Every person has potential and a place in this world. Part of the struggle of life is to find that place where our specific gifts and abilities will be appreciated and make a difference. This is what I believe Professor Harold Bloom meant when he said, "I have learned that the purpose of teaching is to bring the student to his or her sense of his or her own presence." The purpose of teaching is to help students not only understand how the world works, but to help them recognize the significance of their unique place in it. My passion for special education comes from watching my two brothers with special needs grow up and seeing the places in which the school system failed them. This is especially true for my younger brother, who has severe anxiety and a writing disability, but is gifted in other areas. In his elementary years, the school didn’t have the resources to accommodate him and support him with his disability, or provide him with mathematics curriculum that was at his level. This led to almost daily meltdowns when asked to do writing assignments and refusal to do math work he deemed “too easy.” My mom decided to pull him out of the public school system and homeschool him. I saw how the right support and accommodations transformed him. She worked with him especially hard on writing, taking small steps and helping him express his ideas until it wasn’t as daunting, and he could do it on his own. She taught him emotional regulation and how to express frustration in a less explosive, more manageable way. She let him do math work that was on his level. She gave him choices of what order he wanted to do things in. When my brother started homeschooling in 4th grade, he couldn’t write a sentence. When he returned to public school in 8th grade, his writing skills were on level. And now, as a senior in high school, he is doing exceptionally well, even in his dual credit English class. My brother was lucky. There are way too many students like him who are failed by the school system and whose parents don’t have the ability to give them the individualized support they need. I hope that as a special education teacher, I will be able to make a difference in the lives of children like my brother. While I might not be able to work with them one-on-one like my mom did with my brother, I can be an advocate and a support in helping them find their pathway to success. Helping students who have special needs reach their full potential requires persistence and patience. The first step is to figure out how they communicate. Whether it’s through words, pictures, signs, sounds, or any other form of communication that they may use, it is important to be able to understand what the child is telling you. Children get frustrated when an adult doesn’t understand what they are trying to say. If you can figure out how the child communicates, you can build trust, and you have a base to work off of to help the child learn greater communication skills. The same principle applies to academics. In order to help a child who is struggling with math, reading, writing, or any other subject, you have to understand what they understand. You must be able to see things from their perspective and understand how their mind approaches the problem. If a traditional method isn’t working for them, you have to get creative and approach the problem from a new angle. It’s a process of trial and error, but eventually something will click, and they will be able to overcome that roadblock. There is no greater joy for a teacher than seeing a child whom they have poured time and effort into helping hit a breakthrough. Another challenge for many students with special needs is their social-emotional awareness. Most children learn about emotions and social cues from watching their peers and other influences in their lives, and while this may still apply to a certain extent with children with special needs, some children (especially those on the Autism Spectrum) need extra support when it comes to social-emotional learning. The first step is to help them recognize and express their own emotions. Visuals and labeling emotions in the moment are helpful. If a child can recognize their emotions, it is easier to teach them coping strategies and how to regulate. In addition to regulating their own emotions, children need to learn social skills and how to interact with others. Social stories and roleplays are effective supplemental strategies, but most social learning occurs through interaction with their neurotypical peers. Having opportunities to play with others is vital to their social development. While these processes may look different for each child, if we can help a student learn to communicate, break through academic barriers, and develop the social skills necessary to interact with the world around them, we can bring them to “a sense of his or her own presence.” We can help them become contributing members of society in whatever way, shape, or form that may be for each individual. We can help them reach their full potential. LITTLE WILL GETS HIS WINGS: A fairytale about helping children with special needs Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a school for fairies. In this school, there was a teacher named Miss Reyel. She taught the little fairies how to read and write, how to count and add numbers, and most importantly, how to fly. The little fairies loved Miss Reyel, and she loved them. But one day, a new fairy came to school. His name was little Will. Little Will wasn’t like the other fairies. He always spun in circles at recess and just stared at the wall when the other little fairies tried talking to him. The other little fairies wanted to be his friend, but they didn’t know how. “Why doesn’t he talk to us like the other kids?” asked little Sue. “Not everybody talks the same way,” said Miss Reyel. “Most fairies talk with their mouths, but some fairies talk in other ways. Sometimes you have to listen.” “But he doesn’t say anything!” said little Sue. Just then, little Will walked up to Miss Reyel and put his book on her table. He grabbed her finger and pointed it at a picture in his book. “Mary Mouse,” said Miss Reyel, reading the name of the character from the book. But little Will pressed her finger into the page again. “Red,” said Miss Reyel. But this wasn’t the answer little Will was looking for. “Shirt,” tried Miss Reyel. Little Will squealed and tugged at her sleeve. He pointed back at the picture, then at his own shirt, jumping up and down with delight. Miss Reyel smiled and looked at little Sue. “Sometimes you can listen with your ears,” she said. “Sometimes you have to listen with your eyes. And sometimes, you have to listen with your mind.” The next day, Miss Reyel brought a book with pictures of a lot