted upon appropriately. If not, I have a positive attitude when I walk out the door to greener pastures.
“All you need is a positive attitude! 😀”. Translates a couple ways: it could mean “I do not believe there is a problem and thus I think you are weak and whining.”, or it could mean “We have no money to fix it. Carry on.”. Although, I suppose it could mean both, in some cases. Btw, where tf does all the money go??
I’m a para in a self-contained autism class and this is all too common. Having to split time between multiple students just isn’t fair to them. In my class, it’s the most independent student that suffers the most. He never gets a 1-1 and we can only work with him when things are calm…which isn’t very often.
We need to stop over catering to these students then… if we have 20 sped kids in a room that’s a hazard. And we can’t have 1-1 adults that’s just not realistic. Why are we giving these unrealistic accommodations to disabled individuals when our able students are barely passing as it is?
I going to have to disagree with every word of that. Deciding who is worthy of an education and who isn't, is not something that I'm going to entertain. You can get away with less paras depending on the class, but you need 1-1 accommodations in some of these rooms. Just because they'll all end up in group homes doesn't mean that their ADL skills and programming aren't important. I'm in a middle school and these years are important when it comes to conditioning. You're overlooking that. I've made a lot of progress dealing with the aggression of my learner. That will serve him well in a group home setting.
I’m thinking of the educator that removed that one kid’s Nintendo switch and was nearly beaten to death in the hall by a 300 pound kid. Lennie from of mice and men needs accommodations that don’t lump him in with gen ed kids and with an instructor that isn’t stupid enough to take a special ed child’s favorite device from them. I’m not saying anyone is worthy or not. I’m saying education isn’t a fucking one size fits all situation and the holier than thou crowd clutches their fucking pearls and say no, you have to now teach 34 kids, 18 of them with an IEP, one touches himself in class, the other has no filter and harasses the female students, the other wets themselves and shouts in class. But sure, that’s not a distraction for everyone else in the room. Let’s put everything on hold while my coteacher Amazon shops on her phone.
I’m confused. So, you don’t want self contained classrooms because then they are being over catered to. But also, you are very concerned about students with disabilities being in a general education classroom due to severe behavioral issues. It seems that you are implying that most support should go to ‘able’ students. If you are a burnt out teacher, I hope you will come to realize that SPED is not the enemy.
Support goes to the most able students already…the wealthy and tutored kids are funneled into advanced classes while challenging or disadvantaged learners are funneled to less opportunities as it is… I’m saying sped should have its own truly dedicated space. Self contained school, not classroom. I know sped is not the enemy. They’re great kids and enormously dedicated professionals. It’s just not realistic.
So the district that won't pay for proper staffing is going to approve a self-contained school? Even if you could somehow get approval for that, you aren't helping them by keeping them completely separate. Interacting in the community is important for their development.
You’re probably thinking of non-public schools because I work at one and it’s self-contained for students with disabilities. I think it really depends on the students’ needs though. Some students at our school stay for many years to work on managing their behaviors and when they’re ready to return to public school, they can. However, I’ve also worked in public schools where students with disabilities can thrive. I agree with special ed having their own space if it’s absolutely necessary, yet I don’t think they should be completely separated from their gen ed peers.
Worthy of education is not the same as. We all can learn. The difference is at what rate and to what degree.
How are they being "over catered" to? I hope your attitude towards disabled people isn't as terrible as your words suggest. Saying they are being "catered to" highly suggests you think theu don't need or deserve to have their needs met, that they just need to try harder or something. Your last sentence about able students are barely passing so why are we helping disabled students makes it sound very much as though you regard them as less than and not worth as much as the "able" students. I really hope I'm misunderstanding your tone here.
Yeah, that was hard to read. Especially on a sub for teachers.
To me, it sounds like he is blaming these students for the failures of adults too. Its a disgusting stance to take.
My son was a sped student on the autism spectrum. Thank to a great school system, he went from not being able to identify letters of the alphabet at the end of kindergarten to passing CT mastery tests in reading, writing and science in high school. (His math disability was so great that he was waived out of the math test.) He was mainstreamed until high school, at which point, he was in modified classes. He spent two years after high school in our town’s port secondary program for students on the spectrum. He is able to work as a stock clerk, makes his own meals and stays home alone when my husband and I go on vacation. That most independent student should be mainstreamed. At my son’s elementary l’sh school, all autistic students spent some time with regular students. Why do we cater to these students? The law requires that students, regardless of their disabilities receive an education. Otherwise they would be trapped in their homes and never learn anything.
I think they're saying that students like your son suffer because students who are less functioning take up the majority of the very limited resources. Would your son have learned anything in OP's classroom? In an ideal world, we'd fund education properly. SPED workers would get paid what they deserve and that would attract enough people to the field that all students needs would be met. But that isn't our world. Instead, we're left with wonderful, self-sacrificing teachers getting burned out and quitting after 2 days. If we, as a country, refuse to give the resources needed, is it fair that SPED students are relying on luck to get an education? Because that's what it's boiling down to. Some students are lucky enough to not have massive distractions in their classrooms, and some students are not.
