College Instructor Of Special Education
Career review from a person working in the job
How I Got The Job
My Education: Associates Degree from Colby Jr. College in new London, NH BS Degree from Mt. Angel College in Mt. Angel, Or MS Indiana University, Bloomington Indiana PhD from University of Oregon, Eugene, Or
My Prior Experience: I was a special education teacher for 21 years, primarily in a high school setting
My Job Profile
My Company: I work for a college in a small town in Oregon.
Job/Career Overview: I am education faculty at a small college in Pendleton, Oregon. I teach education classes, face to face and also on line. I also teach what we call "hybrid" classes, which are partly face to face and partly online classes.
In addition, I also teach special education classes at my college and also for Eastern Oregon University. Because I have a doctorate in the area of Special Education, I am considered to be a specialist in this area. I also obtained a Handicapped Learner Endorsement at Western Oregon University. This endorsement means that I can teach special education classes on any grade level, K through 12. (It is no longer possible to obtain such a credential. Now special education teachers are required to pick a grade level as well as a particular disability area.)
My work day is varied. I spend a lot of time on my classes. I prepare materials for class and correct student work. I design on line classes and also revise and remodel existing on line classes as well as face to face classes. It seems as though I never teach a class the same exact way twice. I am always revising the curriculum, adding current information and also
accumulating current links and short videos.
I advise students regarding their career choices. We offer several types of certificates and degrees.
In addition to what I've already described, I also do testing for Learning Disabilities. It takes six to seven hours of individual testing in order to
do the complete battery. The definition of a Learning Disability is that there needs to be a discrepancy between ability and achievement as indicated by the standard scores obtained from the testing.
I am very happy with my career choice. I never have a boring moment. Plus I have a great deal of individual freedom. I am not over supervised. I am trusted and treated as a professional.
More Insights: When you are lucky enough to find a career that you find interesting and stimulating, your life will have greater meaning.
Love It? Hate It?
I rate this career 10 out of 10.
What I Love or Hate
The best part of the job is everything that I do. I enjoy every minute of every day. I enjoy teaching, writing curriculum,correcting student work. I also enjoy the testing aspect. I very much enjoy working in a college setting. The people I work with are interesting and fun. I participate in interesting conversations every day.
I can't think of any thing I don't like about the work I do. I am very content with the choices I have made.
My Career Tips
1. Go to school. Get the credentials that you need. Choose colleges that are known to have good programs in the area in which you are interested.
2. Do a job shadow or a practicum, if you can. Get close to the job you think you want. Take a good look.
3. Interview people who are already doing the job you think you want. Ask good questions. Ask if he or she had it all to do over again, if he or she would choose the same career.
