what kind of training

[Guest guest]

Dawn asked:

As I was writing this I

was wondering what kind of training regular teachers get to handle

non-neurotypical children? When they are studying to become teachers do

they look at all types of kids they may have to handle? If not, ought

that not be mandatory when getting a teaching certificate?

My answer:

Teacher certification varies by state and grade

level. Check into your state’s department of education and they

should list what is needed. Elementary school teachers have different

requirements than high school teachers for content, but overlapping

requirements regarding the ‘soft’ skills of teaching.

Of course, when I became a teacher over

twenty-five years ago, the two classes in Special Education that I took were

very different from what is now being offered. In most states, we must

take x amount of training to keep our certificate. In PA, where I now

teach, every 5 years we must have 180 certified hours of training. I pay

for a chunk of that training out of my own pocket, the rest is offered by my

school during in-service training. Our administration chooses the mix

based on what’s important to our school board.

I have always been a public school teacher.

When I first started teaching in a small high school in New England, our

principal told us that he would not support us if we did not read the complete

IEP and meet with the special ed teacher before the IEP student entered our

room in September. There was time built into our schedule to learn about

mainstreamed children. Our special ed teachers did a lot of training

during faculty meetings. This was all before No Child Left Behind.

Many teachers have been frustrated that under the

last president the administration’s focus became test scores, test

scores, test scores. Our union requested more training for handling

diverse students, and we do have special education teachers and involved

parents offer training in dealing with students in the mainstream. However,

high stakes testing is what the public has chosen to be of the utmost

importance and other training can be shunted aside if the test scores aren’t

where they are supposed to be. Some schools pay teachers to take seminars

but my school does not. Any conferences that I attend come out of my

household budget.

I read some of the heart-breaking letters from

this group and just don’t recognize the teachers they are describing. I

do work in an excellent school district that can attract quality teachers

because the pay is higher. We’d be fired for doing some of

the activities described so I find it hard to understand why other teachers do

what is described. So I sometimes have to take deep breaths and tell

myself that this group is not bashing all teachers, just explaining their

interpreation of events.

I do want to share some of my insight about my

colleagues as I work in a large building. We teachers are not all

the same. But your guidance counselor/iep teacher should be hand

scheduling your child for the best group of teachers possible. They know

which teachers in each department do better with AS students. I can see

as many as 200 students a day, including homeroom and study halls. Once

the special education teachers realize that a teacher can work well with their

students, the teacher tends to have more in his or her classload.

What makes a teacher “do better” with

AS students? Some have AS relatives and are committed to helping. Some,

like me, don’t have children of their own and so we have the extra time

to learn and create new alternatives than the teachers who go home and tend to

their own families. I joined this list serv, purchased some of the

recommended books, and when our school offered to pay for two day training at

the TIM ACADEMY.org next month, I jumped at the opportunity. It is

the first time in 14 years my school offered to pay for any kind of training

and it is for AS. Woo hoo!!!!

The expectation is that I will come back and train

my colleagues at future faculty meetings..YEAH!

So while there are many horror stories out there,

this seventh grade world language teacher is fighting the good fight for AS

students. I am not unique, We’re out here, I promise!

E.C.

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