future of special education

Hi-I just started school and am working towards receiving my certification in special education. I have heard from a teacher's aide in my area that special education jobs will be eliminated because of inclusion in the classroom. Has anyone heard this also? I just don't want to spend 4 years getting a degree that I can't use. Should I first get my certification in K-6 then go for the special ed? If I do not find a special ed job can I test for the K-6 to become certified or is this more school? I currently work with adults in the MH/MR field and love what I do so it is not a matter of being passionate about it, it is a matter of having the time and money. I am in my 30's and have 2 kids!!!!

I have been a special ed teacher for over 10 years and although don't regret my experience, I would not recommend teaching to someone coming out of school right now. It's gotten extremely difficult for both regular and special ed teachers. Parents are so demanding (or they just don't care), there's no money for anything (and I work in a wealthy district), and as the other poster said, many Reg. Ed teachers are very difficult to work with regarding special ed students, and then you are caught in the middle, with parents asking you why the teacher isn't following the accommodations as written in the IEP. I am going back to school next year full time to become an OT, and although I don't expect healthcare to be any less frustrating than public school teaching, at least I know I have many options for where to work, with what population, etc. And I won't have to stay in a job I can't stand anymore. Right now I'm stuck in one school system because if I wanted to find a new job in a new district, I'd lose pay, lose tenure, and they could just lay me off after my first year.
I guess if it's something you really think you want to do, then you should talk to as many special ed teachers as you can. It's certainly a great schedule if you have kids. But for me, I just knew I needed to do something different. Good luck!

Oh and I don't know how it is now but it used to be that you had to get your reg. ed. certification first, then special ed. The other issue to consider is that you will be confined to teaching whatever area your certification is in. So let's say you hear of a job as an ESL teacher or something else you'd like to do, well you're stuck because you'd have to go back and get that certification, spending more time and money for classes and then student teaching. I didn't like that aspect of teaching--if I decided I wanted to go teach another subject or grade level my certification doesn't cover, I'd have to go back to school. It's just not worth it financially or otherwise! If it's going to be 4 years of school to get to the point of being certified, I would say only do it if you are certain, after talking to lots of teachers in different schools, it's going to be worth it. I don't mean to knock down your dream, it's just that knowing what I know, I'm recommending you really research.

I believe I'm in the minority, but I truly love teaching. I entered teaching late (around age 44), and had to deal with about 6 years of part-time classes to become fully certified in California (over and above 2 bachelor's degrees and a master's degree I already had). I've been teaching for about 12 years now. Yes, it's very challenging, and the paperwork is awful, but the rewards go far beyond any other job I've ever had. I know I'm especially lucky, though, to work at a small school in a rural area. I find the teachers and administrator here to be very supportive and very involved in the education of "our" students. I also find the parents to be generally very reasonable. I think it's very sad when other teachers say, "Don't even think about entering this profession." I understand their feelings, but our country desperately needs good teachers. If someone doesn't do the job, who will?

One addition to my previous post: My only teaching experience has been in special education.

Greg,
how did you like it when you qouted the assignments for the children and did they listen to you.

I hope I'm not too late, but DON'T DO it. If you want to be a special education teacher, become regular ed certified and work in an inclusion classroom. You can buy books online and educate yourself. Certification is not necessary. It is really a formality, and it only gives you permission to stand in the back of a classroom of a teacher who is less qualified than you (often an alternate router), has less debt than you, and treats you like dirt. Again, DON'T DO IT!!!!

It depends on where you live. Here in Michigan, you can't get a primary (first)special ed endorsement. You have to have a regular ed endorsement and THEN you can get your special ed. endorsements. To only educate yourself by purchasing books, you are missing out on so much practical knowledge that you would learn in school. The negativity is overwhelming here!

