Nereida Lopez

03/18/2017
Profile - Special Education

The Suffrage of Self Sacrifice

Growing up in the small island of Puerto Rico didnt limit Betsys dreams.

She didnt let her current situations in life and other adversities contribute to any kind of

termination of her dreams to become and educator. What limited her, however, was her father.

He felt that being a teacher

was a waste of time, he felt

she wouldnt be able to

survive on the small teacher

salary that was offered. Regardless of whatever Betsy chose to do, her father probably wouldnt

have supported or respected her decision.

Personal Life

Betsy was born in Aasco, Puerto Rico on May 1, 1960 to young parents Edwin and Ana

Maria. She was born exactly nine months after their wedding. A year later, her mother

miscarried but again became pregnant with her younger brother Edwin Jr. After him, her mother

miscarried once again, but miraculously conceived for the last time when Betsy was nine years

old. Her home life influenced her heavily, because she was not allowed to be acquainted with

certain groups of people, because of her fathers overbearing personality.

Betsys mother was always supportive of her and her

decisions, especially regarding her future. Conversely, Betsys dad

was not as inclined to supporting her because of his passion and

love for alcohol which inhibits reasoning and understanding

families that include and alcoholic parent have little parenting

skills, a partial or complete lack of effective communication, and

many times abuse (Family Alcoholism).

. This addiction overshadowed his responsibilities as a father, husband, and role model. It

darkened Betsys views on how a husband should be, how a father should treat their children,

and what commitment looks like. She said, Sometimes, when Dad would come home, I would

start to shake and tremble in my bed. He would always try to pick a fight with anyone he saw

first, so I always froze.

As Betsy grew, her relationship with her father crumbled, and she began to seek

acceptance elsewhere. She found a local church and began to congregate there on a regular

basis. She felt safe and accepted there and from then on out, she would become a member of

the church, and later choose to marry the young pastor of that church.

Betsy and her husband, Gilberto, moved to California in 1992. Throughout the previous

12 years of their marriage, they had fertility issues. Betsy had accepted the fact that she would

not become a mother. She had endometriosis, which prohibited her ability to conceive.

However, that same year, they received the great news that she was pregnant with a little girl.

While in California, she had a total of four children. She loved working with children, so

she had numerous child care jobs, but she always felt that something was missing. She wanted

to become a licensed teacher, but her resources were limited. A year and a half after her

youngest daughter was born, Gilberto and Betsy decided to move the family to Utah, for a better

life.

She continued to work for child care facilities in Utah, but one day she decided to make

a change. She went back to school, and got her degree in Early Childhood Education. From

here, she worked in a charter school for three years. Here, she taught in the Dual Immersion

program, teaching students the basics in Spanish-speaking. Many of these children were also

underprivileged, and there were many time where Betsy says she had to go to a students home

to see if they were doing okay, and if their parents were home.

About the Issue

 Being and educator, she has had many students that have special needs. She says that

these students are the ones that need the most individual attention, because of their different

learning style. She said, The students are so sweet.. Whenever they see a fellow classmate

struggling, they try and help them out. Especially with special needs, they dont feel like they are

different from them. But the older the kids get, the more they separate themselves from those

who have special needs. Betsy went on to disclose how the school helps these students out

individually.

Betsy explained, For these kids, they take them out of class for about 15 minutes, and

they work on the areas that the students are struggling in. Most of it is social skills or cognitive

issues. I asked Betsy if she felt that only 15 minutes out of a 7 hour school day was enough.

She thought about this and answered, I dont think so. If you follow these kids into higher

grades, many of them continue to fall behind their peers. Its really not fair. Of course there is

outside help too, but not a lot of people have the time, or are willing to put in that extra time for

their kids. She continued how it is important to be patient when you have these students in your

class, because they can get frustrated when they do not understand something, especially

learning another language.

Betsy feels strongly that there needs to be better resources not only for the special need

students, but also the parents. She told me, Many parents are not prepared to have children,

let alone a child with some sort of disability. There are many tools out there to help the parents,

but they dont always know where to seek help.

Jeff Jeffords said, We have a responsibility to ensure that every individual has the

opportunity to receive a high-quality education, from prekindergarten to elementary and

secondary, to special education, to technical and higher education and beyond (Brainy

Quotes). Children in Special Education fall behind their peers tremendously. They lack resources to

help them stay on track with the rest of their peers. A light needs to be shined to help these students,

and also those amazing people who dedicate their lives to helping them.
 Works Cited

Swanson, Christopher B. "Http://ljournal.ru/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/d-2016-154.pdf."

Special Education in America (2016): 5. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

"FamilyAlcoholism Statistics." Alcoholism Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

Betsy Lopez. Personal Interview. 2 Mar. 2017.