Field Observation on Special Education

Field Observation on Special Education

Stephanie Vivas

CSN EDU 203

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Field Observation on Special Education

Everyday more than 55 million students are attending school of which more than 6

million students are receiving special education. That is a high percentage of students dependent

on their schools to give them that extra hand they need to have the same opportunity to succeed

as their fellow classmates. It is important to give every child the necessary tools to succeed in

their educational career, that means all of them including students with specific needs. One might

ask who would even be against every student receiving the same opportunity to succeed? The

answer in surprising and it is written down in our history for everyone to see. Before the 1800’s

children that were born with a disability were discarded by their parents. It was believed that

they would not succeed in life and that their differences were too much to bare. It wasn’t until

1817 that schools and organizations were being created to focus on the needs of students with

disabilities. What is more surprising is that it wasn’t until 1973 when The Rehabilitation Act was

enacted which prohibited discrimination against individuals with disabilities. What has happened

in the last 50 years shows what can be accomplished when people come together and fight for

the right of equality for all. It is because of these people in our history, that now educators can

teach and help students with disabilities and become a part of a team that’s focus is to put the

child’s needs before anything else. When stepping into a classroom regardless of whether it is

inclusive or not, many of the innovations for special education are seen being used successfully.

Although it is great to see some laws and innovations taken place inside the classroom, there is

still much room for growth.

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Field Observation on Special Education

There are more than 10 categories that fall into individuals with special needs. Of these

ten some are more common than others. I was able to observe that the most common form of

disability at Jim Bridger Middle School was learning disabilities. Individuals with learning

disabilities covers students that are not at the same pace as their fellow classmates, or the

standard that has been implemented by the board of education. Some of the areas that students

have trouble in are oral expression, listening comprehension, written, and the basics of reading

and math. In a regular environment you are unable to tell whether some of these students have a

learning disability. They are communicating with their classmates, laughing at their jokes, and

even sometimes being mischievous. It is not until you see them listening to the lecture that you

start seeing signs that they are struggling. What many students do is they simply give up. Some

of them stop listening to the teacher and start fidgeting with things around them, or they start

talking to their friends.

Many lectures are not done in person anymore but rather on a Chromebook or iPad

making it easier for a student to go off task. With classes overpouring with students, it is easy to

see how challenging being a teacher for CCSD can be. Especially in a school like Bridger

Middle School where most of the students are living near the poverty line. Their environment at

home makes it harder for students to learn because they have other things on their mind besides

school, like when their next meal might be. Add that with a class of over 30 students, there is

enough evidence to see why so many students are struggling. I have learned and witnessed that

the school alone is not enough to help these students succeed. It requires the teacher to have

proper classroom management, a good home environment, and adults that are putting the interest

of the child first, as well as the proper tools.

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Field Observation on Special Education

The proper tools are needed for many students to be successful. For students with special

education the term for these tools is known as assistive technology. When we think of technology

the first thing that comes to mind is electronics like computers and cell phones. What if I told

you that even a pencil grip is considered assistive technology? To some students a pencil grip is

crucial to being able to complete their work. For teachers and the IEP team to figure out which

tools are right for each student, Joy Zabala, a special educator, created a framework which makes

it easier to categorize the different tools students need. A pencil grip is considered a no-tech tool

that can help students that have trouble with motor skills. A calculator is considered a Mid-Tech

device and many students use these, even students without a learning disability. The devices

considered high tech are iPads, word prediction, and speech to text.

At Bridger most students use Chromebooks. I was able to observe the different ways

special education students used the technology given to them. Some students used word

prediction and speech to text. It made it easier for them to stay on the same pace as the other

students in the class. There was a math teacher that had great classroom management and was

able to use technology to the advantage of the class. She made the full class engage in the

activity and students with learning disabilities were not excluded. They were able to go up to the

interactive monitor in front of the class with confidence and get the questions right. It was great

to see how successful this teacher was at having every student focused and learning. The

cooperating teacher let me know that she was one of the most respected teachers by the students.

She continued to tell me that even though students thought she was tough on them they still

enjoyed her class because they were learning the material. It was a pleasure to have been able to

witness a teacher that found a way to put every child’s needs first. She is an example of a teacher

that has perfected her curriculum to fit each student’s learning style.

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Field Observation on Special Education

The question “How can we make sure that students with disabilities are given the right

tools and curriculum to succeed?” is what made IEPs possible. An IEP is an Individualized

education program. IEPs are created for every student that requires that “extra hand”. It is a legal

document that a whole team of educators, as well as the student’s parents, develop in the best

interest of the child. In this IEP, you will find the assistive technologies needed by the specific

student, where the student is academically in the different subjects, what assessment tests were

given to the student, as well as what accommodations the student will need in order to have the

best education possible. It is important for every teacher to be able to understand this document

as they need to make sure to look through it for every student, they have that has an IEP.

It is unfortunate that during my observation some teachers told me that they were not too

sure how to read or just didn’t really understand the IEPs. If a teacher doesn’t understand a

child’s IEP it will be impossible for her/him to accommodate the student properly for their class.

It is the responsibility of the teacher to understand every student’s needs. If they do not

understand they need to meet with the IEP team to get a better understanding of it. At Jim

Bridger the cooperating teachers are there to help the regular classroom teacher with the students

that have an IEP. Depending on the classroom management of the teacher, the cooperating

teacher can help teach a portion of the class. In some cases, the cooperating teacher stated the

regular classroom teacher does not like when the cooperating teacher helps at all. This as an

example of what happens when a student’s needs are not placed first. It is every educator’s

responsibility to work together for the best interest of each student, not of their own.

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Field Observation on Special Education

While there has been a lot of successful milestones in the world of special education,

there is still plenty of room to grow. We need to continue the fight for equality for all. It starts

with our children and the importance they are on our future. People need to realize that they did

not pick to be brought into this world. Parents need to do their best to help children succeed in

life, and where there is absence of family at home, others need to step in. Humans are a part of

an ecosystem that cooperates with other creatures and our own world to benefit everyone’s

needs.

We can’t expect a better world when we are not focusing on the people that will continue

to live in it. Children are the answer to a successful future where everyone is equal and has the

same opportunity to accomplish great things. Teachers like the math teacher at Bridger is a

perfect example of someone creating a big difference on her own. That is only one person

helping more than 200 students a day. She has placed children that are not her own above her

own interest because she understands that they need to be given the right resources to a

successful path. Each student will eventually decide which path to take, but when there is a

whole team of adults cheering you on as a child, the confidence they have knowing they can

succeed will only create a better person.

Better people for a better world and it all starts with children. Every child deserves to

become the best they can be, no one should have the right to create more obstacles for them. If

we can continue to make drastic changes for the good like we have in the past 50 years, I am

hopeful that we will have that better world soon.

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Field Observation on Special Education

References

Gargiulo, Richard M. (2017). Special Education in Contemporary Society 6th edition,

Fast Facts (2018) Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov