Griffen,+Ashton,+Special+Education


 *  ﻿ **I chose the topic of special education because of the few experiences that I have had working with special education students. In high school I had Victoria (a special education student) in both my ceramics class and my physical education class. In both classes she clung to me and it was almost as if I became her mentor. It was hard at the start because she would constantly test me just to see how far she could push me or to see what she could get out of. As the year went by I learned by experience and with the help of her aid just how to lead victoria to be a succesful student who is proud of her work. Every day I would leave those two classes with a smile on my face knowing what I had just accomplished myself and what I had helped such a special young lady accomplish as well. Because of the joy I felt working with Victoria I have gained an interest in teacing special education. By creating this wiki I hope to find out more about special education and see if I want to go into this as a career.

Top Five Things I Learned:

1. How Inclusion in schools is complicated however is also very beneficial.

2. Many different ways to connect with each student that is in your class through a lesson plan.

3. Many new and old laws pertaining to special education

4. Helpful tips to succeed as a sped teacher

5. What special education teacher may go through on a day to day basis


 * If you were to only check out one thing on this Wiki I would recommend you choose his is a video from YouTube. In this video it talks about how special education is a plan to help exceptional individuals achieve in the greatest possible self-sufficiency. The video shares clips from a few movies including I am Sam and Radio, two personal favs! The ending of this video is odd because it becomes more personal of the people who made it but that is just the last minute or so. I found this very inspirational for all special education teachers as well as any individual, therefor I give this video 5 out of 5 gold stars! **

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 * This is a video from YouTube that gives a few helpful tips for being a successful special education teacher. The most interesting part I found to be when she talks about how important it is to make sure your room is set up to accommodate your students. I give this video a 3 out of 5 gold stars because it is informative, however I think that it is a little too short and there could be more added to it to make it better. **

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 * This powerpoint from slideshare.net teaches you all about the basic rights of special education. Being a sped teacher it is very important to keep up with new laws and be very familiarized with all sped laws. I found the most interesting law was the RTI law. The Response to Intervention law which states that each school must make every effort to help a child before making a referral to special education. I give this powerpoint a 5 out of 5 gold stars because it is attractive and filled with need to know information. **

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 * This is a very useful website for those of you that are interested in becoming a special education teacher but are not quite sure what it entitles. This website gives you a day to day feel of what it would be like to be a sped teacher along with the qualities you must retain to be a good sped teacher. I give this website a 5 out of 5 gold stars because it is very helpful and interesting. **

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos070.htm


 * While doing this research I am finding that more and more students are being labeled as "Special Education Students" who might not necessarily consider themselves special ed and almost take it offensively. This is a recording from a NPR that talks about a college student who was put into special education courses in high school because of a disease that gave her memory loss. I give this recording a 4 out of 5 stars because it is very interesting yet at times it drags on a little bit. **

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 * This is a recording of a NPR that talks about a law that has been passed in Oregon dealing with special education and private schools. Schools may be required to reimburse students who choose special programs at private schools because the public school doesn't offer them. This is brings up many controversies and is an interesting recording. I give it 4 out of 5 gold stars. **

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 * This is a website I found while researching different ways to connect with sped students. This website gives you numerous lesson plans for all different types of students. I found the "hole punch names" lesson plan found about half way down the page to be most interesting. It is a very cool way to help the kids recognize their name without even realizing they are learning. I give this website a 5 out of 5 gold stars because it is extremely useful for all teachers and it allows you to collaborate ideas and lesson plans with other sped teachers. **

http://www.teach-nology.com/teachers/lesson_plans/special_ed/


 * This is a video about inclusion. Inclusion is the decision to have all sped students be included in all regular classes. It deals with It is being a part of what everyone else is, and being welcomed and embraced as a member who belongs. I found this video very truthful because they took ideas from every point of view, they had a sped teacher from the elementary level, a general education teacher from the 4th grade level, and a parent of a child with disabilities. I give this video a 4 out of 5 gold stars only because I feel it could be a little more spiced up at times. **

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