Introduction
Disciplining students is among the toughest duties any teacher has to endure as they go about their daily duties. Most teachers get stressed because of the way students behave. Research shows that teachers normally have different perspectives of students, grouping them into different groups such as those who are aggressive and show antisocial tendencies, those who are disengaged completely from the class environment and those who are low-level disruptive. Students who tend to be in the last two categories tend to be the most difficult to manage, especially since they are the most rampant. In most cases, the teachers have to deal with the students on their own, making it easily frustrating for them, which should not be the case. Teachers need support from other inter-disciplines within the school and even parental intervention. Managing behavior is more effective when there is sufficient support to resolve these behavioral issues. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to answer the question of why teachers need more support inside and outside the classroom, particularly supporting that special needs teachers indeed need support from other staff, parents and the community.
Why Special Needs Teachers Need Support
While teaching, it is important to understand what influences behavior in children. When teachers engage with students at a classroom level, they have the liberty to make decisions that tend to influence student behavior such as class content, routines, and the physical layout, as well as the teacher’s actions (Vargas, 2013). When the children are outside playing or interacting with each other, the staff’s impressions about children set a guideline on the acceptable behavioral traits that is expected of them. This is crucial, especially since the school policies in play, its architecture, and the surrounding community all play a key role in behavior. Basing off this analysis, it is clear that teachers cannot be solely responsible for students at all times. People tend to focus more on what the learning process involves and forget the impact that they should have on the children. A school is meant to be a safe space for children, engaging them to learn, and on ethical conduct. At times, this forces teachers to be left to engage with students in isolation, as they attempt to manage their behavioral and special needs on their own (O’Brien, 2013). When teachers find it hard to deal with the situation, they tend to assess the situation and conclude that the student is best suited elsewhere, rather than dealing with the situation that has now evolved into an unmanageable situation.
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Schools tend to admit a large number of students. Many are times that teachers are left in classrooms with as many as 50 students. It makes it difficult for the teacher to interact with the students on a personal level, or sometimes, the teacher would tend to overlook some behavioral and special needs cases as minor as compared to others (Vargas, 2013). As a result, some of the children get out of control, and since the teacher has been assigned to teach as well as guide their class accordingly, without any form of help, they tend to focus more on what they think is expected of them, making decisions regarding the child on their own accord. The negative effect of this is that it tends to make students more resistant to behavioral change and some of the students, especially those with cases like autism and downs syndrome may be socially withdrawn, affecting their social and academic milestones.
Most of these teachers are not fully trained on how to deal with all special needs cases. This is because there is a widespread notion that teaching is easy. This makes some of the schools overlook the need to recruit a teacher trained in special needs, especially since they are scarce within the United States (Hanko, 2018). However, teaching children with special behavioral and physical needs comes with a lot of responsibility, thus the need to have teachers well qualified for the job. Similarly, those who have been trained are given the responsibility of the children both inside and outside the classroom. This tends to make them easily fatigued, and at times may overlook their responsibilities, especially since they receive minimal support from the school and the community. They are also tasked with responsibilities that are not theirs, such as paperwork, meetings, and assessments that are meant for other disciplines present in the school (Brunsting, Sreckovic, & Lane, 2014). Also, since their work involves teaching on skill than impacting content, special needs teachers tend to isolate themselves from other teachers, claiming that their work is easier and less involving than theirs.
In most instances, teachers are forced to accommodate all children to match with the set mode of teaching. This becomes difficult, as most students have different needs. Some have physical needs, while others have psychological needs, meaning that the method of teaching would have to be set to meet the needs of all children (Lorenz, 2013). This tends to be hectic because, in most instances, the teachers are not accorded with the correct resources that would be needed for these children. They would have to design tactics that would benefit all, at times going as far as sourcing resources from their finances, despite their low pay and poor compensation schemes set in place.
