When I tell people that I want to be a special education teacher, they always say, “Good for you!” or, “Really?” and also, “It takes some strong people to deal with kids like that.” Every time someone says those last two quotes, it makes me sad to think that people may be discriminating people that work or people that want to work with children with special needs. Some of those words make me feel like I won’t be able to do it, but then I remember my goals.

My main goal is to make the kids feel like they are important and that they matter in the world. I want my kids in my classroom to feel welcomed and excited to learn. Another one of my goals is to help the kids learn regular things in my classroom so they don’t feel like they are being discriminated against because of their leaning disability or any disability they might have. I feel as though just because a child has a disability, they shouldn’t have to learn easier things, they might just ave to go at a little bit slower pace. I want to make them feel like it doesn’t matter how different they are, they can still learn just like everyone else. My main goal is to make learning fun for them.

I’ve read a blog about games for making learning fun for special ed children, and it really helps me get the idea of how to help them grasp the idea of the game and grasp the idea of the lesson in a fun and exciting way. These games help the kids realize that learning can be fun instead of boring lessons. I feel like that is really important for teaching special ed because it helps the students learn the same things as other students at their own pace and using a game.

Along with my goals, I know that I will have many hardships as a special education teacher. I know some days the students are going to have bad days and some days the students aren’t going to like me at times. I know that I will go home feeling like an awful teacher and wanting to quit my job sometimes.

Above all else though, I know that at the end of a good day or a bad day, my students will all come back forgetting their bad day, and we will go along with our day.

I’ve gotten advice from a special ed teacher at my school, and she told me that after a long, hard day and your student give you a hug and tells you that you are the best, it’s all worth it.