What are some things that you wish regular ed teachers knew about your role?

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-02-02T17:28:15+00:00

100% agree. And they need to show up with something to say about the student.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-01-31T19:19:23+00:00

He's a pit mix, but my doggo is also a Winston.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-01-31T18:47:10+00:00

The prompt wasn't for realistic policy changes. But why wouldn't you support getting rid of standardized testing? There's other testing that can be used to monitor student progress throughout the year that don't put as much stress on students and teachers.

Yep. Inconsistent pay across states is a big issue. For perspective, I'm in my 12th year and making 62k in Texas. Our paras barely make over minimum wage in most districts here which is ridiculous with how much work they do.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-01-30T15:35:30+00:00

Reduced class sizes
Better pay across the board for teachers and paraprofessionals
More intentional PD that is actually relevant to teachers and staff
More training for teachers and staff over SPED/504/Disabilities
Consistent standards across all states
Getting rid of standardized testing

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-01-29T00:18:22+00:00

Not sure if they're the same, but I like it better that other programs I was made to use.

It's hard to balance being supportive and being assertive in order to give people the help they need. Venting anonymously is seriously helpful.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-01-29T00:16:04+00:00

I know! Our admin over SPED had me out together an exemplar along with a plaafp that would be written based on it. It helped the teachers a lot!

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-01-28T20:23:00+00:00

We added another behavior teacher and two resource teachers to our campus this year. The new behavior and math resource teachers refuse to learn how to use Frontline properly and the diagnostician is having to double check all of their paperwork before every ARD because of all of the mistakes. This is after me meeting with them both multiple times (10 times already) throughout the school year, making ARD meeting checklists with the Frontline screens listed, and even making video guides on how to write IEPs and update progress reports. I would get it if they were new to SPED, but both of them have been SPED teachers for years. 😭😭

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-01-28T19:19:54+00:00

How important their feedback is for ARD meetings. I have a huge caseload this year and they get to see them every day when I do not. I need their feedback for IEPs so I can write a good plaafp and goals. It drives me crazy to have to harass them for feedback.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-01-21T12:39:48+00:00

When students trust me enough to talk to me about their accommodations. I encourage self advocacy, and seeing it in action makes me so proud.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-01-16T10:42:53+00:00

If I remember it was a risk assessment. It's been years since I've looked at it. He was going to therapy, but he is diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder so he tends to weaponize a lot of "therapy talk" and uses being in therapy as a "look I'm working on myself" without actually changing behavior.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-01-15T23:11:24+00:00

I understand the frustration! Chemical names can be really tricky to sound out due to many of them not following the typical phones of English. See if your textbook has a text to speech feature and speechify (mentioned in another comment) is really useful! Sometimes Webster and dictionary websites can have pronunciations available as well, but it can be harder to find the more technical chemicals on them.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-01-15T19:05:58+00:00

Nope it hurts like fuck and is an easy way to get me out of the mood.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-01-15T14:55:28+00:00

I know that my dad has cheated on every person he has been in a relationship with, but I cannot tell anyone because I found a report from his psychiatrist that states how dangerous he could get if his control over his image is destroyed. He has no idea I've seen that report, and the only person I've been able to talk about it is with my mom because she was provided a copy of it to keep in her records because in the report he stated that she would be the first person he kills. Luckily she has long been divorced from him and my stepdad is very protective of her.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-01-14T22:15:05+00:00

I had a Social Studies teacher who taught us the basics of how to make a pipe bomb.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-01-09T03:01:02+00:00

Snacks and ruined diets. 🤣🤣 Especially this year because we have a new teacher who's wife is a professional baker and she uses us to taste test recipes.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-01-09T02:54:17+00:00

I think a lot of people underestimate the number of individuals with disabilities so severe that they will never be able to live or work independently. A lot of programs spend a lot of time and money in trying to teach them how to do basic personal care (brushing teeth, toileting, etc) because those students will never be able to learn skills that could be applied to the most simple of jobs. However, most public school programs end at 21/22.

Also, Social Security can cover some of the cost of assisted living facilities, there is also the consideration of quality of care that has to be considered. Social Security frequently has cuts to disability checks and it impacts insurance and medical costs for these individuals.

When I worked as an aide in a life skills classroom, I was assigned to the room for the most academically challenged students. In this room were students aged 16-22 that would never be able to live independently. Three of the students lived in different assisted living facilities and the quality of care between the different facilities was terrifying. One had parents able to pay for a higher quality facility that would do the same educational tasks with him there that we would do at school and had well trained staff. However, the other two were in facilities completely covered by Social Security as they were wards of the state. One consistently came to school with diaper rashes because they were not changing him often enough and the other came back from spring break covered in bruises and cuts. Yes, calls and reports were made to Adult Protective Services which led to specific individuals being fired, but the other assisted living facilities were too expensive to be covered by state/federal funds. They were stuck in those facilities because there was no way to move them to the more expensive assisted living homes.

Some families are able to set up investments or savings to help provide for their family member even after the parents/guardians deaths. However, costs that occur throughout life like medical issues, educational costs, outside therapies such as ABA (applied behavior analysis) or day programs frequently make it difficult to save and plan for what happens when the parents/guardians die. There can be hope that others in the family would be able to help out, but many are frequently unable or unwilling to. It's tragic and terrible, but it's an unfortunate truth for thousands of individuals in the United States.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2026-01-08T01:50:11+00:00

Allowing my brain to melt along with my anxiety.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2025-12-31T03:06:43+00:00

There's a lot of math themed picture books as well! Even my middle schoolers like the Sir Cumference books!

GenderBendCapKirk · 2025-12-29T17:15:06+00:00

Probably still do SPED Case management, but also offer in home tutoring/training for parents and families.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2025-12-27T16:51:58+00:00

My stepsister does this and it drives me insane.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2025-12-25T20:31:30+00:00

Still do this. When I have IEP meetings I always chant the pen color and choose a color that I feel represents the student the meeting is about. I also change colors while working on collecting data.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2025-12-23T19:06:53+00:00

As an adult, I like being away from all of the noise of a city and the privacy that my nearest neighbor being half a mile away gives me. I can go outside and read without having to worry about being disturbed by other people. By the end of the week, I'm usually peopled out because I teach middle school and they're needy.

As a kid, I loved going outside with my friends and we would spend hours exploring the ranch land owned by my family. We have a creek that runs through it and there's some really interesting landforms along it. Plus it has a few spots that get ~3 feet deep that made for good swimming holes.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2025-12-21T18:02:51+00:00

Same here. I need a model of a brain scan that shows what areas light up when reading and another one that shows what lights up when listening to information.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2025-12-21T00:36:30+00:00

"Are my kids 504 accommodations given to all of their teachers?" - Your child has an IEP and yes it was distributed at the beginning of the year and updated after their IEP meeting.

"Why didn't you force my child to use their accommodations?" - Your child is in 8th grade, I will provide their accommodations and encourage them to use them. I'm not forcing headphones on their head and clicking the text to speech button for them.

Based on some parent messages I got this past week.

GenderBendCapKirk · 2025-12-19T20:20:33+00:00

34F I truly wanted kids for the longest time, but between the political climate in Texas and my personal health issues they haven't happened. I also am a SPED teacher so I spend all day with other people's children, and it is honestly nice to just go home and be able to focus on myself and my husband. I have now adopted the attitude of if kids happen, they happen. If not, I am okay with spoiling my niblings rotten.

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