Are any of you ever happy with special ed teachers? I mean every other post on this forum is a bash in one way or another of a sped teacher!!

Have you stopped to consider that the parents are force to make the priority of putting a roof over the kids head, clean clothing and food? If working, they may be working 45-70 hours per week. Or, they did not have the parenting that someone did that for them, so they are not aware how important it is. Part of our learning to parent is how our parents parented us. If you have involved parents, you are more likely to be involved. If your parents were always on survival mode and you are on survival mode, survival comes first.

You cannot compare parents. I am a SAHM. I quit to care for my child as my income would not support a good day care, plus taxes and all that other good stuff and a nanny. But, it is a luxury many families don't have. My mother worked. I had no idea women didn't work till college (or men). We have excellent health insurance that now covers many therapy's. Before the insurance kicked in we struggled to do once a week private therapies and it was a huge struggle and a stress. I can only imagine what families go through who do not have insurance or government insurance, which many providers do not accept. And, even with good insurance, it is very hard to find good providers to accept it. It is equally hard to advocate for your child as I am on the phone for hours trying to figure it all out and keep our referrals active. I spend hours transporting my child (and then waiting) for the different therapies and special school he is in. Very few parents I know have that luxury of just sitting while your child is at school waiting as it is the best school but 45 minutes away and not worth it to go home for a 1/2 day program.

If you haven't been a parent, consider what it is like on the other side. I was a professional with special needs experience so you cannot compare me to someone else. But, I can tell you it is hard, very hard. I used to tell people to do everything I do, they would complain, and I had no clue what it really meant time wise till I did it. On top of the financial stresses of paying for it all (I spend more on gas than when I did working full time).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a sped teacher who has worked exclusively in schools east of the river, I feel like you have some unfair ideas about the parents you work with.

Every single one of the kids in my inclusion classroom who have IEPS have had very involved parents, even when those parents had lots of challenges like working 3 jobs or taking 3 buses just to get to an iep meeting.

Thank you PP. I was offended by OP's post. I am a principal of a Title 1 school. Our teachers work very hard to connect with parents and are very successful, even when well over half of our parents do not speak English. It is rare that a parent does not show for an IEP meeting. We make a visit to the home of each child before school starts just to say hi and that we are excited to work with the family. We always begin every interaction with the assumption that each parent is doing the best he/she can and that we are all working as a team. This is our job as a school.

I wouldn't hire OP with that attitude to work at my school.

She wasn't talking to you, and I am glad this is how it works at your school, but you are VERY naive if you think this is how it works at every school. My kids' former school had wonderful teachers and a great principal, but no matter how hard they tried, there were a LOT of parents who never bothered to show up for IEP meetings and were not even aware of their children's diagnosis. You'd be surprised how often this happens despite best efforts on behalf of the school.

OP, thanks for the encouragement!

Call troll all you want...lol but I am a special educator at a title 1 school in Florida. I work very closely with our social worker because many of my students are also supported by her, and the homes my specific students come from are not favorable. I worked in another title 1 school before this and it was entirely different. I did not come on here to put down title 1 schools by any means, every school is very different. Schools in the same town can be very different. It sounds like your school has a large number of students who are LEP? Ours does not. It has very few in fact, but as I said previously those parents tend to be most involved. I am sorry that you don't believe schools like mine exist. We have a wonderful community, staff, AND parents, but it does make me sad when we don't have more support specifically for our kids with SN.

Sorry, but I'm calling troll on this one. What's with trying to brown nose DCUM? I hope to convey to DCUM that this is not true of Title 1 families. There are definitely families that have trouble attending meetings due to work schedules and not having a car, sick family members, etc. But most of our families make a good faith effort to attend especially when they have the support of the school on their side or the teacher has made the effort of having paperwork translated into their language. I work directly in the homes of many of these students and see the love and concern these families have for their kids. It's easy to judge someone's family situation when you know nothing about what happens after 4pm. That is why getting to know your students and their families helps bridge that gap especially when it comes to Title 1.

I apologize. My intent for this thread wasn't to be negative.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a sped teacher who has worked exclusively in schools east of the river, I feel like you have some unfair ideas about the parents you work with.

Every single one of the kids in my inclusion classroom who have IEPS have had very involved parents, even when those parents had lots of challenges like working 3 jobs or taking 3 buses just to get to an iep meeting.

Thank you PP. I was offended by OP's post. I am a principal of a Title 1 school. Our teachers work very hard to connect with parents and are very successful, even when well over half of our parents do not speak English. It is rare that a parent does not show for an IEP meeting. We make a visit to the home of each child before school starts just to say hi and that we are excited to work with the family. We always begin every interaction with the assumption that each parent is doing the best he/she can and that we are all working as a team. This is our job as a school.