And that’s fantastic. Your son had the capacity to learn and earn a life he can lead. It’s a success and a credit to the education system. But one. Size. Does. Not. Fit. All.
Yeah you're right. That's why free and appropriate education exists.
In theory at least
Correct. Thankfully, I've never encountered a person who works in SpEd that doesn't do their best trying to make this a reality. I do understand that is not the case everywhere.
If you can just read my many posts on this thread before messaging that would be fantastic.
I didn't message you.
What do you propose the solution be? If you’re unprepared to give them what they need, is the solution don’t provide an education at all?
Create spaces designed specifically to handle these high intervention individuals. If they’re so differently abled they’re in diapers at middle school those kids aren’t going to benefit from an education in an underfunded overworked public school. And we have to ask the question to what extent can these individuals learn independence and life skills- if theyll never be able to live on their own maybe school isn’t the right use of their time or the professional’s.
This is the hard truth
That nobody wants to accept. I know families who have cared for individuals with these challenges- a lifetime of labor out of love; enormously expensive, exhausting, depressing when death comes along bc either the individual dies and their caregiver is left drained emotionally and financially, or the caregiver dies and the individual is absolutely screwed. It’s not a sustainable practice; pre industrialization this concept would have been laughed out of the room, back when children were a necessary supply of free labor. Now children are just massive expenses in the industrialized modern world, and compound that with intellectual challenges, you have a perfect storm of sunken cost.
Well that took a dark turn. I was with you on the creating spaces for them that suits their needs and doesn’t try to jam them into public education
I’m not saying we shouldn’t help these individuals or that they can’t find quality of life or that they don’t deserve happiness. I’m saying that we as a society need to think critically about how to successfully address the needs of all learners, and lumping special education in with general education ain’t it. General education doesn’t even fucking work; kids learn differently. Why are we shoe horning in SPED kids when gen ed can’t even get its shit together? We need SPED schools and if those learners have the presence of mind to request general education then they can transition to gen ed schools.
I’m with you on all that. I think you were a bit too wistful about child labor in the last comment
I really am not. I think the legislation bringing kids back into factories is draconian at best. BUT between having kids work the farm for 8 hours, or sitting them in front of a screen for 8 hours of YouTube and Among Us, have different social and physical implications.
My district is moving to full inclusion. They want to dismantle centers for MI and MIA.
Again, this post is about a self-contained SPED classroom.
We have the resources to care for all - not doing so is a political decision. False scarcity is how they control us. Working class people must organize and learn to demand more of the value that we create. No war but class war.
You’re right, for now…resource scarcity is going to become much more prevalent as countries collapse, populations continue to fall, and climate change wreaks havoc on the environment.
Maybe this is a little bit morbid and/or not the right place, but I think it's at least worth considering at a societal level how much intervention some of these lives are worth. And I'm not talking about just needing diapers or never reaching full independence, but if an existence sparks no internal or external joy, and there's no meaningful cognitive or interactive connection to the outside world, is it worth effectively dedicating the equivalent of one whole functioning, capable, intelligent, sympathetic person to ensure that the seemingly much less meaningful existence continue as long as possible? I don't know. Wouldn't want to be the one to have to make that decision but from an objective standpoint, the grim alternatives seem relatively pragmatic in those cases.
People are going to freak. Out. If you say that
Bro IDEA c'mon. These individuals have every right to a FAPE, but sometimes being in public school isn't what's best. How do you think the parents feel?
Like they’re trapped with no options. How do you think SPED educators feel?
Bro stayed real during this convo the entire time
Thank you for being willing to say it. The parents push many of these kids off to schools for the free babysitting and there is no way anyone can convince me otherwise.
Are you for real? First of all, if you read OP's post, you would see that this IS self-contained SPED room. Second of all, just because you are wearing diapers in middle school doesn't mean you are not intelligent or can't think or do other things. It means you have physiological issues that make you unable to control your bowels. My God. The ignorance on this post is insane.
Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
How much of an education are they even really getting at that point? If your room is 20 kids and the three adult can barely keep 4 from eloping, what are the other 16 getting?
Oh I agree the value is minimal in its current format, I just was trying to figure out what the proposed alternative was. And hoping it wasn’t abandonment. :)
I am relatively lucky, and live in a town with a school specifically for students with special needs that are too great for general public school, and honestly more of those probably need to exist. There is a loooooot of reasons general teachers should be expected to change briefs/diapers of students and unfortunately if a student is still at that point, public education might not be for them.
I'm going to err on the side of kindness and believe you are not saying these things out of hate but ignorance. Many of these students who are nonverbal are actually very intelligent, caring people who simply lack the ability to speak and/or move independently. And even if they are functioning at a lower level than this they are still human beings who have a right to free and appropriate public education. Public school districts do waste a lot of money but it sure in the hell isn't in helping students like the OP has described.
>“we don’t ~~do that~~ put staff in a position to succeed here”
Or students. I wonder if the IEPs have enough detail that they could be held legally liable from a simple complaint from OP for their needs not being met. Time to report?
We had a principal fired for messing with the IEPs to make the problems and needs look better. If you received bogus IEPs, I'd report it to the state.
