Special Ed

I never know what to expect when I see that as the class title on the internet sub system.  I could be a teacher that works with high funtioning special needs children in a classroom with fewer students than a regular classroom.  I could be teaching more academic support which gives students extra time and help for homework and tests.  I could be in the transition room which usually hosts the more severe special ed students and tries to teach basic reading, writing, and life skills.

The class I was in on frieday was more the academic support type class.  Three teachers worked in the room supporting about twelve students throughout the day.  The other two teachers would follow the other students to their classrooms while I provided the support for two to three students at a time for their other classes.  The day was also confusing because the school was on an assembly schedule and the teacher I was there for neglected to give me the revised schedule for the day.  Instead I had to guess when class was over based on when students from other classrooms were in the hall.

The first two periods flew by with students needing little help and having little to do.  The third period was a bit harder.  The student I worked with came to class obviously upset at his previous teacher.  He argued with me about what he should be doing and thought that everything was absolutely stupid.  I tried several different things to get him to work on his paper.  After arguing with him for fifteen minutes, the other teacher sent him to the office.  This is the first time one of my students was sent to the office (thought I didn't really do the sending). 

This assignment was an interesting experience.  In one sense, it was easy.  I was pretty much watching over one student at a time.  I had three class periods with essencially no students or students with nothing to work on.  In another sense, it was terrifying.  I had no idea what I was doing all day.  My "lesson plans" were almost non-existent and I couldn't even tell the students when their class was over.  I am happy this assignment is over and hope future special ed classes go much smoother.