Special Education Classes*

Over the past few weeks, I have been blessed with the opportunity to sit in during Response To Intervention meetings of a few students in my classroom. This experience has shown me an immense amount of what to expect when I get my own classroom, and how to handle certain types of meetings. It has also shown me that it is very important to keep documents on every student and to keep up to date records and examples of work because these work samples become very important when discussing student achievements. 

Today wrapped up a student being placed into Special Education classes. It was really amazing to see this process come to a decision like this because I have watched this student struggle in the general education classroom for some time now. The process takes a long time because the student needs to be placed correctly, so seeing her placed in a setting where it will benefit her the most was a great experience. With meeting with the parents, I could tell that they were relieved that she was placed in a setting where she can strive in a smaller setting. 

During the meeting, the leader of the meeting asked the parents if they minded that I sat in during the meeting. The parent's response was that she was okay with it because her daughter really enjoyed me being in her classroom. This is another reason why I know I'm doing the right thing with becoming a teacher. When I almost break down in tears because I have made an impact on this student where she goes home talking about her school day with me, it shows me that I am ready to continue my path into my own education classroom. 

Moments like those are the reasons that I am who I am. Many people ask me why I want to become a teacher, and my response is that I just know it's right for me. It's right because there is no other place I want to be than with these students. While I know that sometimes it gets a little frustrating and it may not be "rainbows and sunshine" every day, this is what makes me happiest and what makes me complete.