Personal Statement: Second-Grade Special Education

Type of Teacher I Plan to Be

As a 2nd-grade special education educator, I plan to be a teacher that is warm, caring, understanding, and compassionate. I will form a friendly relationship with each of my students. I want to understand their individual needs; teaching to their level is vital to their comprehension. I will also learn about their culture and incorporate each into the classroom decor. I will be organized by keeping the daily schedule structured. I will model good behavior, build trust, provide a safe environment, and command respect by running a democratic classroom. I will offer options to allow students to make the best choice possible regarding behavior and treat all students with respect and dignity. I will be fair and

I will impose discipline that fit the punishment. I see no need to punish students who do not understand what they did was wrong or why it was wrong. My job is to provide a solution by offering opportunities to make the right decision. To do this, I will need to apply consequences that have a long-term positive effect, so student's do not continue to make the same mistakes. This may be a challenge for special needs students, but I think I can make it work. I will treat all students with fairness. I will model how I expect my students to act. As I model, I will give clear explanations, so students understand what is expected of them. I want my students to be responsible citizens and learn the difference between right and wrong and successfully apply these strategies daily. And last, I will treat all students with respect. Curwin and Mendler believe that teachers do things that are ineffective, so I will look for ways to improve student behavior when our current rules and consequences do not work. Implementing these strategies, I can create a warm and inviting, safe classroom so students will want to come to school and willing to

I want to create an atmosphere of safety. I plan to teach my students to have mutual respect and resolve conflict in a calm manner. My classroom will be student-centered, I will set this tone by having the class mutually agree upon the classroom rules and set consequences they can understand and easily follow. The rules will be few and tailored to the needs of the students. I will set clear expectations for the class and be a role model. I believe that learning does not always have to come from a teacher-led classroom. It is our responsibility, as a teacher, to set the foundation of instruction to allow students to be a part of the creation of the learning process. I believe students will feel like they are a part of the decision-making process and that their input matters which in turn will give them a motivation to learn. Students will be giving the opportunity to make choices about how they complete their assignments and control their