It is also difficult to establish integrated programs for students with disabilities when teaching methods over-emphasize content and put little emphasis on individual and group activity, particularly at junior and senior high levels:
There’s not much of an emphasis on concrete learning. Instead there’s an emphasis on sitting at the desk in rows and listening to the teacher, taking the notes, being able to regurgitate the information. Teachers are getting these kids ready for college or for technical school and don’t have time for anybody else. Project work is limited. Teachers don’t like to vary from the curriculum. They don’t like to see another way. They’re not looking at what the student needs at this particular time I find it difficult to get teachers to understand.
The Challenge of Working with Teachers
The constant search for effective ways to work with regular classroom teachers is one of the major challenges identified by methods and resource teachers. One M&R teacher explains that classroom teachers have “different personalities, different knowledge and experience.” They tend to practice their profession in isolation, developing their own approaches to instruction for students with special needs. The M&R teacher must find ways to work as an effective collaborator and problem-solver with each individual teacher. Classroom teachers must be specific about both the kind of help and level of support they expect from the M&R teacher. They must also provide the M&R teacher with feedback on the usefulness of strategies being used. Open communication is necessary if the relationship is to work:
The most difficult part is working with my peers: doing the battles; trying to communicate with them; trying to make them feel secure and give them confidence that they can do what they think they should do. They often know what to do, but just don’t think they can.
