Special Education Major with Questions!

by SamanthaR

Jan 21, 2011

Hey there guys. I'm a sophomore special education major, and as I'm getting more into classes specific to my program, I'm getting more and more confused! I'm currently on track to get my standard special education certificate, which will allow to me to teach K-12 special ed. My teachers keep saying that when we graduate, we will be LBS1 (which I don't even know what that means).

I've tried getting answers my counselors and teachers, but they haven't given me much by way of helpful information.

So here's my question- After graduation, I would love to work at a separate school for students with moderate / severe disabilities helping to teach daily life and leisure skills. With a standard special education certificate and an LBS1 certification (?) will I be qualified to do this? Is there anything I should consider minoring/double-majoring in to make me more qualified?

Any help will be appreciated! Thank you so much!

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sped On 1/21/11, SamanthaR wrote: >I'm currently > on track to get my standard special education certificate,

Uh, since you're looking to have accurate information, one small point here: You will receive your INITIAL Type-10 special teaching certificate upon graduating. You will receive a STANDARD certificate when you complete 4-years of ...See More

Jan 23, 2011

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beverly We need you, sped, to teach courses at the university level. Your responses to the questions were amazingly informative.

Jan 26, 2011

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Hollywood On 1/23/11, sped wrote: > On 1/21/11, SamanthaR wrote:

>>I've tried getting answers my counselors and teachers, but >> they haven't given me much by way of helpful information. > > That's because people who work at ed schools are very, very > disconnected from those of us who work in K-12 education. Much > of wh...See MoreOn 1/23/11, sped wrote: > On 1/21/11, SamanthaR wrote:

>>I've tried getting answers my counselors and teachers, but >> they haven't given me much by way of helpful information. > > That's because people who work at ed schools are very, very > disconnected from those of us who work in K-12 education. Much > of what you learn will be..., uh, not useful. All the > philosophy and psychology they make you take is useless. Some > of the methods will help, especially in special ed, but much of > it will not because it is designed to work in an optimal > environment, and in the real world, there is no such thing. > Try to get as much classroom management education as you can as > well as learning how to write and maintain IEPs. Most of the > people we have not renewed (fired) have been let go because > they were lacking in those two areas and it sounded like they > had almost no education about them in ed school.

I totally second what sped is saying here. I'm in my third year as a sped teacher, after teaching English for a few years. My first teaching job was in an alternative school for LD/ED kids (not in IL) that was permitted to hire teachers with content-area certifications. Every class was co-taught by a sped teacher and a content teacher. Most of what I learned about special ed came from that experience; anything that was in my later coursework was either things I already knew or things that have not yet once come in handy, like sped said. Being able to write an IEP is a crucial skill that you will have to do almost immediately once on the job. The more severe the disability, the more complex the IEP is. The weird thing is, you can't just get a "how to write an awesome IEP" book...it's not easy to explain exactly what or how to do it. I guess the best way is to see very well-written, detailed IEPs that align closely with what is going on in the classroom, and that provide a strong narrative of the student with supporting information (test scores, teacher reports, personal observations, etc). You also have to be prepared to spend time reading a student's file, and learn how to interpret data and understand pertinent info in nursing, psych, social work, OT and PT, and other reports.

> Yep. However, be advised, that you want what most special ed > majors want. Of course, the job market sucks right now even in > special ed, but even when special ed was a "shortage field," > those jobs had their pick of applicants. Usually young women > who recently graduated who always pictured themselves working > with exactly the students you described when they thought they > would be a "special ed" teacher.

Not to mention the type who envisioned themselves working with happy, docile children who are ready and willing to learn and participate...as opposed to children who scream, bite, vandalize, withdraw, come to school in dirty clothes...this doesn't just apply to special ed, either!

>> Is there anything I should consider >> minoring/double-majoring in to make me more qualified? > > Well, on the severe disabilities, special school side, getting > some first-hand knowledge with feeding and toileting wouldn't > hurt. Those duties will likely be included in that kind of a job.

I would also say to get in as much time observing as possible, even more than your required time. I don't know how you would arrange this, but start asking. You need to talk to teachers who are doing what you want to do. Volunteering with organizations that work with kids with special needs might also give you good experience dealing with both great things and the inevitable crisises. If you have first-hand experience with what you want to do, great...but if you don't, you need to see the day-to-day realities before you get into your job hunt (or even student teaching).

Jan 28, 2011

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sped On 1/26/11, beverly wrote: > We need you, sped, to teach courses at the university level. > Your responses to the questions were amazingly informative.

Thanks. Of course, not to disparage those who teach education courses at the university level, but most who move on to university-level education do so for a reason. Think about it: y...See More

Jan 28, 2011

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sped On 1/28/11, Hollywood wrote: >Being able to write an IEP is a > crucial skill that you will have to do almost immediately once on > the job. The more severe the disability, the more complex the > IEP is. The weird thing is, you can't just get a "how to write > an awesome IEP" book...

... huh? Maybe we should write one. (seei...See More

Jan 28, 2011

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