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Special Education Teacher Frames Self Care as Ethical Mandate for Professional Longevity
4 Plays2 months ago
The Shot List dives into the creative, the technical, and the profoundly human side of life. Hosted by Robert Moore, we interview artists, innovators, and educators about their craft and the ethical practices that sustain their passion. Explore the philosophy behind successful instruction, the necessity of professional longevity, and the transformative power of shifting the focus from deficit to difference. Today, I interview Special Education professional Regina Smith, whose career background includes behavioral specialist roles in both home-based therapy and hospital inpatient treatment, who recently detailed her philosophy on effective teaching and self-care.
Transcript
Introduction to The Shot List Podcast
00:00:17
Speaker
Aloha and welcome. You are listening to The Shot List and this is my very first episode. I am your host, Robert Moore, owner of RM Photography and Film.
00:00:29
Speaker
Here on The Shot List, we dive into the creative, the technical, and the deeply human side of life, discussing everything from the latest trends in photography and film to emerging technology, from the beauty of art and Hawaiian culture to our shared passion for nature and outdoor activities.
00:00:46
Speaker
Today, we're kicking off our journey with a subject that connects passion and purpose, the indispensable work of special education teachers.
Guest Introduction: Regina Smith
00:00:54
Speaker
I am absolutely honored to be joined by a true hero in the classroom, Regina Smith.
00:01:00
Speaker
Hey, thanks everyone. And thanks for having me Robert. I'm stoked to be here. We're diving deep into the emotional toll of her work, the necessity of self-care for professional longevity, and how shifting the conversation from deficit to difference changes the entire educational environment.
00:01:18
Speaker
Let's start at the beginning of your
Journey into Special Education
00:01:20
Speaker
journey. Regina, simply put, why did you decide to become a teacher?
00:01:26
Speaker
I became a teacher because I worked really well with adolescents with disabilities, and I tried a few different settings. I found working in schools to provide the most support for the kids, but also for me as a ah teacher.
00:01:40
Speaker
I worked as a behavior specialist doing home-based therapy at a hospital doing and at a hospital doing inpatient treatment work. I found that working in schools was the best fit for me.
00:01:51
Speaker
That background in home-based and hospital care gives you a really unique foundation. So expanding on that, what specifically drew you to special education over general education?
00:02:04
Speaker
Was there a pivotal moment or a specific person who inspired that path?
Pivotal Moments in Teaching
00:02:08
Speaker
Yeah, um great question. i have a special way of connecting with special education students and like understanding their communication skills.
00:02:18
Speaker
And that's pretty much what drew ah drew me to the field over 10 years ago. i was working as a unified volleyball coach and one of my athletes was in a wheelchair and nonverbal, but she was able to fully, fully capable of maneuvering her wheelchair on her own.
00:02:35
Speaker
And when her typical peers went to like push her wheelchair to bring her into the gymnasium, I saw her sit back and lift her hand up and like accepted this help like she was a princess, you know, like you just like, yeah a And I called her on it and she kind of shied away in embarrassment and laughed.
00:02:54
Speaker
So i was really able to see this student as she is, like see her capabilities, not just her challenges. And this is how I realized, you know, I had a gift. I had, I could do some really great, great things working with individuals with disabilities.
00:03:08
Speaker
That story about your athlete is absolutely beautiful. Seeing capability, not just challenge.
Beliefs and Teaching Philosophy
00:03:13
Speaker
If you had to summarize that core belief into a single sentence, what is the personal teaching philosophy that guides your every decision you make?
00:03:22
Speaker
Well, hope this doesn't sound too cliche because it might be something you hear a lot, but I really believe that all students are capable of learning. It's my job as a teacher to figure out how they learn best and meet them where they're at.
00:03:35
Speaker
That's a really powerful philosophy. Meet them where they are. Now, let's talk about the emotional reality of meeting them there. What is the single most emotional, demanding part of your job?
00:03:47
Speaker
The thing people outside the field rarely understand.
Emotional Challenges and Self-Care
00:03:50
Speaker
And how does that weight affect your presence in the classroom? These are kids' lives, and I have a big impact on their growth and development by teaching them for an entire school year.
