SpEd Vibes
- Josie Carlton
- Mar 11
- 2 min read
Let's think for a moment what a victory looks like in special education.
Some students are working on goals like attending whole group instruction on the carpet, without eloping, for 10 minutes. Other students are learning to do work in order to get a preferred activity.
Special Education teachers are breaking down so many goals and steps to make sure students are succeeding.
Words that come to mind when picturing a teacher like this are:
Manager
Coach
Cheerleader
Investigator
Sometimes safety officer
Friend
The varying needs of children in a self-contained special education classroom causes the adults in the room to be switching their mindsets, constantly. Nearly 500 times in the span of a minute. Goals change as behaviors change the course of action.
A mess of bubbles on the floor in an attempt to get your attention while you safely redirect another student, is just one scene that comes to my mind. Suddenly math rotations turn into playing (or playful work) at the table to engage in anything safe rather than disruptive behavior until it all becomes routine.
Slowly, we get the flow of it and work is completed. Try it all over again the next day, reset the room and get your visuals.
I wish for all teachers to have planning time. And I mean nearly 10 hours a week just for planning lessons and prepping them. This does not include the paperwork that is paired with IEP data. That is a different beast that asks even more time from teachers.
I wish for all teachers to have quick and attentive support. Other adults that know your students and can jump in to help you, because this is a team game. Players like paraprofessionals, administrators, student support team members, and any or all other teachers in the building. Even if not to be actively intervening but simply to have another person who interacts in a positive way with your students.
Reflect on all the factors that go into a victory. It causes for celebration everytime a student walks with the class in the hall, uses multimodal communication to ask for a walk, or refers to their visual schedule to see what encore they have today. The victory is in the daily growth that moves like a tide, back and forth, always returning to be sure.
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