Most of the students that teachers with special needs tend to deal with are more often diagnosed with illnesses that result in death. In most cases, teachers are not offered counseling classes that would enable them to discuss their feelings and reservations about the students that pass away. They also have to deal with violent students and sometimes end up hurt. In some cases, the teachers end up fearing these children and are left stranded as they do not know how to handle individual students, especially since behavior is different in every individual (Kauffman et al,. 2018). These cases are often ignored, leaving the teacher feeling depressed and out of place within their working space. Some teachers also have to deal with children who take longer to learn the required course material. This creates a form of stigmatization between the teachers and the students.
The parents of these children often show disinterest in the wellbeing of their child and fail to provide them with the care that is required. Also, some of these parents tend to be overprotective of their children, creating a problematic environment for the teacher and the student. Overprotective parents tend to have high and unrealistic expectations for their children, while disinterested parents show no concern for their child’s education or their involvement with their teachers (Topping & Wolfendale, 2017). Both of these approaches tend to impact the child’s behavior in a negative manner that would diminish their confidence and make it harder for them to learn.
Why Special Needs Teachers Do Not Need Support
On the other hand, teachers do not need extra intervention from the school and the community. They have the duty of providing quality care with or without the intervention both inside and outside the classroom. They have the privilege of assessing every student in their classroom, monitoring their behavioral traits at all times (Westwood, 2018). This would be essential in assessing how best to approach a student. They also are trained on how to design teaching frameworks that would help guide in teaching students despite their different behavioral and special needs. They also provide progress reports, which guides them in knowing whether their teaching techniques have an impact on their academic and social interactions, making them the appropriate solution for dealing with behavior (Westwood, 2018). Despite these children being from different backgrounds, teachers can provide the parents with a neutral view, especially on expectations and on understanding their children better. As such, they are well equipped with the resources both primary and secondary, to best learn more about the children they interact with daily.
Redress
There is a need for mitigation that would be sustainable for teachers dealing with such students, opening avenues for effective communication with involved parents and the school itself. Teachers understand the complexities of behavioral and special needs children and as such, often need to collaborate with other staff from different disciplines. This often includes physical education teachers, counselors, and senior teachers (O’Brien, 2013). As a school, there are a few ways in which they can offer support to the teachers. The school can establish smaller classes such that teachers do not have to deal with a large number of students at a time. This makes it easier to deal with them effectively inside the classroom. The school could also offer mandatory counseling and psychology sessions, such that the children can unwind and relax, airing out issues that may be affecting them socially or even individually (Lorenz, 2013). The school could also offer more training to the teachers, even those who have already been trained, such that they are constantly learning and innovating new techniques of effectively managing student behavior.
Conclusion
More often, it is believed that teaching is inborn and that teachers are well equipped to deal with all types of children regardless of their disabilities. Interestingly enough, the truth is despite the training and knowledge that teachers have on how to manage students with special needs, it is important to offer them support at all times. Parents have a primary role of interacting with teachers occasionally, such that they can elaborate on issues that a teacher may not understand about their child. Significantly, the school has a responsibility of collaborating with the teachers to ensure that they have the best resources and support as they attempt to assist these children in leading normal lives aside from their unique differences. However, for this to be effective, teachers need to learn how to openly communicate these grievances, such that they do not feel isolated and abandoned at any point.
References
Brunsting, N. C., Sreckovic, M. A., & Lane, K. L. (2014). Special education teacher burnout: A synthesis of research from 1979 to 2013. Education and treatment of children , 37 (4), 681-711.
Hanko, G. (2018). Special needs in ordinary classrooms: From staff support to staff development . Routledge.
Kauffman, J. M., Hallahan, D. P., Pullen, P. C., & Badar, J. (2018). Special education: What it is and why we need it . Routledge.
Lorenz, S. (2013). Effective in-class support: The management of support staff in mainstream and special schools . David Fulton Publishers.
O'Brien, T. (2013). Promoting positive behaviour . David Fulton Publishers.
Topping, K., & Wolfendale, S. (2017). Parental involvement in children's reading . Routledge.
Vargas, J. S. (2013). Behavior analysis for effective teaching . Routledge.
Westwood, P. (2018). Inclusive and adaptive teaching: Meeting the challenge of diversity in the classroom . Routledge.
