Teaching Philosophy
Teaching students with special needs is an act that requires a tremendous amount of love and patients, but truly is the most honorable service in life. I have always loved being in the classroom, the community of a school, working with others, helping out, making others laugh, and being the center of support for those that need it the most. I believe that teaching students with special needs is where I am truly supposed to be, and as long as I am ready, willing, and able, I will be a special education teacher. I have always thought that teaching would be the most comfortable profession for me, that as long as I always loved it everything about it would be easy, however my experience thus far has been anything but. Teaching children with special needs has challenged me, forced me to grow, moved my heart, and has made me the person that I am proud to be today. I’ve have gained much insight on myself and the way I interact with the world through teaching student with special needs. Throughout the years, I’ve learned how to be helpful but not too helpful, appreciative of the little victories, proud of my work, kind with my words, and wise with my actions. All of the things that I strive to be as a teacher I work on improving every single day. The students that I work for are those who need the most to succeed, so in fact, I as a special education teacher must give the most. Although I believe in every child, I do find it comforting yet practical to believe in the philosophy that things take, and nothing happens all at once.
I believe that every student is capable of learning and I believe as a special education teacher there is always something I can do, discover, or create in order to provide students access to learning. Being creative is one of the many exciting things about working with exceptional students. Coming up with creative solutions to help a student is one of the most rewarding parts of my job and I see everything that I implement being used for a child to gain more independence as a victory.
I believe in free, quality education for every child. At any and all cost it is important that our students are given every chance to access a free and meaningful education in order to prepare them to be a part of our community. I strongly believe in the inclusion of our students with special needs in our general education population. I have seen firsthand how beneficial inclusion is for both parties. I plan to implement one day a school-wide best buddies program that teaches tolerance and diversity in our school and community through trainings about students with disabilities and monthly social events among students with disabilities and their general education peers. These types of programs mean the world to my students, and being included into general populations betters their chances for success in our community. It saddens me to think that many others do not feel this way, and that meaningful education for all is merely a luxury. Education is truly the most valuable thing in the world, we need to ensure it is available to everyone. Education is like oxygen, we are not always aware that it is there, but it is surely notable when it is not. We as a community of peers would all enjoy living in a well-educated society; this principle especially extends to our most low functioning students as they truly do need much support from all of us as a community.
I believe in my most difficult students, I believe that they are worthy of an education and a teacher that is consistent, caring, and fair. So many children need that stability in their life, and I’ve always felt like I could be that stability for them. I credit this to how I blessed was to grow up with loving and supportive parents that taught me to always do my best work for others and that failing is merely an opportunity to try again, great teachers who challenged me to do more than I thought I could, and a sorority program that taught me how to selflessly serve others.
I believe in fair education; from our student with learning disabilities to our student with multiple severe disabilities, I as a teacher believe in quality, meaningful education. The planning, trial and error, the frustration, and the victories are all a part of the journey that I will take as a special education teacher. However, I am nothing more than grateful to be a part of something that I truly love and am passionate about. Teaching for me is everything so is what I must give.
Megan Paielli