If you were to survey special educators about the things that they love about their jobs, I imagine that their responses would be something like this:

• Working with students
• Seeing students achieve what was thought to be impossible
• Growth
• Being challenged to learn new skills
• Connecting with families
• Working with other amazing educators

Their dislikes?

• Excessive paperwork
• Not enough time to meet students’ needs
• Takes too long to get students any additional support that they need
• The law doesn’t always make sense for the situation
• Saying “no” to parents when the answer feels like it should be “yes”
• IEP meeting requirements
• Eligibility rules
• Dealing with intense emotions
• Disappointing results or limited progress

Most of the special educators that I have worked with chose a career working with exceptional children due to a personal connection to someone with a disability. Some even had their own learning issues. It is a calling. I have been amazed at their work ethic and passion and have often felt honored to be one of them. Yet, these characteristics don’t always come through to parents in IEP meetings due to feeling fatigued, frustrated and helpless.

So how can understanding educators help parents AND students?

The parents who have been the most effective advocates for their children are the ones who recognize that most special educators are doing the best that they can do in a very difficult job. They assume good intentions. These parents work to form a partnership with the staff. They acknowledge that they share frustrations with educators with many of the IEP regulations and allow for creative problem-solving. They treat educators like they are all the same IEP TEAM and help keep everyone focused on the student whenever distractions or disagreements arise. These parents move mountains.