Could I even effectively teach special ed?
"They must have the ability to communicate effectively and be cooperative. Because these teachers work with students who have learning difficulties, they must be creative and apply different types of teaching techniques to reach every student. Special education teachers should readily accept the differences of others, understand their students’ special needs, act to motivate their students, and have a great deal of patience."
http://www.careeroverview.com/teachers-special-education-careers.html
I can be patient (no matter what my last few entries suggest). I dated someone with ADD for 1.5 years, and I never lost faith that Jason could do better in school (though it could be frustrating at times when he didn't seem to care as much as I thought he should, and I hated how ridalin (which helped him focus and do better in school) completely squashed his personality (one reason why he rarely took it)). I also thoroughly researched ADD websites back then, which convinced me even more that people who have trouble in conventional educational settings can still be amazingly bright.
I know that my heart's in the right place--I'm just...worried about the execution. Especially when it comes to capturing the students' interest and being able to find a teaching technique that works for them. I mean, sure, I was able to capture Jason's attention back in high school (enough so that he pursued me about a month even before we went to Sadies and officially started dating), but that involved some flirting, dueling with plastic pirate swords, and much chasing of stolen scarves and hats. (Side note: That was all really fun. I was miserable during his "downs"--Jason was quite moody--but I certainly enjoyed being silly together. I wanna fight someone with a plastic sword...the last time I came close to doing that I was fighting Ron with my sweatshirt freshman year of college). I don't think that would be considered an appropriate model to emulate for student/teacher interactions. Well, I guess the sword fighting might not be too bad. Except for the "promotion of violence" aspect. And it would be difficult to really justify that curriculum-wise.
Sigh. It's just a large part of me is also doubting that I would be able to teach any sort of class well at all. Rejection seems like a pretty good sign that teaching isn't meant for me. But then why did I accidentally make a bunch of unrelated choices that pushed me towards education during the last few years? Or am I just being superstitious?
http://www.careeroverview.com/teachers-special-education-careers.html
I can be patient (no matter what my last few entries suggest). I dated someone with ADD for 1.5 years, and I never lost faith that Jason could do better in school (though it could be frustrating at times when he didn't seem to care as much as I thought he should, and I hated how ridalin (which helped him focus and do better in school) completely squashed his personality (one reason why he rarely took it)). I also thoroughly researched ADD websites back then, which convinced me even more that people who have trouble in conventional educational settings can still be amazingly bright.
I know that my heart's in the right place--I'm just...worried about the execution. Especially when it comes to capturing the students' interest and being able to find a teaching technique that works for them. I mean, sure, I was able to capture Jason's attention back in high school (enough so that he pursued me about a month even before we went to Sadies and officially started dating), but that involved some flirting, dueling with plastic pirate swords, and much chasing of stolen scarves and hats. (Side note: That was all really fun. I was miserable during his "downs"--Jason was quite moody--but I certainly enjoyed being silly together. I wanna fight someone with a plastic sword...the last time I came close to doing that I was fighting Ron with my sweatshirt freshman year of college). I don't think that would be considered an appropriate model to emulate for student/teacher interactions. Well, I guess the sword fighting might not be too bad. Except for the "promotion of violence" aspect. And it would be difficult to really justify that curriculum-wise.
Sigh. It's just a large part of me is also doubting that I would be able to teach any sort of class well at all. Rejection seems like a pretty good sign that teaching isn't meant for me. But then why did I accidentally make a bunch of unrelated choices that pushed me towards education during the last few years? Or am I just being superstitious?