What Does a Special Education Classroom Look Like?

In this story, I would like to share my experiences as a special education teacher. I want to tell you about how I became an educator there, what the special classroom and its environment looked like, the moments of joy and my connections to my students, the valuable lessons I learned from them, and also the challenges and difficulties I encountered.

Since I was a child, I dreamed of becoming an educator. I thought it would be just easy, and being a teacher was just about going to the classroom, facing the learners, and then sharing facts. So, I pursued this dream and took up a Bachelor of Secondary Education in college.

However, when I graduated from college and became a true teacher, I realized that teaching is not just about that, but much more than that. It’s about guiding learners to fulfill their dreams and making them become valuable members of society. To achieve these goals, a teacher’s responsibilities and obligations should go beyond academics. The teacher should also include disciplining students and developing their minds, bodies, and behaviors to be knowledgeable, skilled, and good individuals.

However, these responsibilities are not easy. They can be exhausting and need a lot of patience and dedication. For me, in my experiences, the most difficult part of the vocation was managing the individual differences among students. Not all students have the same attributes. Not all students are fast learners, and some are not respectful, and the teacher’s task is to find solutions to address these challenges. I took steps to handle such situations, including reporting incidents to parents, suspending students, or referring them for counseling.

But there were moments that went beyond ordinary challenges — some students did things that I could only describe as “evil.” I remember one time when, while I was teaching a lesson, a student from another classroom rushed in without my permission and unjustly punched one of my students. I was shocked by the incident. In another instance, a student threw a stone at the window, shattering the glass. The most alarming moment, I swear, was when I found marijuana in the bag of one of a teen. So, after hearing this, would you still want to be a teacher?

Being a Special Education Teacher:

This is the story how i became a special edication teacher. Actually, the school that where I taught ordinary education and the special education were owned by the same person but these schools were located in different locations.

For two years, I worked as a regular teacher in the normal school, and my daily tasks there included, like other teachers, making lesson plans, addressing the students in front of the class, instructing them, giving them assignments, and administering tests and quizzes.

However, this daily routine changed when I was asked to substitute one of the true special teachers temporarily, because she was seriously ill and was hospitalized. The special education faculty needed someone to step in and who was willing to fulfill her duties temporarily. When I had been asked, I hesitated at first because, like other people, I had misconceptions regarding special needs children. Also, I had no prior experience teaching students with special needs. Despite these, I still answered, “Yes!” I was so excited but a little bit nervous since I saw it as both a challenge and an opportunity for growth.

The Orientation:

Before my first day at the school, I went to where the special education school was located. I found a way how to go there. When I found it, I met the headmaster, and then he introduced me to the faculty staff. Of course, he told me that I would be the substitute teacher for the ill one. The faculty staff greeted me warmly. They were very welcoming, friendly, all smiles, and eager to meet me. They all held degrees in special education. They were knowledgeable individuals who knew how to perform even different therapies. We had discussed our personal lives, work experiences, interests, and hobbies, and their experiences in special education. They told me that I should not be nervous in special education because it’s actually easier than I think it is.

After that, they gave me an orientation. It was anything about the persons with disabilities, including their nature, definition, description, different types of their conditions, causes and symptoms of their condition, how to take care of them, the behaviors and how to manage them, the expectations in the classroom, the rules and regulations and do’s and don’ts in the classroom, and laws and other rights that protect and support people with special needs and other disabilities.

What Is a Person With Special Needs?

In clinical diagnosis, the term “people with special needs” refers to people who need assistance due to a medical, mental, or biological condition. The types of persons with special needs include people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities, such as Down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, and cognitive delays; physical disabilities, such as deafness and epilepsy; learning difficulties, such as dyslexia; those who have difficulty in writing and dysgraphia; or those who have difficulty in writing. (In my class, most of my students have Down syndrome or autism.

Causes and Symptoms:

The cause varies depending on the condition. For instance, deafness can be caused by infectious disease or by accident, epilepsy can be caused by exposure of the mother to toxins or taking the wrong drugs during pregnancy that lead to birth defects, and Down syndrome, autism, dyslexia, and dysgraphia can be inherited.

