Given the bleak prognoses for many students with ED, why should I bother to continue to teach them?

Question

Given the bleak prognoses for many students with ED, why should I bother to continue to teach them?

Answer 1

Doesn't viagra cure ED?

Answer 2

You should continue to teach them because every small progress you make with them will make their life that much better. For every skill or concept you help them learn, their life will be better than it would have been before. It is important to think positively and rejoice in the small successes. My students have mental impairments and some have very limited abilities but we celebrate any acheivements. No matter what happens in the future, you can be someone who made their life better right now. Good Luck

Answer 3

How long have you been teaching ED students?  Burnout rate is very high.  It may be time for you to take a break and try to teach something else for a year or two.  I know this may be easier said then done, but if it is possible it will help you come back with renewed strength.

Lilly

Answer 4

You can not give up on them as that is what most of the kids want ,,,

Teaching kids with ed is very challenging and can be frustrating but the rewards are there ..

I have a son who has sen and some days are worse than others but i continue as who else would help him?

These kids need support and understanding and although the future may be bleak we can not let that beat us

These kids are special in the sense that that have a lot of difficulties and are very closed emotionally but they do see what you try and do for them even though they will not admit it ..

You can not change every child's life but you can make a difference in someones life

You sound like you have given up .... Many people have already given up on these kids and they are used to it ..

You can not change the system or society but you can make them prepared for what society has in place for them and be positive as they pick up on that and they will feed of you

Answer 5

Because you may be the one positive in a child's life, the person who helps a student decide that he is, after all, a worthwhile human being who can make the choices that can lead him to a productive and satisfying life.  You are right - many kids with emotional disturbance don't have a great prognosis.  As teachers, it often seems that we are swimming upstream against an overwhelming current.  But often we don't realize, at least at the time, that a student has grabbed onto the life preserver that we have thrown him.

Many students, and ED kids in particular, are living horrendous lives, with no positive role models, and they feel as if there is no point in even trying.  But sometimes having someone demonstrate that they care enough to push the kid to succeed is what makes the difference.

Having said that, I would also suggest that you learn a little perspective for yourself.  Over the years, I have learned that I cannot really change the home environment of my students (much as I would want to), and in many cases, the toxic psychological relationships in the home are stacking the deck against the students.  So I have learned, for my own peace of mind, to give each kid the best that I have to give them during the 6 hours they are in my classroom, and then to be at peace with myself for having done so.  I can't fix everything (although I do help at times with the practical stuff like giving the kids clothing and food when the family is in crisis), so I have to give each child the stability and support, and the education, that he or she deserves, and hope that I have been a positive influence.

Answer 6

With that attitude maybe you shouldn't teach them!!! I have three children LD's and two of them are doing very well despite their disabilities.  One has already finished college and is going for her master's in education to become a teacher.  The youngest child is a honor student passing the same classes that every other general education student is talking just with modifications like allowing her extra time on her tests or using a computer instead of writing every thing.

Why is she worth less than any other student and why shouldn't her teachers give their best to her and her classmates??? My oldest child has severe developmental delays and even though she wont' go to college she's working in a sheltered work shop and she's living on her own in an assisted living facility. And by her own I mean that she has her own apartment with social services on the premises.

Answer 7

Because we care!!!

That makes all the difference.  Hurray, SPED Teacher, for a right on answer. I couldn't have said it better.  Celebrate the victories, no matter how small.  Make a difference.  That is why we work in special ed.