Training in special education would be good, but I think more than training it would be [necessary to have] experience in working with kids and being a classroom teacher. I have used a lot of things, techniques and so forth, that I had done in the classroom, as guidelines. And I really feel that has been of more value to me. There definitely has to be training, but more of my ability to work with teachers has been because of my experience in the classroom.
In addition to past experience as regular teachers, the M&R teachers interviewed felt it was extremely important to keep their hand in the classroom on an ongoing basis. Most of them teach regular classes to complete their work assignment or on a voluntary basis. They said it not only gives them credibility and gains respect from their peers, but is personally rewarding as well:
[Some teachers] don’t consider M&R teachers real teachers because we’re not in the classroom. We’re not faced with the day-to-day struggle of the classroom. I think that M&R teachers need to keep a handle on the regular classroom to know what’s going on.
One M&R teacher, who was about to teach a regular class for the first time, said:
This year I’m teaching a regular Grade 2 class. I wanted to experience what it was like to teach in a regular class. Otherwise, how can I give teachers advice on what they should be doing in a classroom? I’ve never really taught twenty-seven or thirty kids all at once before. How do I know how you can handle all those children plus make provisions for a special needs student?
