Ms. Coyo handles a very vital area of teaching, as all preschool teachers do, because she serves as the very first teacher for each of her children in most cases. Part of her job involves identifying and assessing the child's special needs within an academic setting, as well as working with families and a team of professionals to provide an appropriate education for the child. Following is a selection from the interview, discussing Ms. Coyo's role as a teacher and social reponsibility in the home.
Jess: What do you see as your role in the lives of the children with whom you work?
Ms. Coyo: My role is very parental; I am whatever that child needs. If that child needs my love, that's what I am for them, so they can learn and grow. If that child needs me to be firm, then that's who I am for them. I am whoever they need me to be in order for them to succeed.
Jess: What have been some of your most rewarding and/or challenging experiences in working with families of young children who have special needs?
Ms. Coyo: If I talk about a rewarding situation it always comes from a challenging experience. One child came to the classroom very angry, mother said he always was that way. His younger brother had medical issues so the boy didn't have much attention at home, and was very insecure and jealous. Being able to be what that child needs in the classroom, giving love but not giving in to tantrums and screaming created a better situation in the classroom and at home. There was a definite change in the child. His mother noticed it at home, he was more loving and less sensitive, accepted authority, life was better for everyone. In the classroom we focused on social and coping skills and techniques and because of love, he saw that he had friends and people didn't hate him, kids actually liked him, adults loved him even when he was bad. He found security and confidence. The work is not officially done, but we came a long way.
Jess: How could services for children with special needs be improved in your school/program?
Ms. Coyo: Teach parents how to discipline so that behavior is not the biggest concern. When a new child enters class, I have to fix behavior problems first that have been created that are not part of the disability. Parenting a special needs child is complicated, because it gets to the emotions and fears of the parent much more than a child without disabilities. A child with disabilities takes much more effort to discipline; many parents don't have enough education on how to do it properly, and so they give up. Their goal then isn't discipline, it's to give the child what they want so the child will "act normal" in public, so they aren't seen as a horrible parent.
One of my current students is a violent child not getting an education in my classroom because his behavior is untreatable here. For these kids consistency is vital, and between me, the aides and the parents, consistency doesn't happen for him. This situation could have been avoided if his parent disciplined at a younger age, and then I could get on with my job of teaching. Getting ahead of behavior problems makes it better for the kids because they can focus on the actual problems instead of behaviors.
Jess: How do you feel the situation would change if parents received and acted upon additional education about their child?
Ms. Coyo: Frankly, some of these kids wouldn't be in my classroom, or at least not for very long. Yes, they all have documented and verified disabilities. But these disabilities - or their ability to academically perform and succeed - are made worse by poor parenting, and we have to backtrack in the classroom. Many of these kids need to be here, but would be able to graduate from my class into a full inclusion classroom if we were able to focus on classroom skills from the start of the year. But the kids that we have to manage discipline first lose that opportunity and are at much higher risk of getting stuck in the Special Education system because they've missed too much early on. Not only is this obviously bad for the child, but the state (that's so wrapped up in the cost of things) would save a lot of money per child if they were able to appropriately move these children back into a general education classroom. Reducing costs to the government may also reduce taxes or increase funding to necessary family supports or better classroom technology for hard-to-reach disabilities. The benefits of parental education touches everyone in some way.
Jess: What misconceptions or assumptions about children with special needs would you like to dispel?
Ms. Coyo: The myth that they're stupid. There's nothing stupid about these kids. If you assume they're stupid you're going to see stupid, but you shouldn't because you're missing so much. They might have delays, they might not understand certain things, but then they understand something so well that it blows your mind. They get life, because they have to get life. If parents can understand that about their children, they can begin to see the importance of what they're doing as a parent. But that message is not just for parents, it's for all of us.
Written by Jess Tryon
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