Why I’m Passionate About Special Education: Special education is not just a profession to me it’s a calling. Every child, regardless of their challenges or differences, deserves to feel seen, heard, and empowered. What drives me is the opportunity to help each student uncover their strengths, understand their value, and realize that their presence matters in this world. This field allows me to connect deeply with students who are often underestimated and help them thrive in ways others may not expect. Defining Bloom’s Quote: Professor Harold Bloom said, “The purpose of teaching is to bring the student to his or her sense of his or her own presence.” To me, this means helping students recognize and embrace who they are intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. It’s about guiding them to a point where they feel confident in expressing themselves, proud of their identity, and capable of making meaningful choices. For students with special needs, this “sense of presence” can be life changing. It’s the moment when a child who once struggled to communicate starts expressing their thoughts clearly. It’s when a student with learning differences discovers a talent that makes them shine. It’s the powerful realization: “I matter.” My Mission as a Special Education Teacher: My mission is to be a bridge between possibility and reality for my students. I create a safe, inclusive, and empowering environment where every student feels supported, not just academically, but holistically. I use individualized instruction, positive reinforcement, and creativity to tailor learning experiences that meet each child’s unique needs and interests. But more importantly, I want my students to discover their voice. Whether through speech, art, music, assistive technology, or a quiet smile of confidence, I work to ensure each child can say, in their own way, “This is who I am, and I’m proud to be me.” Fairy Tale: “The Garden of Hidden Stars” Once upon a time in the Kingdom of Echo Valley, where only loud voices and fast feet were noticed, lived a quiet Dream Gardener named Akshara. While the royal teachers praised the bright and bold, Akshara walked beyond the palace walls, where the children of the valley those who moved slower, spoke softer, or learned differently played unseen in the shadows. One day, she discovered a hidden grove where stars had fallen from the sky. But the stars were dim, unsure of how to shine again. So, Akshara began tending the grove. She whispered stories to the stars, gave them warm sunlight, and sang songs of courage. She didn’t rush them. She simply believed in their glow, even when others had forgotten it. Slowly, the stars began to shimmer. One learned to twinkle through music, another through painting, one through laughter, and another through kind, gentle words. Akshara taught each star to embrace its unique light. Word spread across the kingdom. The King and Queen came to see this enchanted grove and were stunned. “Who helped them shine?” they asked. The stars all pointed to Akshara, now glowing just as brightly. From that day on, the Kingdom of Echo Valley became the Kingdom of Every Voice, where no light was too soft to be seen. And Akshara? She kept tending to her garden of hidden stars, knowing that every light, once seen, could light the world. Closing Thought: In real life, I am Akshara. My classroom is the grove. My students are the stars. And every day, I do my best to help them find their light and realize the beauty of their own presence.

If I could change one thing in education, it would be the way we treat and teach data and climate literacy, starting from a much younger age. In today’s world, where climate change and technology shape so many aspects of our lives, it’s more important than ever for students to understand the systems that affect them. But right now, there’s a major gap between the urgency of these global issues and how we prepare students to face them. Growing up, I was always a curious student. I liked patterns, I liked solving problems, and I was fascinated by the natural world. But even as someone who later pursued work in data analytics and climate-related research, I didn’t fully grasp how data connects with real-world issues, especially climate change, until much later in my education. Looking back, I realize how much more empowered I would have felt if I had been exposed to climate concepts and data thinking earlier in my school life. The reality is, most students go through school without ever learning how to read data critically or how to understand the scientific and human impacts of climate change. These are not just academic topics anymore. They are life skills. Whether it’s reading a graph on rising temperatures, understanding local flood risks, or thinking about renewable energy, these are the kinds of problems that today’s students will be expected to solve. If we wait until college to introduce these topics, we’re already too late. That is why I believe education needs a shift, not just in content but in purpose. Climate and data literacy shouldn’t be optional or limited to science classes. They should be built into the foundation of education, starting from elementary school. Imagine if students learned how to analyze simple weather data in third grade or discussed the impact of pollution in their own communities by the time they reached middle school. Not only would this teach them real-world skills, but it would also help them feel more connected to the world around them and more capable of improving it. This change would also help students see the bigger picture. Climate change can feel overwhelming and distant, especially to younger minds. But when students learn that they can understand climate trends through data or that their local recycling efforts really do add up, it gives them a sense of agency. It shifts the narrative from fear to action. That shift is incredibly powerful, and it’s something that education can and should support. Another reason I feel strongly about this change is because of the equity it can bring. Right now, access to quality education in environmental science or data analytics often depends on where a student lives or what resources their school has. That leaves many students, especially those in underserved communities, without the tools they need to engage with some of the most pressing issues of our time. By making climate and data education a core part of all schools, we can help close that gap and ensure that every student has the opportunity to be informed and involved, no matter their background. Of course, none of this can happen overnight. It would take investment, teacher training, curriculum changes, and new partnerships between schools and environmental or scientific organizations. But I believe it’s worth the effort. The next generation is already growing up in a climate-impacted world. The least we can do is make sure they are equipped to understand it and maybe even improve it. In the end, this isn’t just about adding new subjects. It’s about rethinking what education is for. To me, education should be about preparing students to be thoughtful, informed, and compassionate citizens. Teaching climate and data literacy does exactly that. It helps students connect science to society, numbers to narratives, and their learning to the world outside the classroom. That is the change I would make. Because when students learn how to read the world through data and care for it through knowledge, we’re not just shaping smarter students. We’re shaping a more hopeful future.