As a teacher, I feel that my heart has become a flower-stem heavy-laden with blossoms which I would like to gather and give unto the future of the world. .
The seeds of my own knowledge and skill as an educator have been sowed in tenderness. Yet it was in my growth in this profession that I learned what educating children with special needs was all about. Even as my passion for teaching ascends to my height and caresses my tenderest branches that quiver in the sun, the actual challenges faced while teaching descends to my roots, almost shaking them in their clinging to the earth .
The first challenge I encountered was being assigned a position for which I was (or felt) I was unprepared. I was then a general preschool educator who was unfamiliar with teaching procedures for mainstreaming students with special needs. Such also applied for my colleagues who were appointed similar positions. There is apparent shortage of qualified individuals to fill positions in educating special kids. The shortage is so extreme that not-fully-certified individuals are hired provisionally with the assumption that they must enroll in relevant educational courses. Unfortunately, quite a number of my colleagues felt so stressed and burned-out right after our first year of teaching special children. The issue here is: "What should the field of special education do to attract and retain the best and brightest for teaching our students with special needs? .
There are teachers who are appointed positions for which they have not been adequately prepared. Sometimes, teachers self-select these positions while other times they are assigned. As schools move toward more-inclusive education models, there is an increased expectation for more teachers to work with special children. Additional on-the-job supports are needed to provide any required assistance with the teaching position. Schools should begin to offer more intensive and specific professional development activities for teachers who will handle children with special needs.