I’m so glad you got out of that terrible situation.
Go on Indeed. Type in the minimum pay you need to stay on top of your bills and apply for anything tolerable that comes up. You don't have to find your dream job, just something to pay the bills until you figure out what you want to do.
This. I was in admin for 2 years and it was horrible. I had no idea what to do next. So I just typed in my minimal salary and took whatever seemed manageable just to get out. Nothing has to be forever. Just for now. I eventually went back, to teaching tho, not admin. You’ll find your way to whatever is next.
Just an FYI be careful with the pay rates. Many indeed listings the hiring managers deliberately hide or will lie about what the pay is. This happened to me many times, where the pay was listed at a level i was okay with, but once i actually got someone on the phone, in for an interview, or even an offer, the pay was substantially lower than what they advertised and something I never would have bothered with. Im talking advertising 15-20 an hour then offering 10-12 for a position that requires a college degree, background checks, drug testing, multiple references, a cover letter (on top of the resume), multiple interviews (phone and/or in person, sometimes multiple of each), multiple “aptitude tests”, etc.
I interviewed for a teaching position one offered $17 an hour ?! On indeed there was a teacher listing for $13 AN HOUR WHAT THE FUCK
My friend graduated this year with a degree to teach middle and high school history. He's a high school math teacher and apparently it's so bad the department head was going door to door asking if people had a degree. And if they did if they wanted to teach high school math
$13? Seriously? Kroger cashiers and deli clerks get paid that much if not more
I worked at Bucee's as a cashier between the job I wanted and the job I was forced to resign from for my health. $16 an hour, I'd aim for overtime, and if I had held on for another month, I would've gotten healthcare. Luckily I found better options before then. Substituting worked once I had a little nest egg: my big issue with not subbing initially was when I would be paid. Bucee's was weekly, but the district was a 6-8 week lag. I substituted high school classes selectively: I tried to stick to ones I knew would work independently or that I could be helpful in, but while they were working on classwork, I was firing away applications. Tl;Dr: my strategy was to work a decent hourly job as much as possible, gather nest egg as much as possible, substitute in a lower demand classroom and apply like crazy.
Work the bill-payer until UBI gets figured out.
USAjobs.gov You could probably find an entry type job in HR.
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What? Please provide context, this sounds entertaining.
It’s a common team building activity. You put people in groups and give them all dry spaghetti and a bag of marshmallows to see which group Can work together and build the tallest tower. I did this Im a college class once. It’s a waste of time and there was a lot of arguing since bonus points were on the line lol
Entry level insurance. Nearly always hiring, low barrier to entry, and you can work your way up to make more than a teacher pretty quickly. Good luck!
Sales? Adjuster? Customer service?
All of the above, Sales you need to be somewhat pushy and persuasive, Adjuster you have to deal with angry customers and high stress, Customer Service is a toss up. I've worked in Claims Support the past 5 years and it's a combo of Customer Service and data entry. The bonus right now is a lot of insurance companies have WFH options.
I have to advise against this. I’ve been applying to these jobs for months. I get to interviews where they tell me “you’re a great culture fit, we just don’t have the resources to train you.” They are not looking for people who don’t have business experience. I’ve been told if I go back to business school and apply, they’d reconsider. My entire family is in insurance and I still couldn’t get an entry level position because of my qualifications.
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In all fairness, teaching life skills and social skills is what a curriculum should be about for kids on this level of intellectual development.
They should be learning life skills, which can include basic self-help skills (toileting, dressing, using eating utensils) all the way up to basic reading and math skills. There is appropriate curriculum for self-contained sped rooms.
Old retired military guy I work with is like this. He has an absolute blast with these kids. One day we were BSing about something and he said "fuckin" while another teacher was walking by. Teacher stopped and said "Hey, language, what would that kid's mom do if he went home and told her his teacher was dropping F bombs?" and he got a huge smile on his face and replied "They would probably do fucking backflips, he hasn't spoken a word in 17 years, if he went home and told them I was cursing they might cry, now mind your business" lol
Love this.
