As I have read the content this week, I have more deeply realized that mine is not the only perspective that I will need to focus on as a teacher. The students that will come into my future classroom will each be arriving with varying backgrounds, support systems, challenges and goals for the year. I think that it would be incredibly rare to have a classroom full of typically developing, on-grade-level students who come to the class focused and ready to participate and learn. I do know that most schools have access to a specialist or support staff that can help the students who have various specific challenges, but I feel that if I am able to be prepared in some way to help them that it will be a greater benefit for them and for our classroom as a whole.
As much as I hate to use the word "entitled", I do feel that it works when describing how students with special needs and challenges should feel in relation to receiving help. It would eat me alive to feel like I was not able to ask for or receive help when I needed it, and although the kind of help that special needs family may require can potentially be very great and time consuming and specialized, it is my belief that the kind of help they need should be available and accessible. I know that I will not be able to develop all the skills I need to be able to help every family and student that I will encounter in my career during this one class, but I am hoping to become more aware through this experience and learn about resources and types of help available so that I can at least be sympathetic to their needs and provide some kind of supportive direction.