I wouldn't hire OP with that attitude to work at my school.

I work very hard and have a wonderful rapport with those parents who show interest in their children. In my case many of our parents who don't speak English are the most involved!! That's wonderful that your school has a great turnout for IEP meetings...again I would love that. I understand there are trials and tribulations with life and raising kids of course, and I go to work each day remembering I am entrusted with working with someone's whole world and what an honor that is!! I am blown away by all that parents have to do to get by, and I am happy to be a support for their kids and this is why I love working at the school I do.

I was simply trying to give a compliment to the families on this board who seem to be very involved with their SN kids. It wasn't meant to be a put down! I work at a title 1 school that is also the neediest in our tri-county area. It takes Title 1 to a whole new level. I know that income doesn't have everything to do with it but it certainly affects many aspects of the supports needed for our students.

Anonymous wrote:As a sped teacher who has worked exclusively in schools east of the river, I feel like you have some unfair ideas about the parents you work with.

Every single one of the kids in my inclusion classroom who have IEPS have had very involved parents, even when those parents had lots of challenges like working 3 jobs or taking 3 buses just to get to an iep meeting.

Sure, that's some of the parents. Not every parent at this school is uninvolved. But when I never hear from the parents, or I only know they're not coming to the meeting because the student tells me he/she is in jail, then I do wish for more for the kids I teach. I wish they had more support and again I would be so much happier with supportive and involved parents than non-existent ones. I work in middle school, and I talk to the kids 1-on-1 frequently, so I know the issues going on at home for most of them and it makes me very sad.

Anonymous wrote:As a sped teacher who has worked exclusively in schools east of the river, I feel like you have some unfair ideas about the parents you work with.

Every single one of the kids in my inclusion classroom who have IEPS have had very involved parents, even when those parents had lots of challenges like working 3 jobs or taking 3 buses just to get to an iep meeting.

Thank you PP. I was offended by OP's post. I am a principal of a Title 1 school. Our teachers work very hard to connect with parents and are very successful, even when well over half of our parents do not speak English. It is rare that a parent does not show for an IEP meeting. We make a visit to the home of each child before school starts just to say hi and that we are excited to work with the family. We always begin every interaction with the assumption that each parent is doing the best he/she can and that we are all working as a team. This is our job as a school.

I wouldn't hire OP with that attitude to work at my school.

Anonymous wrote:As a sped teacher who has worked exclusively in schools east of the river, I feel like you have some unfair ideas about the parents you work with.

Every single one of the kids in my inclusion classroom who have IEPS have had very involved parents, even when those parents had lots of challenges like working 3 jobs or taking 3 buses just to get to an iep meeting.

I don't think it's an income issue. There are some incredible low-income but very involved parents and their kids will reap those benefits. There are also very wealthy/hands-off parents and the kids will reflect that too.

As a sped teacher who has worked exclusively in schools east of the river, I feel like you have some unfair ideas about the parents you work with.

Every single one of the kids in my inclusion classroom who have IEPS have had very involved parents, even when those parents had lots of challenges like working 3 jobs or taking 3 buses just to get to an iep meeting.

I'm sorry for the kids you teach. I constantly worry about if and how I will be able to get one of my kids to become a productive, employed adult who isn't reliant for on us, his siblings or the state for support. I work very hard toward this goal, as do my son's teachers and IEP team. I cannot imagine that he would be successful without the supports at home. Not patting myself on the back, just saying that it takes a lot to get some kids to grow up into the most productive adult they can be and my son is one who needs more than most kids.

In years past, there were far more supports for adults who were not capable of growing up and caring for themselves. I don't think that is the case today.

+1 from another special ed teacher

Whenever I encounter a parent who is challenging or may be considered "overprotective," I always remind myself that I would rather have over involved parents than absent parents.

Toot, toot.....

I would kill to have parents like you all for the kids I teach.
I work at a low-income school, where parents not only don't ever come to IEP meetings or re-evals, but they never even answer phone calls or return paperwork. I've held 10 IEP meetings this year, and two parents have come. My students have support from me and other staff, but collaboration with their home situations is impossible. I try to be the best advocate I can for my students, but that often only lasts until 4pm and they go home. I would be SO HAPPY to have wonderful, supportive, engaged, and even overprotective parents like you all in my school.
Keep doing what you're doing, parents. Keep being your child(ren)'s biggest advocate and support. The teachers who have your kids should be happy to have parents who care and should thank you everyday for being an important part of their education!!