Everyday is a new learning
After literally stumbling in to teaching, Erum Panju, has not only in love with the profession, but she has gone that extra mile with special needs teaching. She takes each day as it comes, but is making the most of her career choice.
Here’s an insight in to the life of a special needs teacher in New Zealand:
Erum, tell the readers a little about yourself and your educational background..
I’ve lived most of my life in New Zealand and lived in Auckland for most of my life and done most of my schooling here. I basically studied in the eastern side of Auckland and I went to the University of Auckland and majored in primary education.
Why Primary Education?
Well, it is the only major available in BEd (laughs)…along with kindergarten. I don’t think I would be able to deal with kids who are too small (laughs sheepishly).
Is there a different procedure if you want to teach high school kids?
Yes... because high schools teachers need to specialize in specific subjects. So, for example, if you want to become a science teacher, you would need to do a BSc, then a post grad in Education and then teach at a high school.
So, was teaching really your first preference for a career choice?
(Laughs)..
No, it wasn’t! I always had teaching at the back of my mind, since I was a little child…that one day I will be a teacher. But it wasn’t as if I’d immediately finish school and go into education. My circumstances at the time kind of took me in to teaching. And obviously my mother guided me towards it.
Is she a teacher as well?
Yes, she is.
And what kind of children does she teach? High school or primary?
She is actually specialized in teaching high school and special needs kids.
So was she a teacher in India as well?
Yes, she was…but she’s done most of her work here.
So I’m guessing your mother inspired you to take up teaching, is it?
I won’t say inspired…I would say it was her encouragement, but definitely not inspiration (laughs)…
I guess, it was a little bit of her encouragement and a push from fate that made teaching happen for you…
Yes, that would be it..
So, when you first started teaching, did you pick the path that you are following today, or did you start elsewhere and were lead to where you are now?
Like I said, teaching wasn’t my first choice…and by the end of it I wasn’t even sure about whether or not I wanted to pursue it. So I took a “gap month” (laughs)…I didn’t apply for any jobs, just to figure out if I really wanted to do it or not…I was leaning more towards studying further. But since the school year starts before university, I started relieving. I got some good work and went with the flow. I landed a fixed term position and now I am in a permanent role.
I know the work that you do, but tell the readers a little about what you do…
I teach special needs children, at a high school. Most of these children are either verbally delayed, autistic, they have Asperger’s, ADHD… we usually just say that “they’re on the spectrum”.
So, kids with special needs attend our school and I teach the senior students who are between 13 and 18 years of age.
So, the school where you teach, does it specialize in teaching special needs children?
Yes, the school I am employed with does. But, we also have satellite units within high schools…they’re basically separate units that they put in to normal schools and then we try integrating the more able students with the mainstream classes. So, I am in a satellite unit at a high school.
Okay, so, how difficult or different is it to deal with special needs children, in comparison to normal children?
Well, I think decile makes a lot of difference in the kids…I have always studied in a high decile school and the school where I teach is in a lower decile school – decile depends on the socio economic status of the students and their families… so in that sense, regardless of whether they are special needs or not, we try to treat them as normally as possible. Specifically, with our students, you need to be so much more empathetic and tolerant; I think that’s key.
I think you brought up a really good point about the difference in deciles; On the basis of decile then, are these schools adequately equipped to deal with special needs children, because as you said, they require more attention, empathy and tolerance.
Decile’s just for government funding, as you may already know…
Yes, exactly…and taking New Zealand public schooling into context, parents aren’t required to pay a fee. Instead, it’s called a ‘donation’. How do the lower decile schools fit in to this scenario?
In higher decile schools, the parents of the students are able to pay those ‘donations’. But with lower docile schools, the donations are much less in comparison…they depend more on government funding. Along with that, the community is structured in such a way that there are a lot of opportunities and support for the schools to take advantage of.
With special needs students in particular, they are ORS funded; the funding depends on the needs of each individual student. This funding also pays the support staff and the OTs and the PTs along with paying for any special equipment that these students may require.
As you say, the government is doing their best to support these students and the schools. But how are the parents of these children being helped? What is being done for them?
