Being a special education teacher,
many times I have to choose to advocate for my student in lieu of working with
my team. I voice this because; many
times the team of teachers I work with become not only my teammates, but
friends as well. Sometimes, the juncture
of teammate and advocate cross and I have to choose to do what’s best for my
students. Therefore, it causes rift or discord due to the fact of general
education teachers may not understand the advocacy part of my job as a special
educator and case manager. For example,
I have one particular student who is considered “a behavior problem”;
therefore, in order to curtail many of his adverse behaviors, I drafted a form
that would hold the student accountable and make the teachers informed across
the team of these behaviors. In doing
so, I thought this would be a good ideal in order to curtail adverse behaviors
and collect the data. However, I
received push back from my teammates because it caused them to collect data on
a daily basis. Therefore, I met with my
teammates and explained to them the importance of data collection when a
student is suspected of having emotional or behavioral problems. Because this particular student was a problem
in their classes, they understood the importance of collecting data and
submitting it to further the conversation during parent conferences and IEP
meetings. Therefore, sometimes all it
takes is meeting to explain why data collection is important and as the case
manager, it is part of my job to gather this data to address certain behaviors
to the parents during parent conferences or IEP meetings.
This happens all too often. You are doing a great thing for this student. In order for change to happen, we must collect data. Our word is not good enough. I am sure you made it quite easy for teachers to follow. This information is very helpful when you sit down and discuss the behaviors with the parents. Our profession fosters to helping kids, whether it is academic, socially, emotionally, or behaviorally. We need to do what is best for the child. I commend you Noco for doing what is right!
ReplyDeleteAs a special education teacher, I completely understand your frustration. We are in a place where we are constant advocates and others might not understand our purpose behind our actions. I tell teachers all the time that I understand they have a lot on their plate, but we need to figure out the best way to help this child and we can't make educated decisions until we have data to prove our answers. It is hard that we constantly have to explain ourselves, but I will say I have seen it get easier as the years go on. Teachers start to respect us and know we are trying to make things better for the students, and this will then encourage them to do what you are asking without having to justify yourself so much.
ReplyDelete