615 FINAL REFLECTION PAPER

615 Final Reflection Paper

Rachel Mixtacki
Alverno College

615 FINAL REFLECTION PAPER

615 Final Reflection Paper

Throughout this semester I have learned countless things about becoming a special
education teacher. I have found effective ways to fill out important documents for students,
create a sensitive relationship with parents and students and understand the cultural and ethical
differences that they bring to the table. It has been very informative following a case study and
filling out the paperwork for a student who could be considered for special education. Through
this class I was able gain considerable insight on how to be the best special education teacher I
can be.
Challenges in the Case Study
Overall we found that Lauren, who we are considering for Specific Learning Disability,
was not making enough progress in reading. In the case study we found they continued to
document reading and no other areas, but in the case study we saw that math reasoning was a
challenge for her as well. Since we had not received any information on the interventions that
she was receiving for math it was hard to assume that all of her problems lay in reading and none
in math. It was hard to assume information that we were not given and realize that this
information was also important and could lead to getting Lauren more assistance in school. To
me, Lauren would be more apt to a special education label if her struggles were great in more
than one areas. This would show that she really struggled and needed modifications to help her
succeed. My greatest challenge in following through with this case study was not knowing
Lauren personally to be able to make the decisions that would best support her.
Ethical Issues
There tend to be many ethical issues when identifying and labeling students with
disabilities. Many schools are over labeling students who are showing trends of behaviors or are
not able to accomplish work at their grade level. Regular education teachers can sometime see
labeling a child as an easy way out, a way to put blame on something or someone else. By
labeling a child some can assume that it is now out of their hands to handle the situation. When

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in fact, when you label a student there is now a team working together to get the student all the
help that they need.
Sometimes parents do not agree with the diagnosis or labeling of their child. This would
cause a disagreement and could potentially harm their child if they were not able to get the
assistance they needed to help them reach their full potential. Luckily in our case we had
Laurens parents who were well involved and aware of the situation and wanted to do everything
to help Lauren be successful. This will not be the case in every situation that I will be placed in
and I need to be aware that this could happen.
Labeling: The Advantages and Disadvantages
There are various benefits of labeling a student with a disability. First, students can get
the assistance that is just right for them to be successful. In many cases students get more one on
one time to focus on the things that they need help with. This focus can be honed in on in the
classroom as well with the regular education teacher. They are given more support and the
chance to be successful. People can become more tolerant of someone who has a label compared
to a negative behavior of someone without a label. Many teaching skills have been found to
make sure that students with disabilities have interventions and teachers can use appropriate
approaches to help the learning process.
A few disadvantages of labeling students with disabilities is that they now have a label
that will follow them and can give off a negative connotation. Many teachers or peers can look at
this child as being different and enable them to do anything for themselves. Students need to
learn how to be independent and they will never be if there are different expectations or belief
that they are capable of less. The label does not define the student, in fact each disability has so
many characteristics that no two people with the same disability act, learn, think, say or do the
same thing. Placing a label on someone could create a stereotype that could reflect negatively on
the individual.
I have seen a rise of interventions in school that are in place to help schools avoid
labeling without monitoring progress. The intervention process is correlated to grade level and
standards for the grade. Many students are coming up short on grade level and more
interventions are in place for them. Once they have exhausted the interventions schools go
through the process of labeling students as spec ed. There is quite the process to go through and I

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dont think that it is thought of lightly. If this process was not in place and schools were just
using test scores I would be apprehensive of all the labels that are created/caught at a young age.
I think there are many things that are associating more and more disabilities these days, parenting
skills, over stimulation and other factors may play a role in the increase. This being said there are
certain areas that are over diagnosed such as ADHD where I believe it can be controlled with
good parenting skills and less stimulation and patience being taught. I can see both the negatives
and positives to some labels however I see that some areas are being targeted more and more and
I personally feel like there are other ways to help students than giving them a label to work
through those obstacles.
Case Study to Professional Career
One thing that I will take from this class and this case study is the importance of
wording important documents and being able to present them without being negative or
insensitive to the student or parent. Another important thing that I will take with me is the
importance of working along side so many other people to ensure there is a team working
towards the same goal to help students any way that is possible. I have a feeling that not
everyone will have the same believes that I have, I was lucky to have a group member that
worked well with me and we were both able to see how Lauren could benefit from an IEP and
the help of special education. Not everyone that you work with, not all the parents you reach out
to will be on the same page as you and I think that will be a really hard thing to grasp when I am
out in the field working as a special educator. Knowing that there are different views other than
yours and being open to new ideas is a great way to approach these differences. Going back to
being culturally sensitive and open-minded will take you a long way.
Communication to Parents/Guardians
You need to stay connected with parents on so many different levels especially students
with disabilities. Keeping parents informed and having them inform you about what is going on
at home is going to help you understand the patterns in your students from day to day. When you
can understand on a deeper level and be able to communicate everyone can work together to see
the final results of improvement. For me, at this time, parent communication is the hardest part

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of teaching. It is hard to reach out to parents and tell them something that has come up with their
child. However hard it is, it needs to start early and it needs to be often. Especially when your
goal is to diagnose and evaluate a student for special education. This is one thing I have learned
with working with children. If you come to a parent out of the blue and tell them something that
has been continuing to happen it may come as a surprise to the parent. By being upfront with the
parents and offering help and suggestions you are going to be able to work together to help the
child. I see myself improving in parent communication to advocate for my student, their parents
and my self.
Cultural Sensitivity
Reflecting on our culture grid after each semester is important to see how the views of
different cultures and other people are different than your views. Thinking about your views
growing up and your values now is an important start to understanding how you think. Then
taking it one more step and looking at how schools operate and how families and cultures may be
different really hone in on how there are many differences in the world. When teaching one must
think about these many views and values that may be important to others. Being true to your own
believes and being sensitive to the views of others who you are working with will create a more
professional relationship with your coworkers and students. One needs to be open minded of the
believes of others and try to avoid a conflict. I dont think that there is one element of culture that
as a Special Education teacher you need to be most aware of. Being culturally sensitive in all
areas will make you a thoughtful open-minded teacher.
Conclusion
There are so many aspects that go together to be a successful special education teacher. I
am learning a lot about where my heart is and how I want to help children. Having an under grad
in Elementary Education I feel I have a better understanding of the teaching and learning aspect
to Spec Ed and I need to get the layer of communication and paperwork down to really be
successful. I know how much time goes into a job like this and how much positive thinking and
patience is needed to be an effective teacher.

615 FINAL REFLECTION PAPER