Laws and Other Rights About Persons With Special Needs

Laws and rights were not just about educational settings but all aspects of life, ensuring they had equal access to opportunities and other services, either in healthcare, food, employment, business, sports, transportation, or other areas. For instance, an employer cannot refuse to hire autistic people just because of their condition, even if they still can perform their duties when working. Another example: in the country where I live, people with special needs have a 20% discount on their food and fees for public transportation. Refusing to hire them or give them discounts is punishable by law.

Rules and Regulations of the School:

The rules and regulations included the privacy of the classroom. Anything that happened in the classroom must be kept private. Information, situations, incidents, or activities could not be shared with others, either in person or via social media. Photography and the use of cell phones were also strictly prohibited. Parents and guardians were also not permitted to visit during school hours. They could only come inside after the class had ended. Another example is not to hurt them, obviously.

Training:

The faculty staff also prepared me for the challenges I might face, like aggression or self-harm, often caused by frustration or by overwhelming triggers such as bright lights and loud noises. They explained to me that the students’ behaviors could sometimes be unpredictable.

One teacher even shared her experience. She said that once, while she was busy preparing for a lesson, a student suddenly bit her out of boredom. Of course, she was shocked — anyone would be — but she stayed calm, knowing that reacting with anger or fear might only worsen things. Instead, she spoke to the student softly, asking him to let go, and, surprisingly, he did.

They also taught me what to do if speaking gently wasn’t enough. Some techniques included slightly pushing the arm toward the student, pressing gently on the lower jaw or cheek near the mouth, distracting them with toys or food, or even singing their favorite songs to help trigger a natural release.

Afterward, they handed me my teaching materials — books and a lesson plan. I was surprised when I looked at them. At first, I thought the topics for regular and special education would be very different. But to my surprise, they were almost the same.

First-grade students focused on the basics: reading, writing, and counting. By sixth grade, their lessons expanded to include history, geography, and basic science concepts. High school students even tackled algebra and chemical formulas. But what made their learning extra special was that it went beyond academics. It included life skills too — things like using utensils, brushing teeth, and folding clothes — skills they could use in their daily lives.

School Tour:

After the orientation, they gave me a tour of the special education building. It was small, with only six rooms, just enough for a few students. High schoolers attended classes in the morning, while younger pupils came in the afternoon.

There were four classrooms for academics, one training room for life skills, and one therapy room. The academic rooms were simple but welcoming. Each had a large white table surrounded by a few chairs, just enough for the students and a teacher. Cabinets lined the walls, filled with books and teaching materials.

The life skills training room felt almost like a little home. It had a bed with pillows, a small kitchen area, a wardrobe, a sink, and a restroom. The therapy room, on the other hand, had different equipment for various therapies. Just outside, there was a small playground complete with swings and a foam pit where the students could play as part of their therapy.

All rooms were separated by walls, and each wall had doors. This was a thoughtful design—in case anything happened, teachers from nearby rooms could rush in quickly to help.

My First Day as a Special Education Teacher:

Meeting the Faculty and a Student Named Fiona:

On my first day, I stepped into the faculty room, and everyone on staff turned to look at me. They greeted me warmly with smiles, and I smiled back and greeted them too. But there was one teacher who immediately caught my attention — not because she greeted me, but because she didn’t. Instead, she rummaged through the drawer on her table, looking distressed.

“Hey! Where’s my lipstick?!” she suddenly shouted. “There’s a handsome man at the door!” she added, pointing straight at me.

The whole faculty burst out laughing. Someone teased, “Oh really? There’s a handsome man at the door?”

Then they introduced me. “This is Sir Errah, the new teacher here.”

Right after that, the headmaster gently pulled me aside to start showing me the rooms where I’d be teaching. As we walked, she smiled and asked, “Do you remember the girl who called you handsome?” I nodded.

“Well,” she said, “that’s Fiona (not her real name), a 21-year-old special student here.”

“Oh, really?” I said, surprised. “I honestly thought she was a teacher, too.”

The headmaster laughed. “Why? Because of her age?” she teased.

Then she explained that Fiona, even though she’s a special needs student, feels the same emotions as anyone else. Having special needs doesn’t take away her humanity. She can feel admiration, attraction, even romance — just like any of us. It’s simply part of who she is.

