The Burden of Being a Teacher With Character
“Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.” J.C. Watts
Another school year is underway and, like last year, I started my position several weeks after everyone else. Like last year, I am teaching in the Special Education Department within a school that is majority-minority. This time around, I have the fortune of working with a predominantly Latino / Hispanic population (I use both because some people prefer one over the other). Essentially, the majority of the kids on my caseload are Latino / Hispanic; a completely new, and somewhat unsettling, experience for me. Not because they are Latino / Hispanic, but rather because they are Latino / Hispanic and in Special Education. While that’s important, it is not what I want to ‘throw around' in this post.
Instead, I would like to share my thoughts on character as it relates to the work I do: Ensure that especially marginalized students receive the appropriate services in the General Education setting. I have written about the challenges of being a Special Education Teacher, in general, as well as the added stress of going into someone else’s space to coteach. Again, this year, I am coteaching; many schools have almost exclusively moved towards this model, as the push for Inclusion gained momentum a few years ago.
Coteaching requires a few things from both the General and Special Education Teachers. First and foremost, a willingness to do what is in the best interests of the students (all of them). More often than not, this is not the reality. Special Education Teachers are viewed as ‘behavior specialists' (some of are but that is not our sole purpose or talent); we are rarely, if ever, viewed as content experts, despite having to take and pass the same content assessments as other teachers. In other instances, we are told to worry about our students and the General Education Teacher will worry about his/her students. This is not how coteaching was designed to work. Both teachers have a responsibility for all students on the class roll.
That brings me to the second issue: Lack of professionalism and respect for students with Special Needs. Confidentiality and providing students with a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) are not optional. General Education Teachers receive copies of IEPs, that include information on the students’ area of disability, required classroom modifications and accommodations. Teachers sign a legal document, that both acknowledges receipt of the aforementioned paperwork and attests to the fact that they will adhere to the document. In theory, this sounds like a well-developed plan of action. In practice, it is anything but that. Teachers often refuse to share lesson plans for lessons that are neither differentiated, modified, or made to accommodate those students. On numerous occasions, I have walked into classrooms while students were taking a test, also not modified. Furthermore, students with Special Needs have the right to take assessments in smaller settings and receive extended time. Every time the IEP is not followed is an act of negligence and criminality.
Every. Single. Time.
Yet, as Special Education Teachers, our hands are often tied. We can share these same concerns with our department chairs, lead teachers, and administrators. In turn, they can remind General Education Teachers about their role and responsibilities of being a coteacher, but things rarely change, if ever. Rinse and repeat. I took a 10-year hiatus from the classroom; nothing in this area has changed. But, I persist because these kids often have parents who either struggle in navigating the system or avoid it altogether. I step in to advocate for my students, even at the risk of self-isolation from “colleagues" and especially at the risk of being ostracized. At this point, I really don’t care if they like me, as that is not why I entered this profession.
There is a huge burden of having character in this role. When you feel as though you are just a body to fill a role for sake of compliance, your psyche takes a beating. You show-up everyday, anticipating that educators will exhibit enough professionalism to both carry-out their assigned duties and give you the space to do the same. Almost daily, I am disappinted.
But I show-up because I know the kids are watching.
