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Feel like I've been thrown under the bus?
24/f
I am a special education teacher. I teach traumatized-behavioral students at a last-stop school. This job is hard.
Here is a history of what you will need to know. This is my first year teaching. I have been in 4 classrooms for this past year. I started in middle school for the first week, but my co-teacher had two new employees with her and we had a new student who was very impulsive. I was switched out with another staff and was placed in elementary. I liked it more because the students were sweeter and I felt like I was making more of an impact.
However, when a new student was added, it turns out all of the students my co-teacher and I had were all autistic. None of us have experience teaching autistic children. Because he was leaving the job, the principal moved a high school teacher to teach elementary. I ended up moving into her classroom.
I was miserable. I have learned a lot from her and I loved watching her teach her subjects. But the classroom was not a team. I felt like a lost black sheep in the classroom. I was consistently overwhelemed and I felt like I was failing at everything I was doing. The blame was consistently blamed on me. I was carrying so much--paperwork, teaching, behavior students. I have had two kids wrapped around each leg, and another student baiting another student of mine. I had an aide stand across the room watching me and was on her phone. This was my work environment for 5 months. I asked my principal to be switched to another classroom because I did not want to feel like I was dragging myself out of bed to be at a job I was not happy in and did not feel successful in.
I was switched (and now currently in) high school. It is a lot better. I feel a lot more relaxed and the staff is surprised that I get along with the high school students really well. There is one student who is the most difficult one throughout the classroom--she has depressive-bipolar disorder, and she does cut herself.
Me, being depressed myself, I feel like I can understand her. But I have not said anything because I would like her to open up to me whenever she is ready. We have been getting along and she thinks I am easily amused and overly happy, when I'm not. I have learned to think positively. My previous co-teacher told me that she thinks my student could use more "cuteness" or "positiveness" in her life.
Back to her, she is difficult to handle. Everytime at 3 o'clock, she starts acting up. She curses, she leaves the room, yells at staff, and fails to follow directions. The rest of the staff in the high school classroom does not want to deal with her because she is so "mentally exhausting." She says nobody is able to help her. She blames everything on her disorder instead of taking ownership of her actions. She has been difficult and had been picking on one of the staff members in our classroom. People are saying that she's trying to find things to be mad about.
Because she has been leaving the room, speaking with the principal, teachers, etc. She has been begging to be in her own classroom. The principal decided to give it to her because it's the end of the year and NOBODY wants to deal with her anymore. They literally told me, "Right now, I am in survival mode."
I was told by ANOTHER coworker that I was going to be put one-on-one with this student. I was really confused. I have been in this classroom for two weeks, barely know her, but we get along, I was assigned to be one-on-one with her. My current co-teacher didn't even know. I was agitated because I wish that it was discussed with me instead of being assigned with me.
The reason why I was moved to the current classroom was being my principal knew I was wanting to find a general education job elsewhere, and she thought this classroom was more likely to be the most "normal." All the sudden, I'm being placed one-on-one. She said that we would figure out a way where I won't have to be with the student alone all day, everyday. I asked if the student works her way back to the classroom, she said at this point, they're all trying to survive and she'll just be by herself for the remaining 2-3 weeks.
Since I told the principal I was relocating and I was resigining from the district, I feel like I've been getting the short end of the stick or thrown under the bus, a lot (there were more situations similar to this). I've been trying to stay positive telling myself that everyone is struggling. Maybe they chose me because the student hates me the least in the classroom. Maybe they think I'll change her life in some way.
I am just wondering what should I do? Should I just push through for the remaining 2-3 weeks and leave? Do I talk about it? Is there a way I can be more positive about it?
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Maybe give some free advice about: Work/School Relationships?
This is an easy one. Yes, just push through the next 3 weeks. Do your best to teach the problem child. When you are first starting out in this field you really need good references. If you want a different job you need your current employer to say good things about you. So make sure to do a good job in your bosses eyes.
better to suffer for 3 weeks and get a good reference out of it.
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My oldest niece is a special ed. teacher and has been for the past four years. The difference between you and her is she trained to be a special Ed. teacher you have not been. It takes a special person with special talents and training to be a special Ed. teacher.
You may be that special person, you don't have the training and may not have the talent. By placing you in the positions they have they have set you up to fail.
Is it possible to just refuse to take on the position for the last two weeks. You can cite the fact that you are not a special ED trained teacher and this would be nothing more than a baby sitting situation for the next two weeks. It would be far better to just allow the child to stay home for the next two weeks and work with the parents to find a school that has the ability to work with her that your school lacks.
Most schools do not want to make this recommendation as it cost the school district the tuition if they lack the ability to supply the services the child needs. Putting you and the child in a position that literally is that of baby sitting her for two weeks is not serving the child's needs. This is the position I would take.
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