I am a first year special ed teacher. I am SOOOO stressed. I just feel like I can't get my head above water. Right now I have SO much on my plate - state testing, report cards, IEP updates, parent-teacher conferences, lesson plans, sub plans. . .I don't know how to do it all. How do you possibly meet the needs of all of your students when they are on such different levels? How do you keep up with all of the paperwork? Thanks for reading this. Any advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Last edited by kshaw; 10-31-2009 at 08:36 AM..
Reason: typo
this topic, which will hopefully help you feel less alone. The first year of teaching is so hard, so the first thing to remember is to be reasonable with yourself. Make sure that you are not beating yourself up for not having everything figured out and done.
The way I deal with the paperwork is by figuring out what I need to do and starting early. You have to get IEPs in on time, so that needs to be at the top of your list.
You don't need to write sub plans all the time, but you can spend sometime doing general plans that can be tweaked when you know you will be out. You can also create an emergency sub folder. Try to keep healthy by getting enough rest and exercise to avoid being out
You are also not doing parent-teacher conferences every day. They will come and go. I got most of mine scheduled at back to school night, and either sent the conference schedule home for parents to pick a time, or caught them on the fly. Conferences are several weeks away, but I have already started on the progress reports. I will also use the conferences to remind parents of updating IEP meetings, and schedule them if possible. I'm going to combine a quick amendment meeting with one of the conferences.
State tests are also not daily events. Yes, you do need to prepare students to take the tests, but you can do so in your teaching. You can do problems of the day, or concentrate on a particular skills, such as writing.
Your students may be at different levels, but they probably need to work on similar skills. This is another opportunity to consolidate. You can also hone your lessons to address a diversity of needs when your students are at similar levels, but have different IEP goals. Also you don't have to work on every goal every day.
Well, this is my second year teaching--special education (3rd, 4th, and 5th). I completely understand how you feel. I learned a lot my first year. Something I remember my mentor telling me was that teaching is an open ended job!! She was right. Our jobs are endless--especially for special education. I know this sounds crazy--but I pick 2 maybe 3 students that I really try to help succeed (the ones I know will be successful) because you can't "save" everybody. And it's emotionally draining thinking so. I know some students that no matter what I do will always be lost and confused.
To stay organized I keep everything in binders--lesson plans, IEPs, work samples, etc. It's getting bigger and I thought about switching.
I keep sub plans similar to blueheron's post.
To help my students who are all on different levels, I try to give them a lot of study sheets--like math calculations, sight word dictionaries, things they can use when I am not there in the classroom to be successful (IF they remember to use them). It's something I try to teach them. I do both inclusion and pull-out. I find with my super low kids--my non-readers (I have a couple students with dyslexia--one extreme!) I need to work with them one-on-one. I feel it's important for me to teach them some reading skills because they are not getting it in the classroom because they are so far behind. They need direct (direct, direct, direct) teaching to help them learn to read and lots of practice.
To keep up with paperwork, I try to chart on all of my small groups and take notes during inclusion--that's always hard to keep up though. I communicate a lot with the regular classroom teachers--that is important. I am always asking them how they are doing in class--what lessons they are working on next so I can keep up with resources and accommodations if necessary (it seems like they move from one topic to the next so fast!).
We just finished our 3rd grade state testing--the rest of the state testing is done in May. We do quarterly benchmarks (like district testing) and I make sure I give my students their accommodations.
What grades do you teach? What is it like where you teach--is it inclusion or resource room or pull-out?
If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me.
I know this sounds crazy--but I pick 2 maybe 3 students that I really try to help succeed (the ones I know will be successful) because you can't "save" everybody. And it's emotionally draining thinking so. I know some students that no matter what I do will always be lost and confused.
This statement has me a little confused. Do you mean you focus on these students while the others are left "lost and confused"? I don't think we are talking "saving" students, but we are talking about teaching each one to the best of our ability. I don't want to say much more until you can clarify. Thanks in advance.
