Shannanigan's Search for More...

It's so weird how backwards and different things can turn out to be from our perceptions.

Two of the education classes I'm taking this semester are Introduction to Special Education and Teaching Methods and Curriculum. I was very excited about the second class, because in it I would learn things like how to write lesson plans and create goals and objectives, and different methods to try out and figure out what works. This stuff seemed important and interesting to me because I knew it was essential to becoming a good teacher.

On the other hand, I wasn't too keen on the Special Education class. I've never known anyone with special needs, at least not on a personal level, and in all honesty the thought of teaching a student with a disability kind of scares me. I hoped that the class would help ease this fear and help me better understand people with disabilities, but I wasn't very excited about it because studying disabilities has never been something I was interested in.

Now, it's all flipped around; I hate the Methods and Curriculum class. It's tedious and annoying, and the professor is more nitpicky in this class than in the Special Ed. class (it's the same professor). I study way harder for this class than the other, and I'm doing worse! The class is only 4 students, so we're getting plenty of attention, but it's almost like too much attention; she isn't very good at explaining some of the finer points, and yet tests you on the finer points and not on general knowledge or understanding! It's so aggrevating!

Oddly enough, I'm starting to enjoy the Special Education class. I understand it easier and I feel more helpful in it since I'm good at coming up with creative ideas to solve different problems students with special needs can create. I'm doing well on the homework and on the quizzes, and overall I guess I understand it more. It's the same professor, so the teaching style still grates me, but I just feel I'm going to walk away with more from this class than the other.

It sucks; I mean, I'm glad I'm learning to appreciate special education, but I really want to enjoy the basic teaching course: methods and curriculum. I need to do well in this class and understand everything in order to move on to higher level education courses, and become a good teacher. She won't change...she's been teaching for over 40 years and vehemently believes in her methods, but if I continue to do poorly as well as the other 3 students in the class, I think we will all need to approach her and ask if some kind of middle ground can be reached...