Ask someone why they are going into education and you hear answers like “my mom was a teacher” or “there was one teacher I had in high school that really inspired me.”
Ask someone why they want to be a special education major on top of an education major and inspiring and uplifting stories that can change a person’s perspective of the education system and the world emerge. That classmate that sits in the back row in ECG class and does not say much can end up having the biggest heart in the world.
“I’m doing special education because I feel everyone has the right to the most education they can get, including those who have disabilities,” sophomore early education and special education major Nick Vivian said. “For students with special needs, their learning style or method and even what they are learning might look totally different than those without disabilities, but they still deserve to be given an education.”
Sophomore special education major Delisa Portland has a learning disability herself and can relate to what kids in a special education classroom are going through.
“I did not start reading until I was in the first grade,” Portland said. “Being behind in reading also effected my writing and spelling. I was not the only student in my school who had to pulled out of the regular classroom to get help.”
Special education majors learn about having inclusive classrooms. This means having a student with a mental or learning disability in class with regular students.
“Students in an inclusive classroom should know that these students have feelings, too,” Portland said. “Just because they cannot do something as well as the others doesn’t make them special in their own way. Also their peers in the classroom can help them with learning different skills like socialization and how to ask questions in situations.”
Sophomore special education major Jackie Ware was also in special education classes growing up.
“My main reasons for wanting to study special education is to show how important it is to teach students in the best way for them and not just teach the whole class as one just because they are put in one classroom together,” Ware said. “Each of the students is different and will learn in their own way and own time frame.”
However, special education classrooms can vary in how much students are pushed compared to their peers.
“I felt that at times I wasn’t pushed to my fullest potential, being someone who doesn’t have a learning disability but was labeled as having one was so frustrating and made it challenging to succeed in the best ways I could,” she said.
Ware has bilateral mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss which, according to her, does not put her in the same category as someone with a learning disability, or a mental health issue. She was placed in the special education class because her teachers decided to place her there.
“Each person is different, but they each have their successful moments at their own time in their own way,” she said. “It could be something big or something so small and simple, but doesn’t seem so successful, but to the person with a learning disability or a mental health problem, that small thing could be a great accomplishment, and something they have been working towards for a while.”
“Students with these disabilities and problems need to be treated with the same amount of interaction and respect from their peers as anyone else who doesn’t have any disabilities or health problems,” she said. “Stop the stereotype and make a difference in these peoples lives who have a learning disability or mental health problems.”
