Why iStruggle

Struggle. The Webster definition of it can be both a noun and a verb: struggle is a contest, pushing with (violent) strenuous force in opposition to some obstacle. But what the dictionary does not tell you, is that struggle can sometimes be a necessary part of life, and, struggle can be overcome.

I teach students with disabilities or SWDs as the acronym goes. But I look at it as I teach students who struggle with learning - within the parameters of the outdated structure that is public school education. Teachers are asked to "differentiate" instruction, but the school day structure, the standards, the format of schooling itself, does not lend itself to "differentiation". We can't achieve true "differentiated instruction" until there is a plan in place for "differentiated schooling".

My students struggle because they are asked to do things that don't connect to the lives they live. They are the least likely to be involved in courses that require hands on learning. They have least access to the Internet and its resources. They usually have teachers who are so overwhelmed with required paperwork and large groups of students with little or no help, that they can't showcase their strengths as effective teachers. Both teachers and students in this situation walk away disillusioned, both feeling a sense of failure.

I struggle with being a special education teacher in a time where paper work and standards and federal mandates override the basic needs of what my students lack: foundational skill. If the standards were compared to a house, I would compare them to beautiful window dressing on an unfinished house (my students foundation skills).

The answer is not after school remediation where they get more of the same. Again, this is not differentiated instruction, this is instruction moved to another classroom or teacher for a shorter block of time, taught the same way he/she was already taught that day.

But even as I struggle to find a way to reach and teach my students, I realize that in the act of a struggle, in struggling, my creativity flourishes as I look for new and innovative ways to teach my students. It has pushed me to examine my teaching practices, reach out to other educators, and pursue as much professional development as possible. My determination will not let me rest until I find effective ways of reaching my students . Only by continuing to push will I finally break through.