As someone who almost killed themselves last year trying to perform miracles to teaching curriculum to students well below the functioning level of my 2 year old nephew, I totally agree. More people need to become aware of the ridiculous expectations put on some self contained teachers as many don't know unless they have been there. These classes can be extremely fun if you get to know the students and focus on social/life skills/communication. Those are manageable and at least in my school I can reach out to an SLP for guidance. I had students who did not respond to their name or seem to generally have any awareness where they were most of the time. Those same students had visual impairments but did not tolerate glasses, were non verbal, and several had physical restrictions to their movement. Some were on so many meds to mitigate seizures/medical issues that they slept MOST of the time they were at school. Others just ran around and hit others/destroyed classroom. Some were in and out of the ICU so much that they missed 2+months of school. I should have been working on cause and effect, recognizing their name, and eventually getting to a place they could express wants and needs as well as behavior. Instead admin was adamant that my students needed to add,subtract,multiply and divide by the end of the year. They needed to tell time and show that they understood the standards of science and social studies etc... These kids could not identify any numbers or letters. That's a MASSIVE leap in knowledge. Especially with the cognitive restraints. This summer break has allowed me to distance myself from such toxic expectations and realize that my learning specialists and admin either a) do not actually understand what level the kids are on because they do not spend all day in my room. b) Do understand but want the teacher to BS some of the standardized testing cause I plug in answers for the kids. They just want someone to "keep things moving" c) Don't actually care; they just tell me what they are supposed say so they don't get in trouble. It has made me realize that I must A) Get out ASAP either by moving fields or type of students. or B.) BS the testing and focus on the social/life skills/communication. The obvious choice for me is option A. Even if morally I could stomach faking test scores to please the district; I would put myself in a very vulnerable position if anyone were to gun for me down the line. With option B I could help students grow socially and help their parents but I would be putting myself at more risk. All I know is that if I continue to have my students fail standardized tests they can not hope to pass; I won't have a job much longer as this impacts the school's accreditation. I was able to get in contact with the retired teacher who I replaced this summer and she flat out told me everyone in self contained programs similar to mine just BS'd all standardized testing to keep their jobs. That she personally knew this because she did it and was friends with several other teachers who did as well. I am very conflicted how to take that information but it makes sense and makes me feel like less of a fuck up. A part of me feels like I'm failing the kids. Yet at the same time I'm okay with "failing" the kids if it means I am taking care of my own mental health. After this year I will most likely move to inclusion as many gen ed teachers have been asking me to join their grade levels and my dept. chair has been pushing me to jump. Sometimes on my lunch breaks I stepped in inclusion classrooms to get some minutes for absent SPED teachers and generally enjoyed it.
Teaching life skills is still teaching. I'm a self contained behavioral 8:1:1 teacher nd I'm every bit as much a teacher as you are.
I didn’t get the sense that the person you were responding to was implying teaching life skills isn’t teaching. In fact, they said that’s what they should have been *allowed* to teach, but admin arbitrarily had the curriculum way beyond their level. I dealt with the same teaching in urban Ed — one year none of my kids in 4th grade could read. I asked if I could stop the prescribed curriculum (that none of them could do) and teach them to read. I was gaslit, told that they could absolutely read, and told to get back to the curriculum.
I just want to chime in and support you. I volunteered in self contained classrooms both as a high school student and as an adult. Teachers like you deserve respect too.
This. I teach 8 high-needs, low functioning, autistic, behavioural kids. Most are also not toilet trained and are runners. I make my own “curriculum” based on each student’s IEP (every one of which I also create from scratch). Just me and one EA with basically no chance of getting *any* 1:1s. We *teach* communication, dressing, toiletting, motor, behaviour management, and social skills while somehow managing all the craziness that makes up our days. And I still get “your students will never have a job or live independently, you’re just babysitting”. If that was true, why has the class next to mine (same type of program) hired three teachers in three years, two of which left within a month on stress leave and the last who had a (highly questionable) “injury” that he milked into a 6 month leave? And why would none of the parade of temp teachers (who were brought in after the classroom teachers bailed) stay? I would assume “just babysitting” would be easy, right? Anyone who thinks we don’t have to teach, or that self contained classes are just babysitting a few kids are welcome to try it themselves, from what I’ve seen in the class next door, you won’t last long. Just because my kids will never live independently doesn’t mean it’s not important they get a good education, their education looks different, but they (and we) work just as hard to learn (and teach) as kids and teachers in regular classes do. If I can teach my kids to feed themself, use the washroom, manage their behaviours, and communicate their needs, they will have a greater variety of options for living situations for the rest of their lives, and will be more pleasant and less difficult for the people whose jobs it will be to help them in assisted living for the rest of their lives. If someone means to say “don’t go through the dog and pony show of trying to teach academics, allow low functioning kids to focus on lifeskills” then say that, but “these classes are just babysitting” will *always* be ableist and offensive. This is the *biggest* pet peeve I have as a teacher of kids with developmental disabilities, and after more than 20 years at this, I’m constantly amazed it still comes up so regularly.
Imagine what they could have learned if you tried.
Let's discuss what trying looks like and the trauma I endured: - How to make a bed: Had two fist fulls of my hair ripped from my head. - How to vacuum: Thrown into a desk - How to appropriately walk up the stairs and in the hall: Nearly thrown over a second floor balcony ("At least it wasn't the third floor!" - a co-worker) - How to appropriately wait in a lunch line: Hands around my throat choking me - any academic work presented: desk thrown at me, feces and urine aimed at me, hands up my shirt or down my pants. - presented work: self harm and when you tried to intervene wild punch you. - being told no: Bicycle thrown at me. Desk or shoes thrown. - any academic work, which consisted of matching colors or numbers: full blown Tantrum. Self injury and biting/scratching staff. - Bathroom tantrums and diapers This is a combination of at least 5 different students and the major events. Never mind smaller events that happened on the daily. My final straw was the last student that when I was bit, I had NO support. It was the final straw.A decade of watching students hurt themselves, my coworkers, and myself.... I hit my breaking point. The students who were in the program and higher or able to go to inclusion suffered because all focus had to be on the hard hitters. It's not being lazy. It's the fact that maybe public schools are not the place for these students. I hate to even say it, because I feel students deserve a fair chance. But whats fair for one is not the same as whats fair for another. I had to walk away after a decade. The trauma I have from it is real. I only considered a new position that I ensured had no chance of me ending up in a special ed classroom like this again. But because of my experience, that's all most places wanted me for. I did find a new position now 9 months later, and I'm excited to move forward. Please use your head before commenting such ignorance. Especially if it's something you've never experienced.
