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I wrote you a jumbled reply last evening then zapped it somehow. Now revived, I'll keep thinking on it.
Working with special ed has the great advantage of being more intimate. Youre in small classses or even one on one. I think that's what I like most- the opportunity to build a relationship- cause thats what teaching is, really. And the stuff that has grinded me the most is the volume, classes pushing 35 students. For the record: all 2-12 focused instruction classes should be limited to 18 or less. PreK-1 should be 10-15 max.
And I'm teaching art which has, what I love, the capacity to engage everyone at some level. And for kids or adults with any communication barrier, I've experienced some moving stuff.-from a kid with multiple severe physical disabilites working up the nerve to even touch clay without flipping out to amazing savant level stuff, and then the more usual sincerety, confidence, discovery, frustration, and joy. And art is messed up with emotion and voice, there's the therapy aspect, whether you call it that or not. Kids have been able to express, vent, and have some measure of success. For most of the e d kids its been about building some basic trust and resiliency. Thats tough. Stuff that breaks your heart.
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