I wish special education was like this when I went to school. When I went to school in the '80s and early '90s they taught us all at the same level. Same thing year in year out till I graduated good educational video
This is a helpful video. I've taught special ed in high school for six years, but I moved to a new state recently and have thought about trying elementary school for a change. Everything you said about high school is true for me, too. You get to form relationships with older kids that don't happen at a younger age, and I love that I can be more blunt with high schoolers. I'm still considering elementary, though!
I totally get it! Do what is best for you. Elementary students are wonderful too! Sometimes change is best! Good luck with the upcoming school year and make sure to reach out if you need anything!
Hello! I absolutely love high school! The type of resources you will need will depend on if you will be teaching self-contained or resource. If you are teaching self-contained I have a whole math curriculum and I lot of career/work readiness resources in my TPT shop. Good luck with your decision and thank you so much for watching! :)
I am so excited about your videos and the knowledge that you are sharing. I am a first year high school sped teacher at a charter school. Thank you, thank you, thank you so very much❤️
I was a Para and I hope to get into it again soon. But I’ve also heard about Gen Ed teachers being very prejudice and not receptive to the sped students. I’ve also heard about cases where the parents were made to have their child placed into special education and also parents who fight to keep their kids out of it or a situation where the parents sign forms unknowingly consenting to have their child evaluated and when the parents are told their kids qualify they’ll deny any service.
Great video!!! The information shared was helpful and useful. I'm currently a career changer working to get my SpEd degree and working as a para to get experience. Everything you said about high school sounds perfect for me other than the paperwork. Successfully managing a caseload of students with their IEPs has me concerned about working a ton of hours and consuming my time for family and extracurricular activities. How many hours a week do you truly work to be effective (or even better, highly effective) as a high school SpEd teacher? I'll be watching your other videos for more tips. Thanks!
Great question! My first job was as a high school special education teacher and I easily worked 60+ hours a week… however once I had kids I forced myself to only work my contract hours. You can easily work endless hours and still feel like you have more to do, so I think it is important to set those boundaries. There will be a big learning curve your very first year so you might have to work extra hours, however I think it is doable and important to try to only work your contract hours after that. Feel free to send me a message if you would like me to go more in depth! Good luck with your first job!
I'm a sped paraprofessional while going to school full time. My degree is in special education. However, the classrooms I am in have students that are not disabled and more so have ADHD or a hard time focusing. (I love all students and always help them) but I thought I would be helping more hands on with life skills and other information you mentioned. My question to you is: Is it just my school district that's like this? Or do I need to teach at an alternative school? Or is there so other / new acronym that life skills goes by now. In conclusion, I love helping people. I just thought I'd be doing what you do and what I see on other people's channels that talk about sped, but I am not and I am confused. Any feed back would be great! Thank you! And awesome video!
Hello! It sounds like you might be in more of resource setting with students with learning disabilities. Typically life skills classroom are considered self-contained and usually you work with students with more severe disabilities like intellectual disabilities.
@@coltonmonroe9824 if you are wanting to work on more life skills with students you could ask for a position with students with intellectual disabilities. Or just ask if they have any life skills classes you could help with!
@@ActiviTeach Awesome I will do that. At my school district they do not use the term "life skills" they looked at me like they were confused. I believe the terminology has changed where I am at. In addition, thank you again so much! Instant Sub!
Thank you for your video! I may have the chance to choose between teaching elementary and high school special education - I'm leaning towards the high school one because i care a lot about the future of the youth, but i am afraid of handling them when they are bigger and indeed have more emotions / hormones. I'm not sure whether it would be possible for me to start from Elementary, and go up to High school education from there once I am more comfortable but it would take more years of teaching to reach there. Still thinking about it!
That is such a hard decision! As you know, I definitely prefer high school but every teacher is different! Good luck with deciding your future career and thanks so much for watching!
A very informative and useful video. I only have one objection. As a SERT you are equally responsible for IEPs for advanced (often bpred) students or children with unusual learning styles. Oh, actually one other important role. As a SERT you are an important source of PD for the regular classroom teacher. This role makes you a critical factor in the overall function and culture of the school and the community.
