Brent Seifferlein

06/05/2015
Exceptional Youth Reflection
After taking so much information in such a short week its difficult to fully articulate
everything Ive learned or the ways Ive grown. However, in a nutshell, what Ive taken away
from the class is this; special needs students are more than an identification. Each student is an
individual with strengths and weaknesses and they are far more complicated than I, as a Special
Education teacher, can fully comprehend.
As a para, I consistently hear teachers complain about the paperwork and meetings that
we learned this week. This has caused me to see the SAPs, MDTs, IEPs and even recording
modifications and adaptations in a negative light. However, this week has shown me that these
are not meant to be annoyances or obstacles. Rather, they are tools to help me better assist the
student, family and even myself.
Being introduced to the different types of disabilities and interacting with the parent
panel was very different after this realization. I better understand that students are more than
their IEP or a list of adaptations and modifications. Students are more than their test scores. Its
far more complicated than that.
Overall, I see the things we learned this week as more of an art than a science. Of course,
there are policies and procedures to follow but there is not one textbook that will tell me how to
handle each child I am going to meet as a Special Education teacher. I will have to use best
practices from what we used this week along with my own flexibility, creativity and a solid
relationship with the student based on mutual trust. I will also have to rely on support from other

educators on my team. All of these tools are at my disposal to help me do my very best to help
each student.