As we continued walking around, I noticed that the student population was really small. There were no more than five students per grade. I also realized that many of the students were much older than usual for their grade levels. For example, it wasn’t unusual for a third grader to be fifteen years old.

My Days as a Special Education Teacher:

My Morning Class with the Grade 8 Students

I was assigned to grade 8 in the morning and kindergarten in the afternoon. There were only two students in the 8th-grade class, both male and over 18 years old. For confidentiality, I will not use their real names; instead, I will call the first student John and the second one James.

When I introduced myself to them as their new teacher, they simply greeted me with a “Hello” and enthusiastically waved their hands at me. These two were tall and had bulky builds, so the first thing that came to my mind was: what if they were triggered to rage? How could I control them? They looked strong.

Fortunately, I was trained, and in such situations, the only thing I would need to do was to press their thumb using my fingers. According to the teacher, it would cause them enough pain to shift their focus away from their rage and toward the pain in their thumb. It wasn’t cruel; it was the proper and humane way to manage it. Once I released their thumb, the pain would instantly stop. However, I never had to try it on them because they were kind and well-behaved students who often followed my commands.

These two students were intelligent and talented. I was surprised that they could pronounce difficult words so well. I showed them a book with an illustration of the nervous system, and they correctly pronounced terms like “cerebellum,” “cerebrum,” and “hypothalamus,” and they even knew their meanings.

There was a world map on the wall, and they could accurately name and point to many different places. John, the younger of the two, often carried a crossword puzzle book, which he liked to answer upon arriving in the classroom. During discussions, I sometimes thought he wasn’t paying attention because he was so focused on his crossword. But when I asked him questions, he always responded correctly and showed he had been listening. After answering, he would simply return to his puzzle.

James, on the other hand, enjoyed drawing. He often sketched scenes from daily life — his family, the streets, and nature — using pencils and crayons. I graded his drawings even though it wasn’t part of the lesson, and he liked it when I often gave him perfect scores. I collected his pieces and placed them together in an envelope.

Teaching Kindergarten in the Afternoon

In the afternoon, I taught five kindergartners. All of them were girls. Four of them had Down syndrome, and the other one was a “normal girl.” However, this “normal girl,” let’s call her “Ana,” had difficulty walking. She had just enrolled in special education for walking therapy, so she could study while receiving therapy at the same time. She was so talkative and asked me everything about myself. I thought she just wanted to know me as her new teacher. She loved drawing and sketching as well. Her pieces were often about her orange cat. I loved how she told stories about how she loved her cats. She often mentioned that it slept on the bed beside her, and she fed it with kibbles and other food. She loved math as well, like counting numbers and doing addition. She also always sang her favorite children’s and folk songs.

This girl often needed assistance, as she needed to be lifted whenever she arrived at or left the school and when she went to the restroom. The other four students, as mentioned above, had Down syndrome. I struggled to talk with them and understand what they were saying. Getting their attention was difficult as well. These children were very young, around four to five years old. Of course, because of their age, these babies hadn’t received their therapies yet, or they were just at the beginning stages. Someday, they would become intelligent people as well.

For that time, that’s always how it went in the kindergarten class. During quizzes, if a student had a hard time communicating, I only showed them different options for the answer to a question and then asked which one was their answer. For instance, if the question on the quiz asked them to color an apple red, I would show them two different colored crayons, like blue or red, and then ask them which one was red. Whichever they pointed to would be their answer. If they chose the red crayon, their answer would be correct; if they chose the blue one, the answer would be incorrect. I would then ask them to color the apple whatever color they chose. I’d put a check for the correct answer and an X for the incorrect one. Afterward, I would count the correct answers and write them at the top of their notebook, followed by my signature, the date, and the statement “assisted by teacher.”

During recess, I was the one who opened their food, whether it was packed or in a lunchbox. Ana was friendly to them. It seemed that she was still too young and did not understand what special children were. She treated her classmates like normal people. She talked and played with them. She also helped open their food as well.

Insight Into Other Classrooms:

The Condition of the Students

This happened in all classrooms, not just with my students but with all students at the school in different grades. For older students, they may have already received their therapies, so most of them were highly functional and interacted like any other student. The younger students who still hadn’t received their therapies had a harder time communicating with others. During quizzes, if students answered the question on their own and had no assistance from their teacher, the statement “assisted by teacher” does not need to be noted.

