It seems strange to have been a teacher for almost 3 years now, but in 3 different settings. While I am always up for a new challenge (and secretly love all of the organizing and classroom rearranging that comes with the change), there have been some drawbacks to go along with the positives of job change. So I thought for my first post in a while, I would highlight some.

Drawback 1: Classroom Clean out
While change can be a good thing, too much of a good thing can be overwhelming. As it was in my new classroom. The last teacher in my room had been there for over 30 years. 30 YEARS! That’s a long tenure for teachers to teach at all, let alone in special education. I am in awe. IDEA was barely passed back then! I can’t even imagine the things that she had to deal with. While this was great continuity for her kiddos and her aides, she kept a lot of the past in that small little portable. We spent our full two prep days at the beginning of the school year reorganizing, rearranging and trashing bags after bags of old, broken, outdated stuff. There is still a drawer in my teacher desk full of useless forms (like old power points from a 2001 training) and documents from 2006 and before. I had to stop myself from continuing the cleaning process into the school year and focus on actually teaching! But while organization is one of my strong suits, I would love to stay in a classroom long enough to not have to worry about cleaning and organizing every year.

Drawback 2: New Staff
The biggest drawback in my book is working with new staff. Not just aides, although since you work with them every day it is the hardest transition. The aides in my current classroom are great people, so kind and generous, some have been there over 18 years!  They have been great tolerating some changes to their day and the classroom operations, and I have had to change myself and my teaching and delegating ways to fit the staff.  It’s a PROCESS. And it takes TIME. They know the students better than I do, yet I am also the teacher and have learned a lot of different, new, and exciting strategies I am ready to try. You need to build working, collaborative relationships with your administrators, program specialists, and multiple therapists. One of the harder ones in a county setting is building relationships with the general education teachers on the site. Since we are not employed by the same group, I don’t get their emails, their training, or any real time with their teachers. Which means that opportunities building relationships with the general educators is few and far between.

Drawback 3: No Two Districts are Alike
No two districts are alike. And that goes double for county programs. For those unaware, when a student doesn’t fit into the special education programs that a district offers due to severity of condition, medical needs, or severe behaviors, the student is often referred to the county. Each district is different in what it offers. And each county is different in what classrooms it offers. Sacramento almost exclusively has SH (severely handicapped) and ED (emotional disturbance) classes with a few others mixed in.  If the child is too severe for the county, usually because of behaviors, than they would most likely be refered to a nonpublic school setting. I will be doing a post later on describing some CA programs in more detail. While it is pretty amazing the amount of variety in the special education teaching setting, it can be confusing moving from district to district to county. Everyone has different computer systems, IEP set up and processes, curriculum, admin procedures etc. It can be confusing and often aggravating doing something ‘right’ according to your last district and having it be so wrong!  It’s just one more thing to get used to.

Drawback 4: New Kids (and Families)
I love getting and meeting new students. In my book, one of the best parts of special education is figuring out the students, their likes and dislikes, and getting to know their quirks and what makes them smile. It is a huge downside leaving my previous students and families, especially when we are just getting into a rhythm and getting to know each other better.  I can always tell that the parents are never happy to have to get to know new teachers each year and I know that its a huge bummer for the kids having to fall into a new routine and a changing curriculum.

I could go on an on about the differences in my past three programs (and more if you count my time as an aide). I am grateful for the opportunities to work in such different settings and experience so much, but I am also very happy to be in one place (for now!)