Jun
2021

What Is Involved in Becoming a Special Education Teacher?

One of the first questions that individuals ask when they are considering a career in Special Education or Special Ed as it is oftentimes called is “What are the responsibilities of a Special Education teacher?” This type of teacher is usually involved with teaching children who a wide range of disabilities that range from minor to major in nature. This career requires a lot of background education and work as well as a total focus on the career.If you are already in that mindset and have the dedication, desire, and determination to pursue a career as a teacher for educating learning disabled, then you may already be aware of the above. The next question that arises is “Do I have what it takes to become this type of teacher?” If you think you do, then the following information will enable you to pursue a career as a Special Ed teacher.From start to finish, there are basically 6 steps to becoming a teacher. Hopefully these steps will get you going in the right direction for starting your career:Get your degree – there’s a good possibility that this first step will be the most challenging of all due to the fact that there are very few colleges and universities that offer curriculum in Special Education Depending on which learning institution you are hopeful of enrolling in, your only choice may be getting a Bachelor’s Degree in English, Math, Psychology, or Sociology.Focus on a specific disability when you are earning your degree – there is a broad variety of disabilities to focus on so you should do some research and decide on which one that you want to focus on and work with as a Special Education teacher. Be aware that there emotional as well as physical disabilities.Take the Praxis II Exam – this is an examination for becoming a Special Education teacher that you will have to pass with flying colors. The scores required for becoming a teacher in any of the 50 states will sometimes vary from one to the next. So study hard before taking the exam.Enroll in an internship – an internship in as a Special Education teacher or some other career are two totally different types of careers with different responsibilities attached. You’re going to have to take your classes at the same time as working full time in a classroom when you are enrolled in your internship.Get your experience as a Special Education teacher – you want to start getting your experience as soon as you can. Working in a classroom alongside a Special Ed teacher as their assistant is the best type you can get during your internship and before you get your first job in the field.Apply for a job – surprisingly, this may be the easiest of the six. Starting your career as a Special Education teacher provided you have gained the necessary knowledge and learned how to apply it during your experience as an intern.