What is an SH teacher?

Question

What is an SH teacher?

Answer 1

An SH teacher is one who teaches Severely Handicapped students.  SH students are those who cannot be in a regular Special Ed/Day class and cannot be mainstreamed into regular ed classes for certain subjects.  

The SH classes i know of usually have students who have Severe Downs Syndrome, students who are not physically or mentally capable of doing classroom work within several years of their grade level.

I have never worked in an SH class but i did substitute teach several times in a "Resource/Special Ed" classroom where students had Downs Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, and several other forms of mild-moderate mental retardation.  These students were able to be mainstreamed into a regular ed. classrooms at lunchtime and for the afternoons.  They had work to do, usually Math or some sort of Language Arts, in their regular classrooms and participated in Physical education and other regular ed. classroom activities (parties, holiday presentations, etc...).   These students were the MOST fun to work with.  They were sweet and the hardest working group of kids i have ever taught.  When they mastered something or finally understood something that they had been having trouble with their faces would light up.  

Working with both types of students really takes a Special kind of Individual as they are very trying at times and it takes extreme patience.