What is your favorite part of your job?

Watching a student finally Get It

What is your least favorite part?

The moment I realize I don’t know how to help the student understand.

What is your average workday like?

It’s a lot of bouncing from thing to thing and adapting on the fly. In addition to my actual teaching duties I have School Assignments like Car Rider ramp and Meeting Coverage. Most of my day is spent going from one class to the next working with small groups of students on work to help build their understanding of a concept or helping them do class work. I meet with multiple teachers every day to go over what the students are doing in class and what their evidence is on their growth. I record this information so we can adapt their accommodations regularly to insure their growth and success.

How social is your job?

Very social

How did you end up in your field

I wanted to be a teacher who could help a student in ways that I didn’t get help. I originally just wanted to teach but I seem to have a knack for Special Ed students. I understand the frustration of not getting the work and not fitting in with the other kids.

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your work life balance?

7

What traits make a person successful in your field?

Empathy. It’s easy to forget as an adult that some of this stuff is brand new information for students or that there is an issue with retaining that information. But if you can tap into that empathy of what this might be like you can connect with your student in a real way. And it can help you help them.

On a scale of 1-10, how happy are you in your career?

7