To the OP---GREAT questions and I agree wholeheartedly with Blue Heron's reply. Maybe I'm in the minority, but state testing is WAYY down on the priority list for me. I do prepare my students as best as I can for what they will encounter. But, I don't spend time daily prepping them to pass the test. For sub plans, I try to save one I've written for each day of the week (diff things happen diff days) and save these five samples on my desktop in a folder and then personalize for each absence. I'm not gone that often. I don't do report cards. Progress reports are required three times a year. Parent conferences are coming up right before Thanksgiving, but report cards aren't due until Dec. I like this, as I don't have as much to prep for with conf. I keep a three ring binder for each child and try to keep 'good' samples of work in each goal area to show parents. This makes it easier at IEP writing time as well. Progress reports are done right on our IEP program (IEP online) and we just add comments and use a drop down box to show progress on goals.
I find it a lot tougher to have very mixed ability math groups than reading. I don't know if it is that I am more comfy with teaching reading or what. I like to teach a full group math lesson and then have the kids practice at their levels. I agree that our job is very difficult, but I love what I do for the most part .
The state testing I am worried about is the alternate assessment that is required for my students who do not take the regular state test. For each student, I have to choose 10 reading and 10 math goals. I then have to prepare a binder (the testing company so nicely sent me a binder that is like 4 or 5 inches thick) for each student with work samples (that I have to make to be sure that they address each objective exactly the way that it is written). By the way, those objectives must be chosen from the student's grade level curriculum - not their instructional level. . . It is basically a huge undertaking that tests the teacher's ability to be organized rather than the information that the student has learned.
By the way, thanks for the posts and all of the great suggestions!!!
That's different then. I've heard those are a lot of work. My students take the 'regular' state assessments, as I work in a resource room setting. How many students do you have on your caseload and do they all qualify for the alternate assessments?
Yes, to clarify your question: no, the other students are not left lost and confused. But because of other outside influences on a daily basis it is a constant struggle for some of my students. It can be a daily battle and you have to pick what you want to focus on. I am thinking disability, family (including cultural), medical, behavior, etc. that interfere with their learning. Plus, there are things in our own teaching (some good/some bad) that get in the way of the student's learning, too. I teach inclusion and some pull-out. So, sometimes it's the schedule or the amount of time I can work with a student. Ah, if only I had more time!!!! Sometimes, it's the resources available. I am always looking for better resources or more time to make the resources I want and need. (A lot of them cost $$$$ so I try to use what I have at home, school, and the local library). Sometimes, it's the family--the student is always absent and making up work.
I try to use researched-based interventions and am getting ready to switch with my of my 5th graders because what I am doing is not effective (he is not making as much progress with this program so I am getting ready to switch to a new program). I guess what I am trying to say is that I try my best and I do not beat myself up over things like student progress (although I still do!). I progress monitor weekly for reading, writing, and math and some of my students are making great gains (yes!) but there are a few who are going up and down (true picture of a learning disability).
We have to take the every small success or successes we can!! I hope this clarified your question. I hope it doesn't make me sound harsh. Dealing with special needs is hard work and rewarding at the same time. At first I went into it thinking I can save the world!! Ha--reality check came quick. Baby steps are the key. A lot of my students do make progress albeit it small but to them it's huge!! And to me it's huge--especially when I see a change in their behavior (like organization--constant struggle!-I also work with 5 students from with emotional/behavior and some days are good and some days are bad). I guess too I try not to beat myself up when they are not making as much progress as I like, are always in trouble for their behavior, homework is not complete, etc.
Ah, I could go on--I'm still passionate about teaching
I am taking a masters class in philosophy so I guess it is making me think--deeply reflect--about what I do, why I teach, and what kind of teacher I am.
I, too, am doing an alternate assessment. Ours sound a little bit different in Ohio. This is my first one, too. I wish I had more advise for you there. I was doing some research and found some great resources on another state's alternate assessment (I think it was Texas or Iowa--maybe Iowa--I didn't save it on my computer).
10-30-2009, 05:24 PM
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