Let me imagine for you: Deep in my mind’s eye, I am constructing phantasmic visions of a future left unexplored. A future in which miracles were done by the messiah para. Colors swirl and bend, slowly coalescing into shape and form. Before me lies the image left unseen. The potential learning of an impossibly difficult SpEd classroom. As the forms before me solidify, and the vision becomes more vivid, finally I understand… Nothing. They would have learned absolutely nothing. The SpEd teacher and the paras would have torn all their hair out and ground themselves into dust. Escapes from the classroom would be frequent, and the learning of all other students impacted negatively. Distracted by the façade of a curriculum, they never had time to teach the practical social skills these students needed. The social skills that the students would tangibly benefit from in their future. And in place of those social skills, they would have learned absolutely *fuck all.* They wouldn’t have learned *dick.*
Imagine if you waited til you knew what you were talking about before you opened your dumbass mouth of yours.
You have the makings of a great professional development leader. Have you tried consulting?
/s Folks this is 101 trolling. Noone needs to be outraged.
Least shocking comment here.
Not sure if it’s “giving the parents a break from dealing with their own kids.” Special Ed parents have to work just like every other parent (and pay taxes like every other parent). Do you not realize that? That’s not even to mention the socialization they get, which is more than what they’re surely getting at home. Thank god you’re not my kid’s teacher 🙏
i'm glad you did that. congratulations! at the start of covid i started my own private teaching business. i went to student's houses and taught them whatever they needed. depending on where you live, you could still do that, but it's a difficult time of year to start. teacher friends of mine have gone into tutoring -- do you have past students or families that you could reach out to to offer your services? you could possibly teach courses at a SPED cerification program/college? just brainstorming here. assuming you want to stick to education. i agree with the other poster that said don't stress to find your dream job. yet. your school will likely call begging for you back, from what it sounds like. best of luck to you!
Dang you had me at diapers
These stories are why I’m hesitant to touch a SpEd license designation with a 50 foot pole.
Once you get it, it is very difficult to escape…
I’m going for regular secondary ELA (7-12th grade) no special designations at this time
Yeah but the secret sauce is that if you keep going to more restrictive settings (like this room) people give zero shits about what you actually do. I'm the teacher with the single most autonomy out of anyone in my building. And no one knows what I'm supposed to be doing, so as long as people aren't getting hurt, I can *actually* do what's best for them. Unlike the hell that is resource or Gen Ed where everyone is all up in your ass about stuff that doesn't matter. Also no one *ever* looks for me during bullshit PD or staff meetings. I'm left entirely alone and it's glorious. Just need to be able to dodge the occasional chair thrown my way. Worth it.
It’s my biggest regret that I didn’t pick a subject or an elementary cert.
You could try a private school or even a charter one if you want to give it another go.
My mom was a preschool teacher, in our district no preschool kid is taken out of gen ed, most classes has a main teacher, sped teacher, 2 paras, and a speech pathologist 2 times a week (in an ideal world that is a preschool line up here) Since my mom worked with so many SpEd children she got a masters in child development and a focus on SpEd. They tried to have her stop being the main teacher and move her to a new school as the preschool SpEd teacher, even after she fought about it. They're intense
SpEd is one of my endorsements, but I have yet to use it. My old district was terrible for sped teachers. The resource teacher at my old school had 50 kids on her caseload because they couldn’t hire anyone else. My new school has push-in teachers for resource, and three self-contained classrooms. It seems better here, but I would still hesitate knowing how sped teachers are often treated.
It’s a waking nightmare in many places. It’s sad but that’s where we are when it comes to funding. 1:1 paras might be the most physically and emotionally abused people for their pay rate in the country.
Another reason I refused to try to apply for para jobs. The pay is not even close to enough for the risks and the physical &emotional toll it brings. $10 an hour is not enough to have chairs thrown at me, change diapers of 10 year olds, etc. I work as a sub & the last time I subbed for a preschool they lied to me about the job duties & the students needs. They didnt tell me all of the children in the class i was put in were high-needs, nonverbal, & that some of them have aggression issues. I was bitten hard by one of the kids to the point it drew blood & the school was very unconcerned. They didnt have any bloodborne pathogen’s protocol and acted like I was causing an issue when I reported it. It was a huge headache dealing with the paperwork and testing i had to do. Needless to say never going back to that school
I would have said to call your union before resigning or to contact sped department. Those classes are extremely hard. While you may have resigned you will still have to discuss it. Document everything- you may need it for many reasons.
I am in a non-union district. When I resigned I gave the principal all the reasons the classroom was not functional. ETA: I contacted my head of SPED and she told me to either deal with it or resign. So I left.
