Regular education teacher vs. special education teacher: What’s the difference?

Perhaps there doesn’t really have to be one.

That sounds radical, and I’m sure some would debate me – but fundamentally the job of a regular education teacher and a special educator are the same: to teach, support, love and enrich children. In a co-teaching relationship, conflict can arise when there is too concrete of a line drawn between the two roles.

For the past two years, I co-taught in an inclusive second grade classroom in New Haven, Connecticut. The first year, there were five students with IEPs, and 19 without. The second year of co-teaching brought me a class of 23, but no students with special needs. There were 4 students who were going through (or about to go through) the PPT process to determine whether they required special services, but no students started the year with a diagnosis of a disability.

To be honest, this actually scared me. I would be, at least functionally, a regular education teacher. The concept of teaching a “regular” class made me feel like I would be living a lie – I didn’t go to school to become a regular education teacher! What if I failed teaching the general education curriculum to the students, and then set them back?

On the first day of school, I met my new class. Many of the students had been selected to be in the co-taught classroom based on their academic and behavioral needs. Despite not coming with a “label”, many of these students had struggled in the past, and needed extra support. Beyond the kids who came with already identified issues, I realized that (just like last year) I had a class of diverse personalities, each different from one another, each with different strengths and different weaknesses. Even though I was signed up as the special education teacher, the kids didn’t know my title.  That’s when I realized the flaw in my thinking. I didn’t have to identify as a special education teacher or a “regular” classroom teacher – I was, to my kids, simply: the teacher.  

As the year progressed, some students were determined to be eligible for special education services and, although they were not aware of my specialized role in their lives, I became the special education teacher – providing service hours, and delivering modifications and accommodations. But, I also kept teaching math to the whole group, and pulling a mixed group of students with and without disabilities for extra writing practice. My co-teaching partner also took on a role of pulling the students with IEPs into small groups while I taught the whole group. To the kids, nothing changed – as one of our most cheerful boys wrote in a note to me: “You and Ms. M are the bestest second grade teachers I have ever had in my life.” It’s hard not to appreciate the hyperbolic love.

I think too often people become consumed with titles. When I became a special education teacher, I co-taught with a teacher who took her role as a regular education teacher quite literally. We worked together in a “collaborative” classroom, but she asked that I be solely responsible for dealing with the behavior plans and accommodations for the six children with IEPs (many of whom had multiple disabilities), so that she could “just do regular ed stuff”. I would not say that the kids suffered necessarily, but I definitely held an attitude of frustration that only hindered what we could’ve done together as a team. I remember feeling embittered, because she refused to accommodate who I perceived as “my” students. Looking back, both of us held attitudes that stopped us from being even better teachers. When you live your life defined by a title or a perceived role, you cannot grow. Of course, teachers should play to their strengths – a teacher who has been trained in how to teach algebra should focus on the content, and if she has a partner who is a special education teacher, maybe that teacher should focus on modifying classroom activities for students who need it. However, what each of you do in a co-teaching relationship should depend solely on what the kids need, and what you can do. Just because you’re a special educator working with an algebra expert does not mean that you only work with students with IEPs or kids who are struggling – and that you can’t pull an advanced group for extended practice! True growth as an educator happens when you refuse to allow your title to define you.