00:04:02
Speaker
I can either help them grow or fail them and be ineffective. Wow. I mean, that pressure to not fail them is exactly what we need to talk about next. You frame self-care and not as a luxury, but as as essential for professional longevity.
00:04:17
Speaker
Can you explain why taking care of your own regulation and well-being is actually an ethical requirement of high-quality teaching? Absolutely. um Teachers aren't allowed to have bad days.
00:04:29
Speaker
We need to show up at 100% and bring our very best every day. The best way to do this is to practice self-care every day. Leaving work at work and taking time to ground myself through meditation is essential in order to bring my best foot forward.
00:04:47
Speaker
This is especially critical for special ed teachers because our students often feel our feelings and feed off our behaviors and emotions. So like when I have a bad day at work, my students have a bad day.
00:05:01
Speaker
I mean, that's deep. That connection is so critical. They absolutely feed off your energy.
Student Capabilities and Creative Teaching
00:05:07
Speaker
Like speaking of energy, let's talk about the curriculum. We often see official reports focus on deficits.
00:05:14
Speaker
Can you share a specific aha moment where you intentionally stop focusing on what a student can't do and started exploring how they learn differently? Like what specific success did that unlock?
00:05:27
Speaker
I focus more on what the students can do over their deficits daily. I'm challenged with this because ah schools have agendas in which we're expected to teach the students all of the standards.
00:05:42
Speaker
However, for our special education students, it's important to meet them where they're at and address some of the learning goals in ways they can access the information. So like my nonverbal students who cannot read and write know so much more than they're given credit for simply because they cannot express themselves like their typical peers.
00:06:02
Speaker
But this recognition is important because we can ask them questions in ways that they can respond and demonstrate their knowledge. This might be like showing them pictures or choices like tangible objects. um And if the student can make a choice between two options, they're communicating what they know and expressing their needs.
00:06:22
Speaker
But this is a completely different approach than the general education setting where we like ask the complex open-ended questions. My students do better learning with tangible objects so they're able to learn concepts better when I use physical materials over pencil and paper lessons.
00:06:38
Speaker
This aha moment for me helps unlock their potential to learn more concepts. But at the same time, it's also a challenge area because the curriculum we're given is primarily pencil and paper based materials.
00:06:53
Speaker
Therefore, I'm working hard to find ways to engage students with tangible objects and follow the given curriculum. Special ed students are practical, hands-on learners and often struggle with abstract concepts.
00:07:05
Speaker
These paper and pencil worksheets are abstract because it's not what they're used to in their everyday lives. So this is why it's easier for my students to learn, like, I don't know, how to wash their hands and pack up their backpack easier than, say, learning how to read and write.
00:07:21
Speaker
That's truly fascinating, like a very fascinating insight. The hands-on functional approach.
Advice for New Teachers
00:07:27
Speaker
With so much pressure coming from the curriculum, what practical advice would you give to a new teacher who is struggling to look past the IEPs and the data and truly see the whole unique person in their student?
00:07:41
Speaker
I would tell a new student ah teacher to think functionally. Like, what do your students need to be successful in life? Not successful just as students, but actually living as independently as possible.
00:07:56
Speaker
Is it more important for them to identify letters in the alphabet or to be able to, like, navigate the grocery store to do their weekly shopping? Thinking functionally, that's key.
00:08:09
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Now, this work takes a toll. After a tough day, what is the one interaction, small milestone, or moment of pure connection with a student that reliably reminds you why you chose this essential profession?
00:08:25
Speaker
After a tough day, it's important for me to sit down, relax, and quiet my mind for a few moments. Then I'm able to look at the day again, and I i make it a point to identify at least three great moments from the day.
00:08:38
Speaker
This is essential for me for my self-care and to remind myself that, yes, there were some challenging moments within the day, but looking over the entire six hours, there were many good moments too.
00:08:50
Speaker
When I focus my energy on those positive moments, it reminds me that the small victories are so important. That's really sweet. That reflection exercise is a wonderful self-care strategy.
00:09:03
Speaker
Regina, let's shift to advocacy for a moment.