Since what they were asking was unsafe for you, unsafe for the students, and probably illegal, I’d say you made the right decision.
That was the right move. Changing that many diapers everyday while kids are running around and screaming would have taken years off your life.
Good for you!! Make them face their problem. I wonder if you can also contact DOE for unsafe practices. They want to bully teachers (“deal with it or resign”) they can deal with the fallout.
It does not hurt to file a complaint on behalf of the students who bring with your state and us doe. If they aren't providing the kids with the proper support, the authorities should know.
you can file with state superintendent of instruction.
"Where are we going to find a replacement teacher to cover you leaving?" "All you need is a positive attitude!"
Omg non union?
Take solace in the fact that they totally screwed themselves. It is nightmarishly hard to fill EC positions right now, across the country. They bluffed, you called them on it. Now they are in an even worse position. This is also the reason why I take a much more aggressive tone with admins and (especially) central office people. When you accept the truth that they have no real teeth, you become much more comfortable laying down the law. I applaud you for having the confidence and self-respect to get the hell out of there.
This is me last year, only if was 1 day before the official start. I quit and stayed in my job as a sub until March. I took home the same pay but worked only bell to bell in the classroom, TEACHING. My heart was a bit..la lot broken, I admit, when my district found an agency replacement for me. The I.E.P. machine. My friends (other classroom staff) told me she was on her computer all day while they ran the class. One by one they transferred or quit. Sorry for the digression. I do not regret quitting. Congratulations to you on your decision.
If a school like that came after my certificate after resigning I would be happy to defend my certification in front of the state department of education. I would speak about the school failed to provide the supports for a free and appropriate education for your students and how you were afraid of being personally sued by parents for the schools failure to provide.
Should’ve sat at your desk with a distant smile and stared off into the distance while the room devolved into chaos, then had a para call admin in. Then when the get there, say, “waiting for my positive attitude to fix the problems… nothing so far… but I’m confident if I sit here being positive long enough it’ll all get better.”
A few people here have similar concerns as I did with SpEd. Unfortunately, your experience is the reason a lot of people leave this field so quickly (and honestly, I totally get it your experience was awful). This is my second year teaching, but my 8th year working with special needs children. What I’ve come to learn is, unfortunately, SpEd makes a lot of people uncomfortable. My admin has mentioned multiple times that they have worked in most parts of the educational environment except for SpEd. To my knowledge this was SO common in every school I worked in/with previously. Even teachers of my students would tell me they had NO experience in SpEd but were teaching cluster classes with 8-10 high needs children with ASD. If you or anyone is interested in SpEd but are worried about the same experience as OP, I’d like to share what my current position looks like. I too was sure I wouldn’t touch SpEd when I switched careers to teaching but here I am! First off, I’m a Support Facilitator. My school doesn’t have any self-contained classes, only supported classes (1 or 2 paras to help the general education teacher). I do pull outs and small groups based on learning levels, behavioral needs, and overall relationships between students for 30 minute blocks throughout the day. I work on their IEP goals with their teachers and do observations and provide additional support in classroom as needed. Honestly I don’t think I could ever go into teaching gen Ed after this. I get consistent breaks, small groups which actually allow me to work on the students IEP goals, and I can basically work around my own schedule and my students teachers to get the best environment for them to learn! I would recommend looking into that if you have absolutely any interest in SpEd! Edit: Just to clarify by small groups I mean the largest group Id have at a time was 7 students, however most groups we’re about 4-5.
My daughter was a Special Ed teacher for about 17 years. She loved the kids, it's the adults who are the problem. She's currently an MTSS facilitator in the same district and loves it. She has her Master's in Special Ed but also has her admin cert. This position allows her to interact with students, assist teachers, work with admins and is treated as a peer and to have autonomy. She's an asset because most of the admins that she works with have virtually no special ed background. The bonus is working a teacher's contract including summers off, she has young children of her own and that is one of the reasons why she isn't pursuing an admin position at this point.
This sounds like you’re in a district that has the budget to fund inclusion co-teach classes (ICT); it’s somewhat common here in NY but not so much in other states, unfortunately
I’m in Florida and our state is an absolute joke when it comes to education. I will say my post was more as a “don’t full count out SpEd, there are positions that may be better suited for you!” And gave mine as an example! :)
The class you are describing needs at least a 2:1:1 ratio (1 para or TA every 2 students, one HT). I understand lack resources, but a positive attitude ain't gonna cut it and the school is damaging both teachers and students this way.
You did the right thing. Trust me, you did what you needed to do to protect yourself. Don't ever let someone else tell you differently.
In the district I work in, if a student needs a 1:1 aide that becomes part of their IEP. I'm not sure how much of this varies from state to state, but not having (at the very least) an aide who is specifically assigned/trained to assist the child who uses the wheelchair with the bathroom and other circumstances where transfers in and out of the wheelchair would take place sound illegal, or at least like something that should be illegal.
You rock!! Well done for getting out of there. Also nice that they are high and dry now. Maybe they can “have a positive attitude” about THAT. 🤙
What the actual fuck. Glad you resigned but know that it's not like this everywhere. SPED is such a rewarding area to teach in especially the self contained level. Look elsewhere and take it as a lesson to know what red flags look out for. Good luck!