I spent this past school year in a Pre-K sped class and it was my absolute worst year in education. I’m moving to a new district and have offers for both elementary and high school TA positions. I have been on the fence between the two, but I’m really leaning towards the high school. It will be a huge change for me, but if it doesn’t work out, I can always go back to elementary next year.
From my own personal experience I totally recommend trying out high school! I will never go back to elementary after experiencing the difference between the two!
There is a world of difference between how kids are functioning in early childhood compared to elementary. Early childhood is very preacademic whereas most kids with exceptional needs do make significant jumps in their ability to function and engage academically even if they are still behind their grade level. Even with those with more severe disabilities...the work that has been put in between early childhood and elementary could be thought as having the same significance as transitioning from elementary to highschool in the progress of a given particular student.
Early childhood sped is a path unto itself apart from elementary, middle, and high school so I would not necessarily count yourself as unsuitable for elementary based upon the experiences with early childhood sped. And then going through things with a finer tooth comb, Middle School can be the best of both elementary and high school while still presenting its own challenges....especially with the getting further behind academically as the academic content becomes more specialized/departmentalized.
Hello, just came across your channel and very excited! It’s so hard to come across special education channels. I have been a self-contained teacher for the last 6 years and have spent most of my teaching in elementary special Ed. I am moving back to middle school self-contained working on life skills and vocational prep along with academics. I would love to see some functional classroom set-up for 7th and 8th graders going into high school
Hello! I am so glad that you found my channel. Unfortunately I have never taught middle school, but would love the opportunity to try it out someday! I plan on doing classroom set up videos and scheduling videos in the future! Thank you so much for following along. Please let me know if there’s anything else that I can do for you!
Hi..I am from India and working as a special educator.. Thanks for your videos..in India we usually follows study skills as well as life skills goals in high school level..i would like learn more about special education classes for high school in US..kindly guide..
I have not unfortunately. I would love to try it though if I ever got the opportunity! My only experience at the middle school level was my level 3 teaching experience in college and I really loved the students!
Having taught SDC high school another con or challenge is a high caseload of IEP's, meeting Benchmark Goals, and in a single school year, one could have up to 4 or 5 Triennials. For elementary, the amount of IEP's to manage are lower.
This can definitely be true! Surprisingly where I taught I had a lower caseload at the high school level, but the school was much more supportive of special education services than the elementary school I taught in (at a different district and state).
Was thinking the same thing as I currently work as special edu para with autistic middle schooler and am finding that while it can be challenging at time it can also be rewarding at same time .
It depends on the school, but in general they will teach all of the core subjects on top of life skills. Some other classes that might be taught are employelity skills and transition. I was fortunate enough to teach at a large school district where I only taught special education math and life skills.
what are exactly do teachers consider special needs. In my way, if i was a special needs teacher, I would let the kids figure it out for themselves what they want and what they need. I will not and never ever let other people decide for them. They can help. But that is it, that is where I will draw the line. I will help you, but they got to decide that by themselves. I hate the excuse that just because some kids are "special' that means they need this or need that and they cant figure it out themselves. BS.
I wish special education was like this when I went to school. When I went to school in the '80s and early '90s they taught us all at the same level. Same thing year in year out till I graduated good educational video
Times have definitely changed! Thanks for watching. I am glad you enjoyed it ❤️
This helped me so much. I have been considering switching jobs and this makes me feel excited to try something new. Great video!
Good luck with your future job!! Thanks so much for watching!
This is a helpful video. I've taught special ed in high school for six years, but I moved to a new state recently and have thought about trying elementary school for a change. Everything you said about high school is true for me, too. You get to form relationships with older kids that don't happen at a younger age, and I love that I can be more blunt with high schoolers. I'm still considering elementary, though!
I totally get it! Do what is best for you. Elementary students are wonderful too! Sometimes change is best! Good luck with the upcoming school year and make sure to reach out if you need anything!
@@ActiviTeach Thank you! 🙂
I’m considering switching over to high school and I think I would really enjoy it but I’m wondering what kind of resources I’d need.
