I teach a self contained fourth and fifth grade class with one student with P.D.D., two E.D. students, and 3 LD students. I have one aide but have to use her as a 1:1 for my P.D.D student quite a bit until I can advocate more services for him. I am the only self- contained classroom in my school (which is large- about 600 kids) and find it very hard to meet the multiple needs of all my students. My school does not have a full time social worker or psychologist so I am often the main service provider responsible for meeting the daily needs of my E.D. kids. The students who end up in my classroom, generally speaking, do not have parents who know how to advocate for their children, so I spend a good deal of time educating the parents as well. I teach in an affuent area where students and families are competitive. While my district is very supportive of its teachers, I wish more could be done for the kids in my class- who feel very different from their peers. I try very hard to integrate my students with other classes but find other teachers resistent to go the extra mile to meet the needs of special ed. students. I would like to work more with other teachers but feel very bogged down doing the jobs of several people instead of just my own- not to mention dealing with a horrible schedule. For nearly 5 months, I had no prep.
This is my second year teaching a special eduication class. Is my experience typical for a public elementary school? Do you have any advice to help my students integrate more with regular ed. kids (they are mainstreamed for specials, lunch, and recess.? I could use the help!
Thanks.
R-
Re: Self- Contained Models
Thanks for the advice- I like the idea of the students earning a chance to try out the regular class. I definitely have people in the building who are willing to work with me; I guess it just will take a while to get things rolling. Thanks! R-
Re: Self- Contained Models
I am guessing here … since I don’t know your students . . but it would seem that at the very least your students with learning disabilities could be mainstreamed in other subjects. Remember, you are going for the Least Restrictive Environment. I too, was once very much in your situation. I was teaching a self-contained Behavior Disorders class (middle school). I had eight students, two of which did not even eat lunch in the mainstream. After continually asking for my 30minute duty free lunch and duty free planning time and getting nowhere, I quit. I don’t mean to sound arrogant but I was a good teacher and it was their loss when I left. But, enough is enough. I now teach LD resource in the same school and the differences are amazing.
Wish I could tell you your situation was unusual and to try the district next door. There, you’d be likelty to have the same situation but 12 kids in your class :( (No, I don’t knwo where you are, it’s just a pretty fair chance.)
Is there anybody else in the building who shares your feelings? A small group of people actively planning ways to improve the integration and participation of your students, thinking in the long term, could really make a difference. Teachers are afraid to go an extra mile because they are afraid to get stretched any further than they already are — but if they seeit as part of a bigger picture maybe things can gradually shift and they’ll only have to go an extra 100 yards. You can also look at ways to make that extra mile easier to get across — again I think this owuld be easier with a couple of people thinking and planning. Things like setting up days for your students to “try out” the regular class if they’ve earned that, for a day — with support and contingencies planned for. (This was a huge hit for my seventh graders.)