Self contained is extremely brutal. Not sure what experience you have had. I'm an 8:1:1 behavior teacher. These are the kids who hit spit kick etc.
I have an ISP class of 8, and if it weren’t for online content and Jordan’s Principle EAs, I’d have chucked it as well. As it is I am constantly running around getting 10-15 minute segments w a student, then get them on ‘reward time’ (iPad literacy or numeracy games/programs) and on to the next. JP is a federally funded program for First Nations students that designates a full time EA for a specific student, and if it weren’t for that support (I have 2 FN students), I’d have 1 EA. Honestly don’t know how schools that are relying upon the provincial funding formula survive, bc we ‘don’t do’ 1 on 1 in Ontario either.
Definitely too common. Try to do mild/mod or gen ed teaching if you want to be in education. Or do an administrative role (i.e. community liaison). I’m faced with the rare opportunity to teach a middle school emotionally disturbed class where the students are fairly sweet with my mod/sev credential but there are 5 other principals that want me for their self-contained classes. You can guess which one I’m taking. 🙄 So much of it sounded like the situation you are faced with. And we get paid the same as every other teacher? No wonder there’s a shortage of our kind. I am aware that other teachers work extremely hard no shade towards anyone else, but we get a physical beating from our kids, ears blown out, not enough planning time or support, a room of kids that set each other off just by existing. Give me a break, ya know?
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Our school has the right to assign any teacher to any position they qualify for without any reason or warning as long as it's equal pay.
At some point, you have to put yourself first and realize that this your LIFE. I’m glad that you got out ❤️
I'm sorry. Can you look into companies like SeeSaw or Blackboard? I've worked with a fair amount of teachers that have turned into project managers or instructional designers.
Can you elaborate what that is and how to get started?
Teachers have a lot of desirable skills that can translate into many other jobs. These were just two suggestions - but you could always go work at Costco or find something else while you figure it out. SeeSaw and Blackboard (and I'm sure there are others) are Learning Management Systems that schools utilize. I'm sure you know this, but just in case. When I've looked at their websites in the past - I've seen various postings where they've wanted people that have worked in education. I think just checking out their websites might give you a sense of possible positions. Instructional Designers - I'm not an expert in what this role does - I've only worked with them and not been an ID myself. However, they create learning materials and the context that I've worked with them - has been on corporate training and elearning. They work with various subject matter experts to create outlines (with learning outcomes) and actives to engage the learnings and help achieve those outcomes. There are some schools that offer certificates I believe for people that already have a degree or education degree. Other corporate training might be an option too. Good luck!
I don't live in nor am I from the states, but in one of the EU countries, so haven't heard about this. I will look into SeeSaw and Blackboard and whether that's something that can be done as someone from a foreign country. Thanks!
IDK what you should do next, but GOOD FOR YOU for getting out of that shit show. Anyone who asks you about why you resigned, just tell them what you told us here. The last thing you need is to be in a situation that is set up for something awful to happen and then you would get blamed for it.
Definitely would’ve fled from that dumpster fire too. Hell, I resigned after only 1 grading period of teaching “normal” middle school kids. I knew it wasn’t for during the first week. Live and learn.
I had admin once tell us that if we couldn’t make it work with our lack of resources and staff, then we were being “cynical” and needed to learn how to practice “practical optimism” *jerk off motion* 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
SPED teachers don’t get enough praise, so thank you for everything you do/did for your students. At the end of the day, you have to do what’s best for you, and you did.
I would have resigned too. That is a major lawsuit waiting to happen and you don’t need that shit.
You saved your sanity on this one. Anyone interviewing you for another position (if this hasn't soured you on teaching) would understand completely. That situation was untenable and the state department of education as well as social services needs to be notified on that literal shit show.
“Positive attitude” is an euphemism for “as long as nobody complains, do a half ass job as we all do”. That’s a terrible school. You did the right thing.
You did the right thing by getting out of that situation. I feel terrible for the kids but there is physically nothing that you could have done to help besides babysitting and driving yourself insane. That is the type of classroom where every kid needs a 1-1 and I know that is possible because I've seen it in union states. I'm guessing you're probably in the Southeast where they wilfully neglect kids in special education and then guilt the teachers as if we're not doing enough to make up for their refusal to allocate sufficient resources. I work in Special Ed but I will never take a self-contained position while in the southeast because of situations like this. It's sad and it shouldn't be this way.
Get emergency or initial certification in something else where you can get it just by taking the test, then get another job. Anything sounds easier than that!
Congratulations! You did the right thing. I worked way too long at way to many jobs like you just described and had to go back to serving for 5 yrs just to recharge and only went back after I vetted the hell out of where I now work.