The number of students per grade is as follows: for 1st grade, there were three students; for 3rd grade, there were two students; for 4th grade, there was one student; for 7th grade, there were two students; and for 10th grade, there was one student. The other grades that had not been mentioned had no enrolled students. All students at the school, except for Ana, had Down syndrome. Those in grades lower than three were between 5 and 12 years old, while the 3rd graders were aged 19 and above (including Fiona, the student who called me handsome). The 4th grader was 9 years old, and grades five and above had students aged 13 and above.

The Student Who Uses ACC Tools

Of all the students in the school, the one w7ho gained my most attention was a 9-year-old in grade 1. He couldn’t speak but used an AAC device to communicate. AAC, or augmentative and alternative communication are instrument designed for individuals with speech difficulties. These instruments usually had buttons with images, and when a child pressed a button, the device read the image aloud. For example, a heart symbol might express “I love you” or “thank you.” Many AAC devices are now digital and can be accessed through apps on smartphones. To my surprise, this child was the son of the school’s co-owners. They shared that he was the inspiration behind founding the school. According to his parents, he was the reason they established the special education school. They were very grateful to my boss, who owned the normal schools, as their dream for their child came true. They wanted their son to be as normal as other children, so he received the right therapies and education without worrying about leaving him in another school. They also offered cheaper enrollment fees compared to other schools to help special children and their parents afford the school fees.

Extracurricular Activities

When there was a special occasion, celebration, or extracurricular activity, we would take the special students to the regular school, where they could join and interact with the other students outside the special school. There, they could participate in extracurricular activities like sports, the JS prom, even graduation, and others. We used a van to transport them from the special school to the regular school. We also made sure to explain to the regular students about the special students, emphasizing that they should not be bullied or discriminated against because, after all, they were human too. Instead, we encouraged the regular students to assist and help them with any needs. Parents were also present as companions and could help the special students when needed.

Other Incidents I Experienced in Special Education:

Do you remember Fiona, the woman who called me handsome? She had a crush on a grade 10 student named Joe (not his real name). As usual, whenever she saw him, she would wear lipstick and call him handsome. However, Joe never made any moves on Fiona. On the other hand, James, my grade 8 student, had a crush on Fiona.

He expressed his feelings by sitting beside her and showing her his artwork, but Fiona seemed uninterested. I don’t know the exact reason, but whenever she saw James, Fiona would often make an angry face and not respond to him. Maybe James did something to her that no one knew about. This caused James to feel rejected and, at times, frustrated. His feelings led to some concerning behavior. On one occasion, he tore up all his papers, including notebooks and books, due to the rejection.

James’s heartbreak reminded me that emotions don’t need words to be real or intense. He tore up his books not out of misbehavior — but out of pain he didn’t know how to express.

There were moments of concern and worry that required constant vigilance. One time, while talking to one of my co-teachers, I didn’t notice a student had turned on the microwave oven. After a few minutes, we smelled something burning but ignored it at first. Eventually, we realized the microwave had been running for too long. He did that just for attention. Fortunately, everything was fine, and nothing bad happened, but the incident served as a reminder to always stay alert.

Another incident involved a student who asked to use the restroom. Unexpectedly, he locked himself inside intentionally, turned on the faucet, and let the water run continuously while playing with it. The floor flooded, and he wet himself. This was a big concern because he could have slipped and injured himself or even gotten sick from staying wet for too long. Luckily, we had opened the door as the key was nearby.

These incidents were just isolated cases, and no other concerning things happened.

The Therapy Room:

What Happened in Therapy Room?

Curious about what happened in therapy room? Therapy sessions for children typically occur once or twice a week. In the school setting, they were usually scheduled on Mondays and Thursdays. Originally, they were held on Mondays and Fridays, but the day was moved to Thursday due to students attending scouting activities on Fridays. Initially, I thought learning how to administer therapy would be difficult, but it turned out to be quite simple and easy — almost like a game. One could learn it in just a few days. In fact, a high school student could potentially become a therapist at a young age, if the government allowed it to do so. The sessions felt more like playful activities in the classroom.

