Special education specialists are the amazing people who work with
truly needy students on a daily basis. As a special educator you'll
get to know and understand truly unique disorders and disabilities
and learn an appreciation for all people. It's a role that provides
an uncommon opportunity to focus on the student and the learning
process. By contrast, most educators focus on the content and
delivery, which is part of what leads to such disparity in learning
achievement.
Special education services are delivered mostly to students from
socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds and English Language
Learners, two groups which many new teachers are particularly
interested in teaching; if that's you, too, then special education is
the path you may truly want to follow.
Becoming a special education teacher - or rather, a special education
specialist - in the state of California can be an extremely rewarding
career. It will allow you the opportunity to pursue your passion for
lifelong learning and civil rights advocacy, while fulfilling your
desire to contribute to a greater cause. Following are basic steps on
becoming a special education teacher in the State of California.
!! Steps !!
* Start as soon as you can with getting experience. Look for
opportunities in a special day class, a resource room, or any
other setting where you get a lot of interaction and deal with
responsibilities that require working with people with
disabilities. Apply to be a para-educator (aka, a teacher's aide,
paraprofessional, dedicated student aide, 1 on 1 aide, etc.), or
volunteer. Unlike a teaching position, para-educators have a
competitive and highly sought-after job, so be prepared to apply
to many places and to work as a sub, or part-time.
Pick a disability population to focus on. Focus on the disability
population you're most interested in working with. In California,
there are five major areas you can become credentialed in: Early
Childhood Special Education, Mild - Moderate disabilities, Moderate
- Severe disabilities, visual impairment, and deaf or hard of
hearing. Get a bachelor's degree. The degree can be in any field
of your choice, though the following list of majors will greatly
inform your future teaching practice and prepare you for the type of
graduate work you will be doing: psychology, sociology, child
development, ethnic studies, and math/English education. If you have
a degree in anything else, though, it will probably not affect your
chances at having a successful career, just make sure you do at
least some work study in the areas of education, psychology,
sociology, or any related field.
* In many CSUs (San Jose State, CSU Monterey Bay, CSU Los Angeles,
etc.) you'll be able to get a minor in Special Education while you
obtain your bachelor's degree, and that can put a significant dent
in the intimidating amount of work you'll have to do for your
Level I credential. It's recommended that you do as much as you
can to lessen the amount of courses you have to take in your
graduate level of education.
* San Jose State, for example Research your credential
program. Only a handful of private schools, and no UCs, offer
credentials in any area of special education. Every CSU offers a
preliminary credential program in special education in at least
one field (of the mild/moderate, moderate/severe, etc.). Some
universities, like San Jose State, or San Francisco State, offer
nearly every possible credential and have huge departments of
Special Education. Some, like Humboldt State, have only one or two
programs. Do your research and determine what you want to do
before you decide which you would like to attend.
* Apply. Get everything in order in advance. Be prepared to apply as
early as a full year prior to the start of the program you want,
especially since the changes CSUs have had to make due to state
budget cuts which means they're no longer accepting new students
in spring semester (and many have temporarily stopped accepting
students into select programs altogether).
Discuss your options Meet with a counselor, and figure
out your program plan. If you already have a credential
for general education, either multiple or single subject,
you'll be able to waive many of the classes required for
the Special Education credential. If you don't have a
credential already, you can go straight into a special
education program.
* Keep in mind that a special education credential allows you teach
in all grade levels K-12, with the exception of Early Childhood
which restricts you to Birth - 5 and Moderate - Severe, which
allows you to teach adult students up to age 22 in addition to the
K-12 grade range.
Decide whether you want to do an internship or not. Don't be
fooled into thinking this is "just" an internship. An internship
in Special Education as a teacher is basically doing a full-time
regular teaching job but also taking classes at your university
at the same time. An internship is an excellent way to get into a
district, get your first two years out of the way (known to be
the most difficult time in a teaching career), and make an
excellent salary while you're at it.
* Be fully aware that an internship is a _lot_ of hard work (and
that's an understatement) but it can be extremely rewarding when
you finally get your preliminary credential and realize you've
already got two years of experience under your belt.
* An intern credential is good for two years, and no longer. You
must plan to have all of your classes finished before your
internship credential expires.