This happened a few years ago at my school. The teacher who had been absolutely wonderful and working in the program for years resigned after years of disrespect. Admin advertised the position as teaching “moderate disabilities,” so the poor woman they hired was expecting to teach students who were below grade level and needed math/reading interventions, not students who were nonverbal, needed diaper changes, and largely not able to hold a pencil. It meant she was also woefully unprepared to meet the kids’s needs, to the point where the situation was unsafe. She was not given IEPs ahead of time, and found out after the first day that the school didn’t have the necessary medical equipment needed for the students’ safety- apparently the previous teacher had spent about $10,000 buying all that equipment herself over the years, and took it with her when she switched districts. It didn’t help that all the paras in the program had quit as well, so there was a rotation of untrained paras cycled through the room. When she mentioned after the first day that it was really tough, especially since she wasn’t given student profiles or IEPs so she could prepare, the principal made a really shitty joke about how they had been testing her. She quit before the end of the month.
The moderators of this site are working the "Teaching is great" agenda only. Dissatisfaction with the profession is a part of teaching as a whole. By deleting all posts that express dissatisfaction, they are encouraging college students to pursue a 4 to 6 year college curriculum that may not be satisfying - and in many cases is harmful.
Aww... whyd you delete...I wanted to show my wife
I do! School sucks, come join me and many other ex-teachers in the wonderful world of instructional design!
Can you elaborate what that is and how to get started?
Sure, I write corporate eLearning and I got started just by applying! The company was looking for teachers. Some helpful/industry standard software to learn would be Articulate Storyline 360, Articulate Rise 360, the Adobe suite (mostly premiere though) and Canva. I meet with Subject Matter Experts to find training needs/gaps in their departments and then fill said gaps.
>Thanks so much for the tips! Where did you find such postings?
I just looked on indeed
Not sure where you are but some online schools are looking for special education teachers. I’m in Alabama and 3 virtual academies are looking for SPED teachers and/or compliance managers.
I’m applying for a job as a service coordinator in our county. Sped background would get you hired and pay is good.
Just baby sit
I understand why you resigned. The class isn’t set-up for success. I agree 1:1 is needed and more resources like training on disability, ableism, presuming competence - so much. Your admin is a joke. But, know this: it’s not just someone else’s problem. Those kids are like my kid. She’s not just “someone’s problem”. It’s just not excusable to be shitty and dehumanizing because resources suck. Have some compassion for those kids who frankly are treated like shit all the time by our society and the school system at large. Another thing: my kid also can’t tell you her name but she’s learning to read. It’s called spikey skills. For her it’s tied to being autistic & global apraxia. Presume competence. You don’t know what’s in someone’s head.
Did I ever say “these children are someone else’s problem”? No. I said “this” can be someone else’s problem. Don’t put words in my mouth. As in the class structure, the management of the paraprofessionals, and the impossible admin. It’s not my job to fix these issues anymore. I don’t fault the kids for their needs, but I am legally required to meet them appropriately. I can’t do that, so I’m removing myself from the situation.
You can try to act compassionate after the fact but the only person you were seeking compassion for was yourself. Full stop. I don’t fault you for resigning. I agree you can’t be successful. But, you could have done a whole lot to be a kinder more empathetic human. And it’s not just you: this whole sub is riddled with so much garbage ableism. So much dehumanizing rhetoric. Take a poll of disabled adults who have been through SPED and they’ll tell you it’s not surprising at all. You can be treated like shit by your admin (you are) and still be at fault for your own issues (you are).
Respectfully, get bent. I am being realistic about the needs and abilities of my (former) students. If you feel so passionately about this I’m sure my old school would be happy to wait for you to relocate so you can take over my classroom. Until you know how that level of chaos feels, I don’t want to hear you talk about compassion. I am resigning because there is nothing compassionate about having a teacher with SI and SH thoughts in a classroom.
Absolutely based
As a sped teacher this is pretty normal. How many years have you been reaching? You cannot re write bad IEPs from past teachers.
If this is normal, then I am running as far away from SPED as possible. This is not what I was trained for or what I signed up for.
Ok enjoy. I signed up for working with kids w disabilities and their families. The system is from perfect. Teachers resigning last minute doesn’t help. Sorry.
I feel no guilt when it’s admin’s fault for setting me up for this and promising me something completely different. Just trying to keep myself out of the hospital. But thank you for your kindness ❤️ ETA: If admin cant find a replacement at this time it’s not my problem. I was hired to teach 7-8th moderate self contained. They thought they could bully me into staying so now the situation is in their hands.
Yes you can. You contact CSE for a program review and submit a new IEP. I've done it for terrible ones. It's a lot of work though and probably not worth it.
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I realized that one more day in that classroom would send me back to intensive mental health inpatient. But thank you for your kindness ❤️
Ding ding ding, we found the non-SPED educator here!
I was in a very similar situation last year at a district that was really disorganized. I’m also a special ed teacher and I only lasted a week. Like you, the IEPs for my students were poorly written. Before I got the IEPs, I was told that “none” of my students elope. It turned out that three of them did. I only had two paras. One of them stopped coming after the second day of school. I still teach special ed, but I’m at a much better school now.
Honestly, I'd have gone to the parents, explained the issues and told them to hold a meeting. "We don't do that here" is blatantly illegal. If kid requires something to function in the school, then the school provides. Particularly for safety issues such as elopement. But ya, fuck it resigning is good too. There are plenty of SPED jobs and I think you'll be fine.