The Special Education Mess
The Special Education Mess: The Belly of the Beast
COMING SOON: In this episode, the host and guest discuss the complexities of special education, exploring its oppressive nature and the civil rights journey that has shaped it. They delve into various terms and acronyms such as IEP (Individualized Education Plans), 504 Plans, and disabilities categories including Intellectual Disability, Emotional Disturbance, and Autism Spectrum Disorder. They underline the systemic issues like teacher shortages, the lack of nuanced care, and the correlation between special education and broader educational problems. The conversation also touches on the importance of relationship building in intervention, and the need for supporting neurodivergent students more effectively.
Part II: How Did We Make This Mess?
COMING SOON: In this episode, the host takes listeners on a dive deep into the complexities and challenges faced by special education within the K-12 education system, particularly in the context of the national teacher shortage crisis. This discussion highlights the multifaceted issues causing a significant shortage of highly qualified special education (SPED) teachers, the bureaucratic hurdles, and the ethical dilemmas involved.
The Special Education Mess: Real Talk with Manuwella Allen
In this episode, co-host Trina welcomes Manuwella ("Mani") Allen, a former special education teacher with over 20 years of experience, to discuss the unique challenges and insights of the special education field. Recorded just before the 2024 school year, Manny shares her profound experiences and the struggles she faced while working with students of varying disabilities in a moderate to severe special day class.
The conversation covers the complexities of balancing the needs of medically fragile, emotionally disturbed, and intellectually disabled students in one classroom. Mani recounts the physical, emotional, and spiritual tolls of the job, emphasizing the burnout that comes from always prioritizing students' needs over administrative and systemic demands.
Key topics include the burdensome and often superficial IEP (Individualized Education Program) processes, inadequate support and training for paraprofessionals, and the systemic flaws in how special education is managed and executed in schools. Mani also touches on the challenges new special education teachers face, the administrative pressures to downplay students' needs, and the emotional resilience required to continue advocating for students in a broken system.
Mani's story is both inspiring and sobering, shedding light on the critical yet often under-appreciated role of special education teachers. She offers advice for parents navigating the IEP process and stresses the importance of finding supportive connections within the educational community.
The episode concludes with a call to action for educators, parents, and policymakers to recognize and address the dire state of special education to support these essential educators and their students better.
The Special Education Mess: The BIG Missing Piece
COMING SOON: Why we All Lose Out When Neurodivergent Students Are Missed
The Special Education Mess: Dying on The Vine
COMING SOON: In this episode, Trina interviews her own son who just graduated from high school, about his struggles with mental illness. This heartbreaking, but ultimately hopeful discussion centers the brave journey of her son, but also the singular and life saving work of the teachers and staff at his highly unusual alternative public highschool, and counseling enriched classroom. Trina’s hope for the rest of the country is to replicate this program and opportunity across the nation to save lives, and address the adolescent mental health crisis in America.