Running Head: FIELD ASSIGNMENT NO.

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Field Assignment No. 1 Ashley Walker EDUC 2301 Introduction to Special Populations Grayson County College Feb 25, 2013

[Type text][Type text][Type text] Caring for children with Special Needs is without a doubt a very challenging and dauntless job; however, despite the difficulty of the tasks given to a Special Needs teacher, the job in itself has an abundance of gratification and fulfillment. Donna Gregg, who is in her seventeenth year of teaching, is currently a first grade teacher at Earl Slaughter Elementary in McKinney, Texas. She has taught children with Special Needs for four years in her own classroom and then did inclusion in her general classroom for seven years. I chose to interview this particular teacher because she has a commendable and diverse view on the Special Education classroom; she has been a Special Needs teacher, she has been an inclusion teacher, and she also been a general education teacher. Being able to experience the position of a teacher from three distinctive standpoints is advantageous in understanding and appreciating the Special Education classroom. During Mrs. Greggs senior year of high school, her love for children with Special Needs began. As I asked her how her journey started down her road she stated, I started working with children and adults with Special Needs in California at a summer camp called Christian Berets and after working with them for two summers, a total of nine weeks each summer, I knew that I wanted to work in Special Education. Twelve years later, I started teaching PPCD, which stands for Preschool Program for Children with Disabilities (D. Gregg, personal communication, February 25, 2013). I then inform Mrs. Gregg that although I myself want to be a first grade teacher, I also want to be certified in Special Education. Similar to the beginning of Mrs. Greggs journey, my desire to work in Special Education came from a summer camp through my church called SEEK. As I began to tell her about my experiences, she provided me with guidance on being a first year teacher by saying, Be flexible and hang in there. Working with disabilities can be challenging, but it does get better and it will all be worth it in the end, and also by stating I

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wish I had known how challenging and what the reality of being on your own was like I should have been more involved and committed into observing Special Education classrooms (D. Gregg, personal communication, February 25, 2013). She then proceeded to answer another question I had planned, which was inquiring that if she could change anything, given the opportunity to start over, what would it be and she responded by humbly telling me to stay in school and get my Masters or work at a school where they offer to pay for your Masters during your first couple years of teaching (D. Gregg, personal communication, February 25, 2013). Throughout the interview, I instilled into Mrs. Gregg that I am the type of student who wants to comprehend and recognize the challenges and the tribulations it takes into becoming a phenomenal teacher. With that mentality, I began to ask her questions about the adversities that she has tackled throughout her years of teaching Special Education. To start off, I asked her what the biggest challenges were in being a first year teacher and she responded, My biggest challenges were without a doubt lesson plans, learning about the curriculum, and how to relate my teaching according to the curriculum (D. Gregg, personal communication, February 25, 2013). I then proceeded to ask her two relative questions, which inquired her opinion on paperwork in Special Education and what her biggest challenge is currently. Conjoining her responses together, she stated, My biggest challenge today is to make sure all of the federal and state laws are followed. Each child has to have a certain amount of time in resource. Also, paperwork in Special Education is necessary to make sure all legalities are covered, however there is a lot of it and it is very time consuming. (D. Gregg, personal communication, February 25, 2013). While still on the topic of challenges and learning experiences, Mrs. Gregg then answered a question I enquired about her biggest overall challenges in her years of experience working with not only the children, but their families as well. She stated:

[Type text][Type text][Type text] For me, the biggest challenge is helping the family deal with the idea of accepting their child as disabled. Parents and family go through a stage that is quite similar to that of losing a loved one; they do not want to accept it because it is their child. However, it does get easier whenever parents come to grip with reality and decide that they want the best education possible for their child by doing whatever it takes. Parents begin to realize that although their child is classified as hindered, it does not mean that hope is lost; that child still has just as much potential and ambitions as the next child. So, I would have to say that the biggest challenge for me is the initial stage of denial that countless families tend to go through. (D. Gregg, personal communication, February 25, 2013). After hearing her challenges in helping the families of her children, I asked Mrs. Gregg out of curiosity what she did to support the families of the children that she works with and she told me that the ARD meetings are what makes most families feel involved and imperative in their childs education and that throughout the quarters of the school year, parents receive progress reports and parents also can schedule conferences at any time with her (D. Gregg, personal communication, February 25, 2013). As I am still learning about Special Education and the terms that are used, I had only a small impression as to what ARD was, so I subsequently asked her what is the ARD and is it beneficial and she answered, It helps mainstream the special needs children by giving them accommodations to meet their needs, which we refer to these accommodations as IEP or 504s. I believe ARD is highly beneficial because it sets specific and observable goals for the students to work on. Like I said earlier, ARD is also what makes parents of these children recognize that they play an important role in their childs education (D. Gregg, personal communication, February 25, 2013). Approaching the completion of the interview, I inform Mrs. Gregg that the two questions

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remaining were for her to describe the diversity of her students and to tell of her worst teaching moment. While giving these two questions meaningful thought, tears came to her eyes as she joined her responses together and said: My worst moment took place in only my second year. I had a little girl who was in my class that was suffering from a plethora of disabilities and complications; I had to tube feed and suction her during each day at school. One day, she was absent and I received a phone call that she had passed away at home. Ever since that little girl, I have not lost a student and I hope to never bear that ache again. When it comes to diversity, I have had kids that you could not tell anything was wrong with them physically and/or mentally. It was a trivial disability that they may have had fluctuating from a minor speech

impediment to very mild Down Syndrome. I have also had children in wheelchairs and as severe as the little girl that I had to tube feed and suction. She was totally non-responsive, could not blink her eyes or nod her head, and there was no indication that she understood anything that was being conveyed to her. (D. Gregg, personal communication, February 25, 2013). Throughout the interview with Donna Gregg, I absorbed more intelligence in her forty-five minutes of time than I have in a very long time. Although I still have a couple years left of college before I become a certified teacher, I undoubtedly feel more confident and knowledgeable than I did before beginning this interview. Thanks to the advice, experiences, challenges, and opinions that Mrs. Gregg shared with me, I can now better prepare myself for the journey I must take in order to thrive and succeed as a Special Education teacher.