Understanding Special Needs and Learning
00:09:06
Speaker
What is a common misconception about special needs students that you wish could erase from public's mind? And what is the reality you wish they could see?
00:09:16
Speaker
I wish that the average person could understand that students with special needs, especially those with significant disabilities, are able to learn. They just learn things in a different way.
00:09:29
Speaker
It's not that these students can't do something. It's that they can do it when provided specific supports to facilitate their learning. This is especially apparent in our students with behavioral challenges because these maladaptive behaviors occur when students are bored or simply trying to communicate and they're often misunderstood.
00:09:51
Speaker
If we were able to see from the student's perspective, we would be able to understand that they're communicating and then meet those students' needs and provide the supports necessary to facilitate their learning.
00:10:04
Speaker
That perspective, that maladaptive behavior is communication is so powerful. Tapping into that, what is one successful creative accommodation or teaching modification you developed that completely changed a student's ability to access a lesson or task?
00:10:21
Speaker
So I have this one student that struggles with coming up with ideas for writing prompts and then like responding to those writing prompts. Therefore, he's unable to write several sentences about topics that he's uninterested in And then that also kind of affects his spelling and grammar, right?
00:10:41
Speaker
So when I work with him on writing, I have him write about things that are directly related to him in his life. So one of the writing prompts I gave him was to describe his favorite video game.
00:10:53
Speaker
He had to include his favorite character, how to play the game, and then any other relevant details he wanted. So this student wrote seven sentences on this topic in only five minutes.
00:11:06
Speaker
And when I gave the student choices and allowed him to write about topics he's personally invested in, he's able to demonstrate the full scope of his abilities. Wow.
00:11:16
Speaker
What an amazing difference that personal relevance makes. That ties into our next question.
Respectful Language and Empathy in Teaching
00:11:21
Speaker
How does the language you use in the classroom, the words you choose when praising a student or discussing their progress directly impact their self-esteem and your relationship with them?
00:11:32
Speaker
Language in my classroom is super important to me. um So like I don't allow other teachers to talk about their students in my classroom in front of my students because yeah, on one side, like it's a need to know it basis and you know,
00:11:47
Speaker
But also, my students shouldn't hear how teachers are talking about the students' peers. You know, when these conversations are happening in front of the students, they can take it personally and they think, how how are they talking about themselves, you know?
00:12:04
Speaker
um This is how we lose our students' trust. All school year, we were working on increasing our rapport with our students, and we don't want to throw this all away because we need to vent.
00:12:18
Speaker
um Those kinds of conversations can happen after school hours and should be to support your teaching, not just for gossip. This concept is especially important for my students with severe disabilities, like my nonverbal kids, because people tend to think that they can say anything in front of them because they cannot repeat it But this is definitely not okay.
00:12:42
Speaker
I value treating all students, no matter their abilities, with dignity and respect. That commitment to dignity and respect, even when students are nonverbal, is why your work is so vital.
00:12:54
Speaker
We only have time for one last question. And what ways have your special needs students taught you more about learning, empathy, or communication than you have taught them?
00:13:07
Speaker
My students have a way of taking on the feelings of those around them. um So if if someone is having a hard time, they start start to struggle as well.
00:13:20
Speaker
And this concept has been significant in a way of like me learning because I want to make sure I'm approaching my teaching with this calm respect in order to try and get the most out of them, you know, in their learning.
00:13:36
Speaker
Regina, that concept that your students take on the feelings of those around them is the perfect place to wrap up. It beautifully connects everything we've discussed from the essential need for ethical self-care to the transformative power of a calm, respectful presence.
Episode Conclusion
00:13:53
Speaker
Your insights on professional longevity and shifting the focus from deficit to differences are going to be so incredibly valuable for our listeners. Thank you, Regina Smith, for being such a passionate and sincere guest on our first episode of The Shot List.
00:14:10
Speaker
Oh, thanks for hosting, Robert. It was my pleasure. We appreciate you. Anytime. Well, folks, that is all the time we have for today. If you've enjoyed this deep dive into the creative and deeply human side of education, make sure you subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss our next episode.
00:14:29
Speaker
I'm your host, Robert Moore, and we'll catch you next time for The Shop.