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English 3
27 November 2018
Special Education for Special Students
Special education is something that could use a lot of help, whether it be more teachers or
more funding. These issues are often associated with a mainstream classroom, but a special
education classroom has problems that a mainstream classroom will never have. Special
education classroom get overlooked because they work in a school with mainly mainstream
classes. Even though there is a shortage of teachers, the teachers who are put in these positions
are sometimes under qualified because they have no training. Some only know how to handle
these students when they are integrated in a mainstream class, which is another issue. These
teachers need to be trained to help their students in school and preparing them to live their life
outside school.
One of the biggest issues in special education is the shortage of teachers. There are so
many children with disabilities that there are not enough teachers to teach them. Also, there is a
high exit rate for these teachers with barely any people wanting to do this. “There is a shortage of
teachers across the country, and in some states, it’s becoming a critical shortage. Teachers of
special education are in especially short supply. Reasons for this shortage are varied, but include
lower enrollments in teacher training programs specific to special education and an alarming
high exit rate for special education teachers” (Winnie). I interviewed Ruth Steffy, Assistant
Director of SpEd for Clovis Unified School District, and she said, “Many of the teachers do not
like the long hours and all of the paperwork. They often change to a mainstream class because it
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is less of a commitment. The teachers that do end up staying are usually the ones dedicated to
making a difference is the student’s’ education.” Many people think it takes a special person to
teach these children, but it only takes someone who is trained and dedicated to their students.
To go along with the shortage of teachers, many teachers are put in these classrooms to
fill the empty spots. These teachers have no training or experience in teaching special education
so many issues come up with them. “Some districts have also started to fill special education
positions with teachers having either no prior education experience or having only general
education experience. Provisional or conditional licensure is then provided to these newly hired
teachers. However, due to the unique challenges of special education and the need for specialized
training in the field, teacher retention and burnout is a common problem with this approach”
