Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

When thinking about the purpose of education and what knowledge is I think about this
quote from Nelson Mandela. Being an effective educator isnt just providing students with
the information to pass a test. Teachers should be agents of change; it is our job to guide
our students to become active and educated citizens in our democratic society. Education
should be about providing students with the opportunities to grow as individuals and
understand the value of being a lifelong learner. An effective teacher is dedicated to all
their students to challenge them to think critically and analyze the world around them. In
order to do this a teacher must want to be present in all forms of a students education and
involved in this lifelong process.
A teacher must be in tune with each students background and life outside of school.
In order to use the tools to best serve the students needs, the teacher needs to have an
understanding of what makes up the child as an individual; family background, interests,
leaning modalities, and multiple intelligences. This knowledge can be using to teach using
culturally relevant materials. It is imperative teachers create a safe environment that
allows students to explore new ideas and inquire about their uncertainties. The diversity in
the classroom provides a great opportunity to have students share their life experiences
and embrace each others differences. A warm classroom atmosphere will be created
through displaying the students many talents and using a seating formation that wont
exclude or put the spotlight on one person; we are a team.
Students can gain so much knowledge just by interacting and collaborating with
each other. Challenges in communities today come from not being able to understand and
accept other peoples differences. As teachers, school should be the opportunity to educate
our students about their neighbors and guide them in seeking positive ways to discover
similarities and find the good in differences. Implementing multicultural education and
allowing the students control to teach and learn from each other will do this. Diversity is all
around us whether we see it or not. People who say they didnt grow up in a diverse
neighborhood are probably referring to the race of the residents. We have to remember
that diversity incorporates a persons class, gender, race, ability, and sexual orientation and
these may all be factors affecting a students education. These are exactly the kinds of
topics that need to be addressed in the classroom to bring awareness to society. Our
students have the power to use each other as allies and make a change to advance learning
opportunities.
Part of student learning should come from strategies of how to view a piece of
literature or other types of media and being able to ick out the deficit thinking portrayed in
the text. This will encourage students to challenge what society tries to tell us is normal and
give a voice to those not heard. Students can make classroom connections with real world
issues and their role in taking action. If students arent able to see the connections to their
future they wont be able to see the point of this education and the importance of reaching
their full potential.

As special educators, we have to see the changes happening in our society and adopt
lessons and strategies to ensure our students success. We have to stay updated with
current education tends and practices. Discoveries correlated with special education and
learning with disabilities are constantly found and changes. It is our duty to know the
evidence and use our resources to best help our students. Many theories and methods
proposed and used in the past have been found to not me true or helpful. This is way it is
important to stay updated and be aware of any background information; including that of
the students. There have been a large number of African Americans represented in special
education as well as a large number of males represented as having a behavioral disability.
These are the issues we, as agents of change, should be aware of and take action in the
change.
Special educators have to be able to collaborate successfully with other teachers,
administrators, paraprofessionals, tutors, volunteers, parents, and also all those involved
on an IEP team. This gives us the opportunity to be an advocate for our students. We know
what their parents say about behaviors and actions at home, what their general education
teacher observes, what the volunteers notice, and so on. This means a great deal of
information needs to be relayed to many different people in order to allow the student to
be most successful and have a person to look to for trust and a helping hand. Being in a
special education plan can be very emotional for a student and they need to have an
advocate, someone who can give them a voice and let them know they are in control of
their education experience as well. This again proves that teaching is a lot more that
handing over information to a child, a teacher is a lot more involved and dedicated.
Having a code of ethics and professionalism is essential to stay true to when
collaborating with colleagues and parents. The things a special educator says and does
should be after considering the sensitivity of others. One should always use person-first
language and encourage others to avoid offensive language. Teachers should always talk
about their students in a professional way and use critique to learn how to better teach to a
childs needs. As professionals, we should act professionally towards fellow colleagues and
maintain appropriate relationships. The balance between staying professional and
preserving a positive relationship with students may be difficult to gauge at first; However
mastering this balance is an example of a truly passionate and loving teacher who students
will be sure to respond to in a positive way academically and in through other community
involvements.
If the world was able to see what went into truly being an effective educator they
would see how much more is being done in education other than what a test says. This is
the time for students to figure out who they are as citizens and our teachers need to be the
ones to guide them in finding their voice and meaning in this world. All of our academics
can be connected to community and give students opportunities to take the lead. As
educators we need to provide the correct resources, opportunity, and guidance to be agents
of change for our students to take charge in society.