You are on page 1of 4

Running head: INTERVIEW

Special Education Teacher Interview

Claire Daniel

EDUC 2301 Introduction to Special Populations

Grayson College

April 9, 2017
INTERVIEW 2

Amy Thompson teaches a life skills class at Sory Elementary in Sherman, Texas. Mrs.

Thompson has been teaching for twenty years and has a great deal of experience in the Special

Education field. In the life skills class that she teaches currently, there is a mixture of third and

fourth graders. Mrs. Thompson gave honorable advice related to many different questions

pertaining to Special Education.

The first questions asked focused on Mrs. Thompsons journey into teaching. She became

a special education teacher mostly due to the influence from her mother, who was an assistant in

a classroom with many medically challenged children. Mrs. Thompson loved what her mother

did and wanted to pursue a similar career. One thing she wishes she would have known before

beginning to teach is the importance of behavior management and procedures. She went on to

explain that if the children do not know the procedures and understand behavior expectations, it

can be very time consuming trying to teach those concepts along with the curriculum the

children should be learning. Having both children with AU disabilities and ID in the same

classroom, creating a large spectrum of needs and accommodations was said to be Mrs.

Thompsons biggest challenge as a first-year teacher mainly because it was largely time

consuming. Mrs. Thompsons advice to a first year teacher is to not sweat the small stuff and

accept that you cannot save every child, meaning there are limitations concerning what you can

do to help improve their overall life and well-being. As a teacher, you can only control what their

school day consists of, and not any of the other areas of their life so much. She also emphasized

the importance of rest. Her advice is to work until 5:00 p.m. and then go home, making sure not

to exhaust yourself and be refreshed for the next day.

Her opinion on the ARD process is that it is a necessary evil, but mostly beneficial in that

it insures each child receives the appropriate services they need. The downfall is that it is very
INTERVIEW 3

time consuming. Regarding paperwork in special education, Mrs. Thompson says that it is

getting better due to the transition to mostly digital input for information. Although she says the

programming can be difficult and confusing to navigate, a big advantage is that with some

programs teachers are able to work from home as well for doing paperwork.

The diversity of Mrs. Thompsons students consists of most every nationality including

Indian, Asian, Hispanic, Black, and White., and within those also includes students from every

socioeconomic class. She has taught many children that suffer from the result of drug abusive

parents, and some live with their grandparents. An example of being culturally educated

regarding her students, was once instance when an Indian student came to school with her hair

seeming to smell foul everyday. After further research, Mrs. Thompson realized that the smell

was actually from the food that her culture eats and the ability for it to linger in the skin and

pores. Mrs. Thompson desires to promote cultural acceptance and and traditions in the

classroom, for example she had a parent ask her about having a Cinco de Mayo party and she

delightfully obliged. She also has attended previous students quinceaneras, which are a cultural

celebration for girls turning fifteen. Mrs. Thompson supports the families of the children she

works with by promoting a more personal relationship. She goes by Amy, her first name, to all of

the parents and likewise if the parent wishes, she calls them by their first name as well. To her,

the most important thing is to create a less-intimidating relationship so that parents feel

comfortable approaching her with questions or concerns. She also sends home daily schedules of

what the children completed each day for the parents to review.

Mrs. Thompson has experienced a range of support from administrators over the years.

She has had some that fully support and back her eagerly, and those that seem to not care or fully

understand the needs of some children. She explained that one administrator had previously
INTERVIEW 4

taught and was next door to a life skills class, so they understood a lot of the ins and outs of the

life skills classroom better. Mrs. Thompson fully supports inclusion whenever it is possible. She

believes that inclusion benefits both children with special needs and general education students.

It promotes empathy and the understanding that people are different, but all have the same

capability of being successful in their own way.

Mrs. Thompsons worst teaching moment was when she student-taught a second grade

class and a student snuck out of the classroom and the school under her supervision and walked

home to his grandma. She was very distraught and thought for sure she would never get a

teaching job after that incident. One of her best teaching moments was when she taught a student

with Autism who was not verbal at all, and progressed to the student being able to read and speak

on his own. One thing that Mrs. Thompson would change if she could go back would be to pick

her battles with administration and parents more wisely. One things she learned after becoming a

foster parent to a child with special needs herself, that her expectations of parents and what they

should be doing at home were too high and her perspective and empathy for parents changed

after her own personal experience. Finally, Mrs. Thompsons motto is to keep going and keep

moving. She believes that God is in control and that as a teacher she should use 100% of what

God have her to be able to help children, and after that everything else is in Gods hands. She

knows that everything happens for a reason and finds hope and motivation in that.

You might also like