School News and Airing Their Concerns During Lunch Break

VIGNETTE 1*

The setting is the faculty room of a typical high school, where four faculty members are sharing

school news and airing their concerns during lunch break.

English Teacher: I’m getting another special education student next week—with rather

severe learning disabilities this time, I’m told. I’ll have this student in my composition

and literature classes, along with a student with behavior disorders I’ve been coping with

already. On top of that, as you all know, state assessments are coming up and our district

curriculum standards committee is in the midst of who-knows-how-many meetings that

seem to never end, and on it goes.

Geometry Teacher: I hear you. What’s more, our special ed teachers don’t seem to be working

with these kids separately like they did when I first started teaching. But that was before

inclusion, collaboration, and co-teaching became part of our teaching vocabulary.

Music Teacher: And before national “experts” had come up with things like No Child Left

Behind and Common Core Standards.

English Teacher: Well, anyway, I was told that one of the special ed teachers is coming

to our next departmental meeting to consult with us and talk about our roles in helping

these students with their special needs. I understand we’re going to be asked to set

aside time to collaborate with the special ed teachers. That’s along with all the other

things we do, of course. We may even be encouraged to do some co-teaching with other

teachers.

Physical Education Teacher/Coach: Hmmm, don’t those two words cancel each other

out? “Consult” and “collaborate,” I mean. I believe you English teachers call that an

oxymoron.

Music Teacher: I guess I’d be inclined to consult a tax accountant for some expert advice,

but I think of collaboration as where everyone works together—you know, collaboration

as in laboring together—to accomplish some common goals they’ve agreed on. As for

co-teaching, I can tell you what a difficult process that is when you have a group of independent

thinkers and free spirits who like to do things their own way and want to be the star

of the show!

ISBN 1-269-72898-9

Collaboration, Consultation, and Teamwork for Students with Special Needs, Seventh Edition, by Peggy Dettmer, Ann Knackendoffel, and Linda P. Thurston.

CHAPTER 1 WORKING TOGETHER IN COLLABORATION, CONSULTATION, AND TEAMS 5

TEACHER ISOLATION IN THE PAST

In the past, teachers worked alone in their classrooms for the most part. They marked attendance

forms, took lunch counts, completed other daily procedures, and then closed their

classroom doors to begin instruction of the required content.

They tried to handle each learning situation with minimal

outside help. Asking for assistance would have been tantamount

to showing insecurity or demonstrating incompetence.

After all, hardy and capable teachers in the past had

managed eight grades in one-room schoolhouses without

help, hadn’t they?

In more recent times, schools have become multidimensional

centers of activity and much more social places.

But an individual educator with myriad responsibilities and

goals not only for student success but personal success can

still feel stranded in a crowded setting devoid of adult interactions

and professional stimulation. Teachers may be just

next door or down the hall from other adults, yet paradoxically

they are somewhat insulated from each other during

the school day. Most tend to go about their responsibilities

alone, without much meaningful adult interaction. This can

make teaching a lonely occupation in a very public place.

(See Figure 1.2.)

The insularities of some subjects and departmental

boundaries are barriers to meaningful collaboration where,

even if teachers would want to collaborate and co-teach, lack

of time and a place limit the opportunity.

English Teacher: Well, frankly, I’m not interested in word games right now. I’m more

concerned about finding out where that time is going to come from to do one more thing.

I feel like the clock is my enemy. My schedule is packed, and my few minutes of free

time don’t jibe with anyone else’s except for this brief lunch period. Most of all, I want

to know who will have bottom-line responsibility for which students, and when, and

where—and how!

Geometry Teacher: Right. I’ve had some questions about how to include all students in

my instruction and testing. I think we need more help to do all of this and do it right. I

hope we get it.

*We recommend that persons using this book in a group setting read each vignette aloud in conversational tone

and style. In this way, the situations will seem relevant and facilitative rather than artificial and contrived. If

the vignettes are not used by a group, they should be regarded as part of a chapter’s content and read by the

individual reader.

FIGURE 1.2 “I feel so alone!”

ISBN 1-269-72898-9

Collaboration, Consultation, and Teamwork for Students with Special Needs, Seventh Edition, by Peggy Dettmer, Ann Knackendoffel, and Linda P. Thurston.

6 PART I CONTEXTS FOR WORKING TOGETHER AS CO-EDUCATORS

Many teachers, particularly those who are just beginning their careers, have been

reluctant to discuss their concerns or ask for assistance from support personnel, lest their

confidence and competency be called into question. In the meantime, others who are

resource teachers, related services personnel, and support personnel have waited in the

wings until called on for assistance. Too often the teachers desiring help and their potential

helpmates are brought together only when situations reach a crisis level, if at all. How much

better for all concerned if they could have had more immediate and directed interaction to

identify needs and plan early interventions for students with special needs. As a teacher’s

array of responsibilities grows, and time allocated for instructing and managing classes as

an intact group becomes shorter, the burden of trying to meet the needs of every student

grows heavier and more complex.

In many situations, chunking of the typical school day further insulates teachers

from sources of ideas beyond their own background of experiences. This is particularly

evident at the high school level, where teachers might have five classes and several different

preparations daily, along with building duties and extracurricular activities, while

interacting with more than 100 students during the course of the day and sometimes into

the evening.

Adding to the complexity of the school day with its myriad curricular and extracurricular

activities is the growing awareness by perceptive teachers that every student has

special needs that require special attention. Furthermore, every student has unique abilities

and talents to be nurtured. The task of developing the potential of all students and preparing

them for future careers, further education, and eventual participation as citizens can

be overwhelming. That “little red schoolhouse” with one teacher serving a wide range of

student ages and needs in an isolated setting just will not do.

REFLECTION 1.2

From Responsibilities to Opportunities

Review Vignette l, the scene in the high school faculty room. Give some thought to the frustrations

of the English teacher who feels overworked and ill prepared for addressing more special

needs in her classroom, along with finding time to meet with special education teachers

REFLECTION 1.1

Interaction to Save the Day

Using Figure 1.2 to stir your memory, put yourself in that chair and recall one or more

times when your feeling of isolation on the job seemed almost overwhelming and interaction

with a colleague or a friend who understood that feeling of professional loneliness

would have “saved the day.” Could meaningful interaction with an understanding, caring

educator have helped? Who could have provided it? How, when, and where might it have

taken place?