Why The Shortage In Special Education Teachers? | Alignstaffing

With such a shortage, job opportunity in the special education field in on the rise! Become one today.

Finding good, qualified special education teachers is getting increasingly difficult. It’s not easy According to nprED, 49 out of 50 states report shortages in the field. With a lot of paperwork, low pay, and the stress of standing up in front of a noisy classroom filled with rowdy, misbehaved children, the job itself is a tough sell. We need good special educators in order to teach less fortunate students how to thrive as adults. Without them, many experience adjustment problems lasting a lifetime. They need to be taught how to deal with their mental handicaps from a young age in order to smoothly maneuver through the real world. There are those in the industry who make the job worthwhile with their enthusiasm, hard work, and motivation. Striving to enrich special ed students’ learning and provide a stable, individualized system for all the best special education teachers love being in the classroom and are willing to work around the intense workload. In this week’s blog we’ll explore why there’s a shortage of special education teachers and highlight the need for good teachers, especially when working with mentally/physically disabled students.

Why Is There A Shortage?

In all regions of the United States, the shortage of special education teachers is present. They impede special needs students from reaching their full academic potential, and hinder an entire school system’s ability to prepare all students for the college or career phase of their lives. The lack of special education teachers is a direct result of high turnover and recruitment challenges. With a high volume of paperwork, heavy workloads paired with lack of support and, thus, professional isolation, it takes an extremely motivated, passionate individual to take on the challenge. There’s also a shortage in qualified faculty (those with degrees/experience in the special needs and education fields) because of increasing education costs. Attending college these days is an investment and because of a lack of substantial income, many don’t have the opportunity to get a degree. To make matters worse, most qualified personnel aren’t willing to work in certain communities. There’s a big difference between urban, rural and suburban settings, what with vastly dissimilar crime rates, poverty rates etc. In regional areas that desperately need qualified special education teachers, many qualified staff refuse due to personal safety and comfortability reasons. This does nothing but contribute to the lack of qualified personnel.

The Importance Of Good Special Education Teachers

Educating students with learning disabilities is not easy. This hard truth makes those moments of universal classroom understanding that much better, though. Many special education students are all too familiar with feelings of frustration and being completely lost in the classroom. The right educator is aware of this and works to motivate each individual student around their personal feelings of apprehension, de-motivation, and disgruntlement. Each student has their own Individualized Education Plan, meaning because they learn differently, a one-on-one, specialized approach is taken to educating them. A good special education teacher knows each of her students well. He/she can identify areas of concern with specific students and work with each independently, determining the best course method to ensure understanding of classroom material. A classroom of 10-15 students with different individualized education plans is overwhelming. However, the best educators are able to effectively work with each student’s shortcomings and passionately cares about each individual’s overall success. Becoming a good special educator is extremely personally fulfilling once you get the hard work out of the way.

Become A Special Education Teacher Today! Those Students Need You!

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Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/01/02/461590749/its-not-easy-teaching-special-ed