The therapy sessions included simple activities like pressing ping-pong balls with their hands, tossing coins, playing the open-close hand game, and bouncing while sitting on a large balloon ball. These activities helped the children develop their psychomotor skills. During my first time in the therapy room, I was surprised by what the therapists did. They just placed a stick on one side of the room and asked the children to pick it up and bring it to the other side. Once done, they asked them to return the stick to its original position and repeat that process five times. After that, they had a short break and then repeated the task.

Throughout the entire session, they did nothing but that activity. That’s all! The session ended! … and the same activity would continue in the next session. All types pf theraphies whether done in the school or anywhere in the world look like Others were simply asked to fold clothes or put trash in the bin, and once completed, we would gave them rewards such as stickers, food or toys; or celebrated it by simply praising or applausing to them to make them feel proud and motivated.

However, administering a therapy needs a lot of patience because all steps are broken down into tiny steps to match their ability, and sometimes it takes hundreds of repetitions just to learn one skill. Sometimes, a therapy is needed to go to their home to observe whether a child behaves differently at home and at school. Also, parents were usually coach as well, giving tips on how to do therapy, so they knew what to do in case a therapist was unavailable.

When a new student joined, the first thing we did was earn their trust. We’d begin by asking them about things they liked, whether it was food, a toy, or even a song. We’d also play with them or show them videos they enjoyed on their phones. We kept doing this until a bond formed and they became familiar with us, making it easier to gain their trust.

The Therapy Fee in the School

The therapy fee in the school is actually already included in the 100$ tuition fee. One moment, however, a therapist surprisingly revealed to me the cost of therapy in private practice. He could actually make a lot of money there. He worked in schools because it was easiest way to find clients. He could earn $50 for just one hour-long session with just one client. He had 20 clients in total, and each of them had eight sessions in a month. So, in one month, he could earn as much as $8,000. (This is actually cheaper compared to the U.S., where therapy costs $120 per hour.)

He also told me that it was sad that many people didn’t want to work with students with special needs due to misconceptions about them. What they didn’t realize was how grateful he was for being a therapist. It was easier than they thought, and it had given him good money, allowing him to buy cars and houses just within his first year of being a therapist.

End of My Duty as Special Education Teacher:

My career as a special education teacher did not last long, as their real teacher eventually returned to the school. Sadly, I didn’t get to say a proper farewell to the children, because the owner of the regular school unexpectedly called me at home and asked me to return to my original class. When I came back, the faculty staff happily welcomed me and asked about what had happened in the special school, and I told them everything. Soon, my daily routine as a regular teacher continued. As time passed, working on lesson plans, blackboards, and quizzes wasn’t the only thing that returned to my daily routine.

Along with the familiar paperwork, I came the challenge of facing misbehaving students once again. Some talked loudly even while I was speaking, while others tossed paper balls across the room. One time, I tried to discipline them by raising my voice and asking them to keep quiet. Instead of listening, one of them threw a paper ball straight at me. I felt a surge of anger and distress building up inside me. But for a moment, a memory of the special school flashed in my mind. I couldn’t help but kept saying to myself, it was better to teach special children as when they made a noise, just squeezing their thumbs they’ll be quiet right away, but these ‘normal’ people who don’t have disabilities, who can understand what’s happening in their surrounding, were hard to deal with. I didn’t want to say it, but I couldn’t help thinking that these ‘normal’ students sometimes acted more ‘abnormal’ than their special needs peers.

Later, I heard a man’s voice, as if he was trying to get my attention. The sound of his voice brought me back to the present. It was a student who had thrown a piece of paper at me. He apologized, saying that what he did was unintentional. Then, I decided to let it go and just forget about it. After class, the special children came to my mind again, and I thought, “At least these people listened to me.” I missed them and wished I could see them once more.

When we gathered at the school field, I saw them getting out of the van. I was surprised and my eyes got enlarged. Then I waved to them with excitement. I hugged some of them and asked them, “How are you?”. They replied, “We are fine.” From now on, I always saw them every Friday on the scouting program. It was easy for me to manage them as I applied to them what I’d learn from the special school. Bonding and love were still there, and I was grateful for that.

In the end, it wasn’t just a duty—it was a gift—a glimpse into a world where love is loud even without words and patience becomes the purest form of connection.

Special Education: FAQ