Hello! I absolutely love high school! The type of resources you will need will depend on if you will be teaching self-contained or resource. If you are teaching self-contained I have a whole math curriculum and I lot of career/work readiness resources in my TPT shop. Good luck with your decision and thank you so much for watching! :)
I am so excited about your videos and the knowledge that you are sharing. I am a first year high school sped teacher at a charter school. Thank you, thank you, thank you so very much❤️
I am so glad you are finding my videos helpful!! Good luck with the rest of the school year and let me know if I can help in any way 🙂
This is very informative. Thank you
I am so glad this helped! Thanks so much for watching! 💕
I was a Para and I hope to get into it again soon. But I’ve also heard about Gen Ed teachers being very prejudice and not receptive to the sped students. I’ve also heard about cases where the parents were made to have their child placed into special education and also parents who fight to keep their kids out of it or a situation where the parents sign forms unknowingly consenting to have their child evaluated and when the parents are told their kids qualify they’ll deny any service.
Great video!!! The information shared was helpful and useful. I'm currently a career changer working to get my SpEd degree and working as a para to get experience. Everything you said about high school sounds perfect for me other than the paperwork. Successfully managing a caseload of students with their IEPs has me concerned about working a ton of hours and consuming my time for family and extracurricular activities. How many hours a week do you truly work to be effective (or even better, highly effective) as a high school SpEd teacher? I'll be watching your other videos for more tips. Thanks!
Great question! My first job was as a high school special education teacher and I easily worked 60+ hours a week… however once I had kids I forced myself to only work my contract hours. You can easily work endless hours and still feel like you have more to do, so I think it is important to set those boundaries. There will be a big learning curve your very first year so you might have to work extra hours, however I think it is doable and important to try to only work your contract hours after that. Feel free to send me a message if you would like me to go more in depth! Good luck with your first job!
I'm a sped paraprofessional while going to school full time. My degree is in special education. However, the classrooms I am in have students that are not disabled and more so have ADHD or a hard time focusing. (I love all students and always help them) but I thought I would be helping more hands on with life skills and other information you mentioned.
My question to you is:
Is it just my school district that's like this?
Or do I need to teach at an alternative school?
Or is there so other / new acronym that life skills goes by now.
In conclusion, I love helping people. I just thought I'd be doing what you do and what I see on other people's channels that talk about sped, but I am not and I am confused. Any feed back would be great!
Thank you! And awesome video!
Hello! It sounds like you might be in more of resource setting with students with learning disabilities. Typically life skills classroom are considered self-contained and usually you work with students with more severe disabilities like intellectual disabilities.
@ActiviTeach thank you so much for the response! Any tips on what to say when applying to a more hand on role with children that have disabilities?
@@coltonmonroe9824 if you are wanting to work on more life skills with students you could ask for a position with students with intellectual disabilities. Or just ask if they have any life skills classes you could help with!
@@ActiviTeach Awesome I will do that. At my school district they do not use the term "life skills" they looked at me like they were confused. I believe the terminology has changed where I am at. In addition, thank you again so much! Instant Sub!
Thanks you for sharing useful knowledge for us.
Thanks so much for watching!
Thank you for your video! I may have the chance to choose between teaching elementary and high school special education - I'm leaning towards the high school one because i care a lot about the future of the youth, but i am afraid of handling them when they are bigger and indeed have more emotions / hormones. I'm not sure whether it would be possible for me to start from Elementary, and go up to High school education from there once I am more comfortable but it would take more years of teaching to reach there. Still thinking about it!
That is such a hard decision! As you know, I definitely prefer high school but every teacher is different! Good luck with deciding your future career and thanks so much for watching!
A very informative and useful video. I only have one objection. As a SERT you are equally responsible for IEPs for advanced (often bpred) students or children with unusual learning styles. Oh, actually one other important role. As a SERT you are an important source of PD for the regular classroom teacher. This role makes you a critical factor in the overall function and culture of the school and the community.
Very good point! I taught self contained at the high school level rather than resource.
What’s a SERT?
Liked the comparison between Elementary and high school.
Thanks for watching!
I'm in high school and I was in special education in elementary and they are thinking of putting me back in special education
I spent this past school year in a Pre-K sped class and it was my absolute worst year in education. I’m moving to a new district and have offers for both elementary and high school TA positions. I have been on the fence between the two, but I’m really leaning towards the high school. It will be a huge change for me, but if it doesn’t work out, I can always go back to elementary next year.