Apply for your credential. There are two credentials you'll get,
Level I and Level II. After you finish your Level I credential,
which will include the majority of your classes, you'll have 5
years in which to finish your Level II (a program which takes 2
years at a comfortable pace) and which includes more courses at a
university and a minimum of two full years of teaching
experience.
* This is similar to the BTSA that general education teachers
complete, but a little more intense. It's often coupled with a
Masters degree in Special Education, which is only one to three
classes of extra work along with a masters project, thesis, or
seminar. After three and a half years, it's really worth adding
one extra semester of work, and most districts will give you a
small stipend for having an MA.
* You may apply to any university to get your Level II if you choose
to move or just try a different college, you do not have to
continue at the same university you started at.
* _ Apply for jobs! Special education is an expanding field
with very few applicants. Not nearly enough people go into the
field as they should, but that's good for you! You'll almost
definitely have a job in any place in California, and the job
security is unbeatable. If you've ever thought you just might_ be
interested in working with people with special needs, then you'll
probably find yourself very happy in this field.
!! Video !!
!! Tips !!
* Don't deny yourself any opportunity you have to enjoy yourself or
de-stress! You'll need it.
* Work on your communication skills. You'll be required to network
and communicate effectively with many different types of people,
from students, to parents, to principals and administrators.
* Keep a calendar. Keep it up. Check it multiple times a day.
* Get a smart phone so you can check and answer e-mails throughout
the day, as you'll need to.
* The state will pay up to $19,000 of student loans back for any
post-secondary learning you do that leads up to a teaching
position in Special Education through APLE - Assumption Program of
Loans for Education. This is a financial assistance program to
promote teacher recruitment into special education, math and
science education, and under-performing schools.
* Although no UCs offer Special Education credentials there are two
which offer PhDs in joint programs - UC Berkeley in conjunction
with San Francisco State and UCLA in conjunction with CSU Los
Angeles. This is an excellent extension of one's education and
activity in the field of research in Special Education.
!! Warnings !!
* Don't hold your weekends or evenings as sacred "you time" anymore.
Between classes and work you will not have time for yourself.
* Parents are going through the grieving process - at ALL stages of
development and especially at every milestone (transition to
middle school, transition to kindergarten). You will have to deal
with many well-meaning but aggressive and, at times, downright
angry people who are looking for somebody to blame as they move
toward accepting their child's disability. You are going to have
to learn to be an immovable rock who they confide in, while still
maintaining an appropriate professional distance.
* Aides can make or break a classroom. Excellent aides do what
they're asked, offer advice that is helpful, and keep the
students' needs in mind as they seek greater education for
themselves. On the other hand, some aides can be very difficult
to work with and you will have to learn to be a strong leader.
!! Related WikiHows !!
* How to Parent a Child With Autism
* How to Accept Criticism While at Work
* How to Read Aloud to a Child
* How to Communicate Effectively
* How to Teach
!! Sources And Citations !!
* California Department of Education http://cde.ca.gov
* California Commission on Teacher Credentialing
http://www.ctc.ca.gov
* Information about the APLE http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=111
* San Jose State University Department of Special Education -
http://www.sjsu.edu/specialed
* San Francisco State University Department of Special Education and
Communicative Disorders - http://www.sfsu.edu/~spedcd
* CSU Los Angeles Charter College of Education -
http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/ccoe/
* Sonoma State University Department of Educational Leadership and
Special Education - http://www.sonoma.edu/else/
* San Diego State University Department of Special Education
http://coe.sdsu.edu/sped
* CSU Long Beach College of Education Degrees & Programs
http://www.ced.csulb.edu/asec/academic/special-education
* Cal Poly Special Education Credential Program
http://coe.calpoly.edu/credentialprogram/educationspecialist.asp?pid=3
* Humboldt State University Education Department - Special Education
Program Information
http://www.humboldt.edu/education/credentials/specialed/specialed.html
* CSU Monterey Bay - Education Department, Special Education
Credential Program Information
http://catalog.csumb.edu/graduate-education/teaching-credentials/special-education
* CSU Stanislaus List of Special Education Credentials (Under the
"Educational Credential Programs" heading)
http://www.csustan.edu/academics/majorsprograms/view-graduate.html
* Santa Clara University Department of Education, Information on
Special Education Credentials -
http://www.scu.edu/ecppm/education/academics/credential/special-ed.cfm
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