Dealing with special needs children is a lot of work; we, as teachers, only deal with them for 6 to 8 hours in a day, their parents have them for the rest of the time. So, the government has special organisations in place – in Auckland there is the Taikura Trust – where parents can go and ask for help; these places have translators in case the parents have trouble speaking English. There are also respite days where parents can send their children off to the respites and take a day or two off. Some of the funding that they get from the government also goes to the respite centres, so they are well equipped.
This is the good that they’re doing, but do they lack anywhere?
Well, I am too new to the profession to be able to comment on that, but so far so good!
But, there are certain changes that the government is trying to bring about, like increasing the classroom size and bring in the concept of performance pay. That affects us adversely…because special needs students don’t achieve as much, or as well as normal students would, so performance pay doesn’t really work for us.
It’s like a sales agent receiving commission…
Yes, exactly..
So do you as teachers have a say in these issues?
Yes, we do. We have a teacher’s union who we pay on a fortnightly basis and they raise any concerns or issues that we may have with government policies.
Apart from this, like you said, your mother has been trained specifically as a special needs teacher. But what about someone like you who went straight from university to special needs teaching? Is there some sort of special training?
I don’t think one can ever get trained; practical knowledge is far more important than theoretical knowledge in this case. What I’ve learnt is on the job. We need that basic theoretical knowledge in terms of how to run a class room and setting a curriculum for the students, but with special needs children comes an added responsibility of learning about their disabilities, and that only comes with being in the classroom with the children. I learnt it by first relieving and the support staff helps a lot as well. They have been with these students for quite a while and know them really well, so we get to learn a lot from them.
Also, seminars help a lot; I attend them quite regularly. I recently went to a seminar by Dr. Wendy Lawson, and believe it or not, she’s autistic herself! She’s quite autistic and travels with a carer, but has achieved so much in life. It’s amazing to see and hear what goes on in the mind of an autistic person.
Give the readers a glimpse in to your day to day teaching life…some interesting incident?
(Laughs)..
Each day is a new day and no one student is the same!
Even if two children have been classified as autistic, they will still be poles apart. Taking the example of autistic children, time is extremely important to them, to have a sense of control. So at any point when there’s a disruption in the timetable, it’s extremely interesting to see their reactions because they are so different. Some will continue to stick to the timetable, some will panic. So it can sometimes be a task to regroup them; but like I said, you learn more and more on the job every day and with time get used to it.
But I am sure that you might have had some particularly difficult days; how do you deal with those?
Yes, definitely! This is where the support staff comes in…they aren’t just there to help students, but they’re there to help us too. Sometimes you need to do one on one with students, and they help a lot with that. But like I said, you learn over time along with learning how to deal with stress.
So, like you said, this wasn’t your first choice, but it has now caught your fancy! So would you like to continue on this career path?
So far so good!
With special needs, there are a lot of opportunities out there…and it makes me feel like I am doing my bit for society (smiles)..
It’s interesting to see the reaction when someone asks me what I do. I always get the “Oh, special needs teacher. That’s interesting.”
You don’t get a lot of teachers my age going into this field straight after they come out of university. It’s such a unique and interesting job, and I am really enjoying this.
Is there then much being done to get students to take up special needs teaching? Are there enough teachers to support special needs schools and teachers?
It’s funny you say that, because 20 years back or so, New Zealand teacher used to be the highest paid! And when I started teaching, there was a shortage of teachers, but now there are fewer jobs in comparison to the number of teacher available. So now we have a brain drain of teachers, and increasing class sizes really isn’t going to help us special needs teachers.
And I didn’t study as a special needs teacher; I studied as a normal teacher…and New Zealand law says that any child regardless of who he or she is, can study in a normal school, so it depends on the parents where they’d like to send their children. So you will still get a child on the spectrum studying at a normal school.
As far as teachers being encouraged, I haven’t been in a permanent position at a normal school to be able to comment on that, but like I said, it really depends on the school – my school has been sending me on courses. We as teachers just basically adapt normal curriculum for our students.
So how do you do adapt the normal curriculum to the needs of these children?
Well, with special needs children, sooner or later, they need to go out into the society. Apart from teaching them the regular subjects, we also teach them life skills. Things like understanding body language, gestures, going shopping, using public transport, issuing books at a library; this is an additional aspect to the normal curriculum. So, that is the one big difference.
