Every day there is a battle in every public school in America. It is us versus them. 'Them' is not the students. 'Them' is not the parents. 'Them' is not even the politicians who make laws and policy that hurt, rather than help, the public school system, students, and teachers. Us versus them is special education teachers versus general education teachers.
That's right, everyday teachers battle each other. We fight so many battles, but choose to add one more to our ring - each other. While this battle is larger in some schools than others, it happens everywhere. It is greater at the high school level than at the elementary in most districts. I have taught in enough schools to know that no district is exempt from this battle. Most of my experience is at the high school level, which is where my perspective comes from. However, I have substituted in elementary schools and middle schools and know that this battle wages there as well.
For simplicity, please allow me to use the commonly accepted abbreviations of sped for special education and gen. ed. for general education.
Sped teachers carry the heavy burden of ensuring all students on their case load succeed. Caseloads can be as large as twenty-five to thirty students. Gen. ed. teachers have the burden of ensuring each student in their class(es) succeeds. Gen. ed. teachers can have up to thirty students in an elementary classroom and up to one hundred and fifty students per day at a high school. When the gen. ed. teacher places the burden of the sped students on the sped teacher the gen. ed. teacher’s burden is greatly reduced. Gen. ed. students can also struggle and be defiant. However, there is a much lower percentage of these students that have issues compared to sped students. Sped students struggle; that is why they receive support. Sped students take more time and one-on-one instruction. If a sped teacher has five students in the class it is just as much work, and usually more, than a gen. ed. class with twenty-five students.
With the push for inclusion, sped students are often in gen. ed. classes. The battle ensues when the gen. ed. teachers still sees the sped students as the responsibility of the sped teacher. It becomes a matter of, "Those are her kids, they are sped." Additionally, gen. ed. teachers often do not understand the idiosyncrasies and backgrounds of sped students. They expect them to act just like everyone else. Sped teachers often hear complaints and accusations from gen. ed. teachers.
"Are these accommodations and modifications really helping the students? It's not real life? Aren't we just enabling them?"
"Letting her just drop classes is not right. We're teaching her that she can just quit things that she doesn't like."
"I offer help, but he never comes in."
"Why should sped kids get special treatment?"
"He's capable, he's just lazy."
"She walked out of class. I don't allow that." (Even though the student was taught to leave class instead of getting into a confrontation.)
"He is just a bad kid."
"He refuses to sit down."
"She has no respect for the rules or authority."
Instead of labeling students as your kids or my kids teachers must start treating all students as our kids. When a gen. ed. teacher does not understand a sped student, or does not know how to reach them, they should ask the sped teacher. Sped teachers tend to know students better because they get more time with them. There are some gen. ed. teachers that know a student better. Sped teachers need to consult with gen. ed. teachers when they know more about a student. Some gen. ed. teachers are amazing at working with sped students. Not every gen. ed. teacher is against the sped teachers. However, there are enough to make this battle real every day.
Teachers have enough battles every day. We do not need to add another. Instead of blaming, shaming, and attacking each other, teachers must start working together if we are ever going to improve the education system. Instead of throwing more onto the heavy load that sped teachers carry, offer to help them carry it instead. Ask, "What can WE do to help this student be successful." Instead of blaming, ask "I don't understand the situation, can you explain it to me?" Understand that the disability the child faces makes things more difficult for them. They have to work harder, and they get frustrated. They are not like everyone else. Embrace their differences, use their strengths and interests, and include sped students as a part of the whole, not separated. Sped students and sped teachers already feel isolated and alone. Include them as part of our students and work together for the greater good. Many hands make light work. The same can be said for many minds.
Teachers need to come together and work together for the good of every student.
