I had a conversation with a student teacher today...

[alphatarget1]

Originally posted by: tec699

Originally posted by: alphatarget1
I'm gonna get flamed for saying this, but here it goes.

Why are we spending a disproportionate amount of money on special ed kids? I mean yeah, I guess it sucks that they're slower than the others or whatever but what does the society get out of putting so much resources on them?

I would've liked 10 people/ classroom for high school calculus, kids should learn better in such environments.

If we don't make them independent and give them the help that they need then those special ed students will probably live off the system for their entire life. You have to remember that special ed runs the full gament from children who are learning disabled to students who are severly handicapped.

Would you rather have a student develop some skills that are marketable so they could land a job or would you rather have them live off the system? I'd rather pay for them while they are in school rather then support them their entire lives.

handicapped students who are not mentally "challenged" doesn't apply here. If they're smart and they want to make something of themselves, more power to them and they should be supported.

I'm talking about the $$$/student ratio between special ed students and regular students. If we as a society strides for equality then this is one of the most unfair system,. If regular students have to suffer in larger classroom sizes then so should the special ed students IMO.

 

[Linflas]

Originally posted by: EatSpam

Originally posted by: slick230
There's nothing wrong with those kids that a good ass-beating wouldn't cure.

There's no wonder America is a nation of war mongers. We know violence all our lives, starting from birth, and don't really see a problem with it.

:roll:

 

[remagavon]

Originally posted by: tec699

Originally posted by: remagavon
Special Ed teachers make a lot of money, and for good reason. Starting pay at some schools is in the 70k range. You have to student teach before you can actually get certified so it's not *that* bad, at least in the long run.

Starting pay? Where the hell do you live and are these schools private? Because of the NJEA union NJ teachers are the second highest paid in the US. I believe CA is first. Starting salary for all teachers is between $38-42k a year and within 13 years they max out at $65k. In some of the wealthier districts teachers can max out near $80k but hell... Homes go for $650,000 plus in those districts.

It's still not a bad gig though. Full benefit package, good pay and summers off. If you live near the shore you could operate a summer business and if it takes off you could live very VERY comfortably.

Special Ed. Totally different set of certifications etc.. I know the OP might not have been talking about that type of teacher, but the students being 'disturbed' led me to believe that. Starting pay for regular teachers is around 39k or so nationally, with ranges from 28k to a little above 50k depending on the area. To get paid really well starting out as a regular teacher you need to work at an inner city school which adds stress and certianly undermines the plusses that a teaching career offers, at least IMO.

I totally agree about the lifestyle. I'm actually in college working my way up to a teaching degree in English. I love writing and helping people learn the intricacies of it. 🙂

edit: I went to school in a very small town in upstate NY with around 120 students in an average class (grade). Teachers here, towards retirement, actually can make almost 70k or so. That all depends on qualifications etc. My school had a teacher that was qualified to teach College, but paid more for her to prepare students for college. And this is a very small school (relative to most) that I'm talking about.

 

[episodic]

Originally posted by: remagavon
Special Ed teachers make a lot of money, and for good reason. Starting pay at some schools is in the 70k range. You have to student teach before you can actually get certified so it's not *that* bad, at least in the long run.

That is not true everywhere. In my state they make no more than any other teacher. 27,500 a year starting.

 

[remagavon]

Originally posted by: episodic

Originally posted by: remagavon
Special Ed teachers make a lot of money, and for good reason. Starting pay at some schools is in the 70k range. You have to student teach before you can actually get certified so it's not *that* bad, at least in the long run.

That is not true everywhere. In my state they make no more than any other teacher. 27,500 a year starting.

Secondary education (middle/high school) special ed teachers are what I saw statistics on. I can't find them now (just tried for about 10 mins) so I might have been totally wrong. The statistics I can find on regular special ed teachers does place them well above (10k+) normal pay for early childhood education salaries, but nothing like what I saw before.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: tec699

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: tec699

Originally posted by: slick230
There's nothing wrong with those kids that a good ass-beating wouldn't cure.

The majority of these kids have known violence all of their lives. An ass whooping wouldn't solve anything and it most definitely wouldn't change their behavior.

You think that violence was used as a form of discipline?

The majority of these kids have horrible home lives. Most are from the inner city: No father, drugs and violence on every street corner, hookers, etc... You name it. Hell, I met a 6 year old who was a drug runner for his older brother. They go through "stuff" that we could only imagine and will never go through in our lifetime.

Nice answer to my question. Not.

 

[episodic]

Originally posted by: remagavon

Originally posted by: episodic

Originally posted by: remagavon
Special Ed teachers make a lot of money, and for good reason. Starting pay at some schools is in the 70k range. You have to student teach before you can actually get certified so it's not *that* bad, at least in the long run.

That is not true everywhere. In my state they make no more than any other teacher. 27,500 a year starting.

Secondary education (middle/high school) special ed teachers are what I saw statistics on. I can't find them now (just tried for about 10 mins) so I might have been totally wrong. The statistics I can find on regular special ed teachers does place them well above (10k+) normal pay for early childhood education salaries, but nothing like what I saw before.

Probably, what accounts for that pay difference is that in some states they require special ed teachers to have a master's degree. If they required regular ed teachers to have master's degrees, you'd see that the pay was not 'much' different.

Basically in most schools lets say the starting pay is 28k with a 4 year, and 34k with a masters - if their state requires all special ed teachers to have a master's then of course it will look like they make more - when in reality any regular ed teacher could get the master's degree and get paid the same thing.