If I would have
to leave my current employment and look for another position that was of
interest to me, I would choose something in the field of special education or
online teaching of elementary school. Online education because I am
getting old and am not sure if I could work with 20 children in the classroom
forever!!!!! PAVirtual Charter School had many job openings and expected
job openings for the new school year.
Their requirements include a bachelor’s degree and competency in technology. Their mission is to provide PA students with
excellent education and to help them achieve their full academic and social
potential. Partnering with parents,
which seems to be a challenge in public schools, is a requirement of online
teaching. I also feel that online
students have an advantage of more individualization from the teacher and
hopefully parents as well. This
partnership between child, parent, and teacher can improve a child’s success in
their education.
Special
education is another interest of mine because I want children that have a
disability to get high quality programming and support to help them be
successful in school and in the future. Some specific jobs of interest to
me are speech therapists and occupational therapist, and special education
teachers and even special education teacher assistants (but the pay and
benefits are not there!). For occupational therapy, (Easter Seals) an
occupational therapy license is required (in PA) and be a graduate of an
accredited school of occupational therapy. I also found an online speech
pathologist job that was of interest to me (Connections Academy, 2011). Requirements include MA or MA in
Speech Language Pathology and ASHA certificate of clinical competence.
And be licensed in your state.
The occupational
therapist and speech pathologist positions would require another degree in
another avenue of education that I am not so sure I am willing to take at this moment,
however, once my children are grown the possibility may be there.
References:
Hi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteOn-line teaching for elementary students sounds interesting but it would defiantly require a lot of parent involvement to help keep the children focused. I think that the parents would have to make sure that this type of learning environment would work for their child and for them.
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI like that your interests in education aren't necessarily focused, but that your passion expands to special education, therapy, and virtual education - which is such a new and developing learning tool. My mom has been an autistic support aid in the local public district for over 15 years and her stories and experiences shared have driven a lot of why I wanted to apply myself more in the education field and further my own learning.
I was reading Julie's above comment and began to wonder more about online learning as well - how can online and virtual education be successful learning tools for students who qualify? How are they monitored?
Thank you for sharing - Caitlin
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteThe concept of cyber schools is certainly something I think we are going to see become more available to children of all ages. I feel that while they have some benefits, there may be some disadvantages if children aren't given opportunities to interact with peers. It puts the responsibility on the parent to make that happen. Given that parent engagement seems to be waning, this concerns me. It will be interesting to see where this all goes.
Your aspirations to provide quality education for children of all abilities is admirable. The specialty areas you mentioned are so important in helping children with disabilities succeed.
Thank you for sharing,
Judi
Judi,
DeleteI definitely agree that parent engagement could be a concern in virtual academies. I know that I had certainly looked into it for my oldest son (who has ADHD and was having much difficulty with behavior and focusing in school), however, his learning support teacher was very concerned about this because of his dislike for reading and comprehending. To make a long story short, the team did work with me to fine tune his IEP to help him be successful and I also did go back to medication. The principal also mentioned that high school students usually do not do well with virtual academies because of lack of parent involvement. My hope is that in the future the virtual schooling will almost be like a balance of homeschooling and public schooling. Because I see my son struggle so much in public school, I am also hoping that there is more support and funding for virtual academies for children with disabilities and that more families are able to have their children be successful. For me, I would love to homeschool, but I don't have the time to do all the leg work!!!
Thanks for your comment and it will certainly be an interesting journey!
Amanda