There will always be SPED teachers needed because, while the trend is toward inclusion, there will always be some students (those classified as having low-incidence disablities) who will need to be in self-contained classrooms, or just go to general ed classes a portion of the day. And if you want to work with students with high-incidence disabilities (like learning diabilities) you can be an inclusion teacher or co-teacher.
You aren't waisting your time...you have to be certified to teacher early childhood through 4th grade regular ed as well as EC-12th grade SPED. I did my internship in general ed even though I knew I wanted to teach SPED.
Both experiences were good and if you want to be a teacher then you will rise to whatever occasion comes...including demanding parents and district expectations.
Do you want to teach students with special needs? There will always be a need for teachers who do.

Special Ed., don't go there!!!!!

leavingteaching in Chicago, Illinois said: I have been a special ed teacher for over 10 years and although don't regret my experience, I would not recommend teaching to someone coming out of school right now. It's gotten extremely difficult for both regular and special ed teachers. Parents are so demanding (or they just don't care), there's no money for anything (and I work in a wealthy district), and as the other poster said, many Reg. Ed teachers are very difficult to work with regarding special ed students, and then you are caught in the middle, with parents asking you why the teacher isn't following the accommodations as written in the IEP. I am going back to school next year full time to become an OT, and although I don't expect healthcare to be any less frustrating than public school teaching, at least I know I have many options for where to work, with what population, etc. And I won't have to stay in a job I can't stand anymore. Right now I'm stuck in one school system because if I wanted to find a new job in a new district, I'd lose pay, lose tenure, and they could just lay me off after my first year.
I guess if it's something you really think you want to do, then you should talk to as many special ed teachers as you can. It's certainly a great schedule if you have kids. But for me, I just knew I needed to do something different. Good luck!

what program because i'm looking to get out of teaching.

I am one of those special educators that has pressed for Inclusion in Texas. Yes, it takes fewer special educators and far more aides. You have to push the administration into accepting the cost. Pull out programs have failed to help more student's then they helped. It means you have to be far more creative with a limited budget. Your job becomes more of a supervisory roll of both the aides you have helping the student and regular teacher and advising the administration about the best way to move forward. It is challenging and rewarding while being scary new territoriality ground. You challenge the status quo and people who think they have power over you, don't like it when you bust down their castle gates. So put on that old Super Mom suit - you are going to need all the bullet proofing your kids have toughed you into.

jamie in Williamsport, Pennsylvania said: Hi-I just started school and am working towards receiving my certification in special education. I have heard from a teacher's aide in my area that special education jobs will be eliminated because of inclusion in the classroom. Has anyone heard this also? I just don't want to spend 4 years getting a degree that I can't use. Should I first get my certification in K-6 then go for the special ed? If I do not find a special ed job can I test for the K-6 to become certified or is this more school? I currently work with adults in the MH/MR field and love what I do so it is not a matter of being passionate about it, it is a matter of having the time and money. I am in my 30's and have 2 kids!!!!

Dissed in Blairstown, New Jersey said: I hope I'm not too late, but DON'T DO it. If you want to be a special education teacher, become regular ed certified and work in an inclusion classroom. You can buy books online and educate yourself. Certification is not necessary. It is really a formality, and it only gives you permission to stand in the back of a classroom of a teacher who is less qualified than you (often an alternate router), has less debt than you, and treats you like dirt. Again, DON'T DO IT!!!!

After 17 years as a classroom teacher, the state of Texas declared me "Imminently Unqualified" [yes they put it in writing] I too found myself standing in the back of a classroom. I have watched some really great teachers and took it as an opportunity to learn from them. I have also witnessed some disasters and wondered why I was the one not qualified. If I had it to do over again I would have continued my Special ed. Training but would have been certified in Reading/Language as well as Social Studies due to all the under grad hours that I have. Don't go for SPED alone! It is often a thankless job with mountains of repetitive and unnecessary paperwork and very little appreciation form parents, students, peers, or administrators

It really depends on how you look at it. I don't find my job thankless at all. I love my students, parents and coworkers despite imperfections. The occasional hard day or tough parent to deal with does not change the fact that I am doing what I've been called to do to the best of my ability. It's not everybody's calling so don't let anybody tell you it is too hard and not to do it just because it wasn't for them. I absolutely love my job as do all of the other special ed teachers I know.