What are the challenges of special education teachers?

Special needs children require special teaching or training processes. Only individuals with training from special education courses can attend those. However, the statistical data show that the job of Sen teachers is no bed of roses and many tend to leave within a few years.

But why is it so? There are quite a few challenges that special education teachers have to endure. Here we have the top 10 of them listed for you. Let’s have a glance, shall we?

1. Feeling unappreciated even with knowledge from special education courses

The course you have gone through often doesn’t matter even if it is exactly what has made you capable for this job. People tend to overlook or ignore how special education teachers have a tougher job than regular teachers. The learners in the class often refuse to learn what is being taught and thus the job takes double time.

A few words of appreciation, a single expression of love towards the teacher, a simple reminder of how amazing a job they are doing- that’ll surely go a long way!

2. Pile of paper works

Online teacher training courses do tell you what you are going to expect but it is not until you step into the world of reality that you can gauge what is there in store for you. Starting from IEP to progress reports- it is not too much when one says “pile of paper”. Be it a lesson plan or forms for medical bills- there is enough paper works to make a teacher tired and frustrated.

A little helping hand from colleagues can be a savior. But then again, they have to complete their paper works also. The best we can suggest is, do not procrastinate.

3. Lack of support from parents of children

In any teaching setup, a relationship between the teacher and the parent is important. But often the parents do not invest as much time and energy and even refuse to go through the teacher’s notes, and emails or sometimes do not even receive the calls. This way, communication between them hinders and the child’s teacher feels outcast.

Parents should know that teachers want to communicate not for some loose talks but the concern the child. So, when the teacher reaches out, parents should too.

4. Lack of support from the public in general

“Teaching? Oh come on, how hard can that be!”, “You a teacher? You have summer vacation! What could you want more?”- these are some common opinions that come almost every teacher’s way. But when it is SEN teachers, the lack of support is higher.

Doesn’t matter if you are a pass out of a renowned teacher training institute, all you are likely to receive are sneers and judgments. People should know that teaching special needs children are a lot tougher because every student has different learning needs and a different pace of learning.

We as common people should motivate the teachers more.

5. Working with paraprofessionals

Having a pair of extra hands to help you with work is always desirable. But that also means preparing their schedules, attending to their opinions (in case the paraprofessional has a different opinion than yours), taking care of the job aspect that they might find challenging, and so on. These training and supervising sessions drain a teacher off.

As a SEN teacher, you need to be in charge of the position and be strict if necessary. Make the colleagues understand that if something goes wrong, nobody would hold the paraprofessionals responsible. So, work accordingly.

6. Diverse student needs

With special needs children, the most challenging thing is their learning ability or readiness to adapt to whatever is being taught. With a class full of children with a wide range of varying learning needs, an SEN teacher needs to follow an individualized teaching process or develop a lesson plan so that they can attend to each of the learners.

This is where the learning-from-teacher training courses come in handy. Apply what you learned in your training days and you will come out with a positive result.

7. Collaboration with other teachers

The job of a SEN teacher is all the more challenging because they need to know what the general stream of education includes. This is because they need to develop a lesson plan so that these children are not left behind. For that, they need to communicate with general education teachers and plan curriculums accordingly.

8. Scheduling and rescheduling

As SEN teachers work in collaboration with others, the schedule planning takes a lot of time, edits, and changes throughout the week. The schedules not only include classes but recess, speech therapy classes, making time for physical and occupational therapists, and whatnot!

It will be considerate of the other teachers and the school administration if sudden changes are not made in the existing schedule like adding more students to the SEN teacher’s class or removing a few from it, asking the teacher to adjust the class with another teacher etc.

9. Collecting and analyzing data

No SEN teacher can claim anything without certain proof. If a certain child in a class is lagging and the teacher decides to bring it up to the administrators, they must collect proof, exhibit the lack of growth in terms of data, analyze them to interpret well and adjust the existing instructions. Otherwise, nothing will be validated.

10. Monitoring student growth

Monitoring and observing a student minutely is mandatory for teachers as that would ensure that the children are on the right path of growth and development. When special needs children are concerned, even the slightest changes or accomplishments are worth appreciation a million times. But mainstream people refuse to recognize these oftentimes and continue comparing them with other students of regular classes.

The growth of special children needs to be understood properly. Their growth is not noticeable in the most prominent way. Even a simple task like identifying a color correctly is a lot for them.

Despite the challenges no SEN teacher would deny that when these little ones achieve something, however little that might be, it is rewarding beyond words. With a few adjustments and strict changes in the daily routine, you can tackle these challenges well and singlehandedly. All the best!

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