From my own personal experience I totally recommend trying out high school! I will never go back to elementary after experiencing the difference between the two!
@@ActiviTeach thank you so much for the insight!
Thanks so much 🙏, joining you soon
There is a world of difference between how kids are functioning in early childhood compared to elementary. Early childhood is very preacademic whereas most kids with exceptional needs do make significant jumps in their ability to function and engage academically even if they are still behind their grade level. Even with those with more severe disabilities...the work that has been put in between early childhood and elementary could be thought as having the same significance as transitioning from elementary to highschool in the progress of a given particular student.
Early childhood sped is a path unto itself apart from elementary, middle, and high school so I would not necessarily count yourself as unsuitable for elementary based upon the experiences with early childhood sped. And then going through things with a finer tooth comb, Middle School can be the best of both elementary and high school while still presenting its own challenges....especially with the getting further behind academically as the academic content becomes more specialized/departmentalized.
This is awesome insight, thank you so much!!
No problem! Thanks so much for watching. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
and some scheduling samples. Any lesson ideas would be great as well. I kind of feel like I’m starting over so feeling a little scrambled
Hello, just came across your channel and very excited! It’s so hard to come across special education channels. I have been a self-contained teacher for the last 6 years and have spent most of my teaching in elementary special Ed. I am moving back to middle school self-contained working on life skills and vocational prep along with academics. I would love to see some functional classroom set-up for 7th and 8th graders going into high school
Hello! I am so glad that you found my channel. Unfortunately I have never taught middle school, but would love the opportunity to try it out someday! I plan on doing classroom set up videos and scheduling videos in the future! Thank you so much for following along. Please let me know if there’s anything else that I can do for you!
Can you do a video for middle school sped?
I wish I could, however I have never taught middle school. I would definitely try teaching middle school if I ever had the opportunity though!
Thank you very helpful
I’m so glad it helped!
Awesome Video. On point. Totally Agree with you👍🥰👏
Thanks so much for watching! ❤❤
Hi..I am from India and working as a special educator.. Thanks for your videos..in India we usually follows study skills as well as life skills goals in high school level..i would like learn more about special education classes for high school in US..kindly guide..
Have you ever taught middle school special education
I have not unfortunately. I would love to try it though if I ever got the opportunity! My only experience at the middle school level was my level 3 teaching experience in college and I really loved the students!
@@ActiviTeach oh ok good to know I want to become a special education teacher
@@ActiviTeach can you become a special education teacher even if you have disabilities like autism
@@Maddy-dh7xv of course! I have worked with many teachers that have disabilities. Also being a paraprofessional might be good fit too!
@@ActiviTeach thanks for letting me know I’m autistic and really want to become a special education teacher thanks again
We should do an interview because I was a special education student and I graduated from college. My name is camille
Having taught SDC high school another con or challenge is a high caseload of IEP's, meeting Benchmark Goals, and in a single school year, one could have up to 4 or 5 Triennials. For elementary, the amount of IEP's to manage are lower.
This can definitely be true! Surprisingly where I taught I had a lower caseload at the high school level, but the school was much more supportive of special education services than the elementary school I taught in (at a different district and state).
like to see of any sped students take part in football or band
why not teach pe classs
What about Middle School?
I have actually never taught middle school for more than a week or else I would have done a video on it!
Was thinking the same thing as I currently work as special edu para with autistic middle schooler and am finding that while it can be challenging at time it can also be rewarding at same time .
What Subjects usually a SPED High School Teacher teach?
It depends on the school, but in general they will teach all of the core subjects on top of life skills. Some other classes that might be taught are employelity skills and transition. I was fortunate enough to teach at a large school district where I only taught special education math and life skills.
I HATED BEING IN SPECIAL ED IN SCHOOL.
I’m so sorry that you didn’t have a good experience 😢😢
Lovely video
Thanks! I hope this video helped you!
what are exactly do teachers consider special needs. In my way, if i was a special needs teacher, I would let the kids figure it out for themselves what they want and what they need. I will not and never ever let other people decide for them. They can help. But that is it, that is where I will draw the line. I will help you, but they got to decide that by themselves. I hate the excuse that just because some kids are "special' that means they need this or need that and they cant figure it out themselves. BS.
iep meetings suck
💯