of things. She read it to Will every day and helped him find the objects in the classroom in his book. After a while, Will would show Miss Reyel and the other kids the pictures in his book to tell them what he needed. “I see now!” said little Sue. “Will talks with pictures, so we have to listen with our eyes!” “That’s right!” Miss Reyel smiled. The next day, little Ben came up to Miss Reyel during playtime. “I want to play with little Will,” he said, “but he won’t share the toys!” “Hmm,” said Miss Reyel, “Maybe he doesn’t know how to share yet. Tomorrow, we will try taking turns.” “Okay,” said little Ben. The next day, before playtime, Miss Reyel read a story to little Will about taking turns. Then little Ben and little Sue helped Miss Reyel show little Will how to take turns. Finally, it was Will’s turn to try. “Will’s turn!” said Miss Reyel. Little Ben gave Will the toy he was playing with. Miss Reyel set a magic timer for one minute and showed it to Will. When the timer went off, she said, “Ben’s turn!” and pointed from the toy in Will’s hand to Ben. She did it again and again until Will gave the toy to Ben. “Good job sharing!” said Miss Reyel. Miss Reyel set another magic timer, and little Ben had a turn for one minute before he gave it back to little Will. They kept taking turns until playtime was over. One day during playtime, Ben came up to Miss Reyel. “Look!” he said. Little Will gave me this toy! He took turns all by himself!” Miss Reyel smiled. “Good job sharing, Will!” she said. Later, little Kate said, “Little Will isn’t very smart. He just scribbles on his math work!” “That’s not very nice, Kate!” said Miss Reyel, “I bet Will is super smart, but he just doesn’t know how to show it. Watch.” Miss Reyel went over to where little Will was playing with blocks. “Will, can you show me three blocks?” she said, holding up three fingers. Will pointed to three blocks he had lined up. “Good job!” said Miss Reyel. “Can you show me five blocks?” Will pointed to five different blocks. “Can you show me ten blocks?” Again, Will pointed to ten blocks. “Writing is hard for little Will,” Miss Reyel told little Kate, “So he has to show what he knows in other ways.” “So Will can count!” said little Kate. “That’s right!” said Miss Reyel. By the end of the school year, all of the little fairies had learned a lot. Even Will learned about math, reading, and how to share with others. But he still couldn’t fly. “Who wants to help little Will learn to fly?” Miss Reyel asked. “I do!” said all the little fairies. First, the fairies showed Will how to open and close his wings. When he did it, they gave him a treat. Then the fairies started flying. Miss Reyel held little Will in the air as the little fairies helped him open and close his wings. When he started opening and closing his wings faster, Miss Reyel let go. Will stayed in the air. He laughed and started flying in circles around Miss Reyel. The other fairies laughed too. Little Will could finally fly! THE END (I know this is unrealistic. A student like Will would not be in a general education setting, and the teacher would not be able to give as much one-on-one time to him. All of this would also be happening simultaneously. However, I hope the principles demonstrate my desire and commitment to help kids with special needs as well as teach neurotypical children to include those with special needs.)

I believe students would benefit from a course that focuses on mental health and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). In recent years, there has been a greater emphasis on SEL in schools, particularly at the elementary level. This has had a profound impact on both the social-emotional well-being of students and their academic performance. However, SEL should continue to be implemented in secondary school, along with a greater focus on mental health. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), “50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24,” showing that the teenage years are a critical time in determining the trajectory of a student’s lifelong mental health, and should thus be an emphasis in the academic curriculum. To address this issue, schools should include a requirement for students to take a Mental Health Management course once in middle school and once in high school. This course would cover topics such as: Debunking stigmas around mental health — defining and normalizing mental health disorders. Establishing healthy thinking patterns — recognizing and changing unhealthy and inaccurate thinking patterns. The interconnectedness of physical and mental health — Learning how our physical and mental health affect each other, and the importance of self-care. Managing stress and anxiety — understanding levels of stress, challenging perfectionism, and learning healthy coping mechanisms. Understanding Sadness and depression — coping with grief, symptoms of depression, and how to get help. Overcoming anger — triggers and emotions behind anger, behaviors that “heat” and “cool” anger, and choosing how to respond. Managing addictive behaviors — types and levels of addiction, choosing to get help, and preventing addiction. Communication and Conflict Resolution — healthy communication skills, how to agree to disagree, and other skills for resolving conflict. Building healthy relationships Providing strength to others — active listening and other ways to support those who are struggling with mental health. Recognizing and reporting abuse — defining types of abuse, recognizing signs that someone might be a victim of abuse, and how to report it. Healing from trauma — Recognizing trauma and how to get help. Maintaining Mental health in the digital age — strategies for protecting your mental health while using social media and other technologies. Finding and maintaining balance — Strategies for developing and maintaining a good work-life balance. The goal of this course would be to keep students informed about mental health, remove the stigmas around mental illness and mental health treatment, and provide students with resources to improve their mental health. If such a course were successfully implemented, it would lead to a generation of teens and adults who know how to manage their mental health and have more positive interactions with others. Not only would they know how to cope with difficult situations, but they would also know how to ask for help when they need it. As a result, there would be a significant drop in untreated mental illness and teen suicide rates, as well as a decrease in cases of abuse and generational trauma. If we want a more mentally healthy society, the efforts to promote good mental health need to begin in our schools, which is why a course on mental health management should be implemented.