Special Education and Inclusion Even

Special Education and Inclusion

Even at best, the teaching position is a challenge, particularly in public schools. Teachers are often required to work with unruly students and difficult parents. They are required to offer the majority of their time and dedication to the profession. Many come to the profession with high ideals and hopes of making a change for the better in people's lives, and many do so with continued enthusiasm and joy. However, challenges such as school policy, colleagues, and an unknown culture among the school staff, along with the above-mentioned elements relating to students and their parents, make it difficult to keep up the enthusiasm required to reach the initial goals. As such, teaching is often mentioned in the same category as nursing for the almost superhuman self-sacrifice often required by the job. It is therefore little wonder that many come to the profession with bright eyes and happy hearts only to leave five years or less later. This is particularly true of Special Education teachers.

Special Education teachers face all the above-mentioned challenges related to teaching, with the added difficulty that they are required to help students, each with a unique set of both personal, psychological, and learning challenges. The Special Education teacher is required to assess these and provide teaching to help these students achieve their highest potential. As the work of Special Education teachers are not related to a specific grade level, isolation often results.

This isolation occurs on a number of different levels. Most importantly, because the Special Education teacher tends to function apart from the other grade level teachers, social isolation occurs in the workplace. This also leads to emotional and psychological isolation, particularly for new teachers. Special Education teachers find difficulty relating to their peers within the school the difficulties that they face in their task, as their task is relatively unique as compared with the rest of the teaching work in the school. Indeed, Susan D. Whitaker (2001), cites this sense of isolation as one of the reasons why special education teachers tend to leave either the specific field for other education jobs, or leave the education profession altogether. This creates a problem in education, as there is already a disproportionate demand for Special Education teachers, while there are not enough to meet the demand of the increasing numbers of students needing their services.

Specifically, Whitaker also mentions the following factors in contributing to the isolation problem and the lack of teacher retention: 1) a lack of preparation for the realities of the profession; 2) a reluctance in teachers to look for help when they need it; 3) Unrealistic expectations from peers, superiors, students and parents. Whitaker suggests that all these difficulties can be addressed by the appropriate support. There is a wide network of potential support available to the Special Education teacher.

One of these is colleagues and friends. At the graduate level, lecturers and other professionals can provide support by preparing students for the realities of teaching. Teaching students should however also be encouraged to maintain their ideals, while also being aware of the difficulties they will face in their profession. Colleagues should be focused on making the new teacher feel a part of the school from the first day on the job. Administrators should also encourage the new teacher to seek help if he or she needs it.