And special needs students can go up to the age of 21; so once they’re past the age of 18, they go in to the a transitional unit where we mostly try to build up a CV for them to they can transition easily into the society.
Lastly, any words of encouragement for young teacher wanting to take up special needs teaching…
It’s a great field! And I didn’t know that I had the knack for it until I started relieving, and I now love it. So yeah, if you have a passion for teaching, definitely go ahead with it, and see where it takes you!
- SHREYA BAKHSHI.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON HOW THE GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO HELP SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN; PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS CAN VISIT:
http://www.minedu.govt.nz/NZEducation/EducationPolicies/SpecialEducation.asp
After literally stumbling in to teaching, Erum Panju, has not only in love with the profession, but she has gone that extra mile with special needs teaching. She takes each day as it comes, but is making the most of her career choice. Here’s an insight in to the life of a special needs teacher in...
After literally stumbling in to teaching, Erum Panju, has not only in love with the profession, but she has gone that extra mile with special needs teaching. She takes each day as it comes, but is making the most of her career choice.
Here’s an insight in to the life of a special needs teacher in New Zealand:
Erum, tell the readers a little about yourself and your educational background..
I’ve lived most of my life in New Zealand and lived in Auckland for most of my life and done most of my schooling here. I basically studied in the eastern side of Auckland and I went to the University of Auckland and majored in primary education.
Why Primary Education?
Well, it is the only major available in BEd (laughs)…along with kindergarten. I don’t think I would be able to deal with kids who are too small (laughs sheepishly).
Is there a different procedure if you want to teach high school kids?
Yes... because high schools teachers need to specialize in specific subjects. So, for example, if you want to become a science teacher, you would need to do a BSc, then a post grad in Education and then teach at a high school.
So, was teaching really your first preference for a career choice?
(Laughs)..
No, it wasn’t! I always had teaching at the back of my mind, since I was a little child…that one day I will be a teacher. But it wasn’t as if I’d immediately finish school and go into education. My circumstances at the time kind of took me in to teaching. And obviously my mother guided me towards it.
Is she a teacher as well?
Yes, she is.
And what kind of children does she teach? High school or primary?
She is actually specialized in teaching high school and special needs kids.
So was she a teacher in India as well?
Yes, she was…but she’s done most of her work here.
So I’m guessing your mother inspired you to take up teaching, is it?
I won’t say inspired…I would say it was her encouragement, but definitely not inspiration (laughs)…
I guess, it was a little bit of her encouragement and a push from fate that made teaching happen for you…
Yes, that would be it..
So, when you first started teaching, did you pick the path that you are following today, or did you start elsewhere and were lead to where you are now?
Like I said, teaching wasn’t my first choice…and by the end of it I wasn’t even sure about whether or not I wanted to pursue it. So I took a “gap month” (laughs)…I didn’t apply for any jobs, just to figure out if I really wanted to do it or not…I was leaning more towards studying further. But since the school year starts before university, I started relieving. I got some good work and went with the flow. I landed a fixed term position and now I am in a permanent role.
I know the work that you do, but tell the readers a little about what you do…
I teach special needs children, at a high school. Most of these children are either verbally delayed, autistic, they have Asperger’s, ADHD… we usually just say that “they’re on the spectrum”.
So, kids with special needs attend our school and I teach the senior students who are between 13 and 18 years of age.
So, the school where you teach, does it specialize in teaching special needs children?
Yes, the school I am employed with does. But, we also have satellite units within high schools…they’re basically separate units that they put in to normal schools and then we try integrating the more able students with the mainstream classes. So, I am in a satellite unit at a high school.
Okay, so, how difficult or different is it to deal with special needs children, in comparison to normal children?
Well, I think decile makes a lot of difference in the kids…I have always studied in a high decile school and the school where I teach is in a lower decile school – decile depends on the socio economic status of the students and their families… so in that sense, regardless of whether they are special needs or not, we try to treat them as normally as possible. Specifically, with our students, you need to be so much more empathetic and tolerant; I think that’s key.
I think you brought up a really good point about the difference in deciles; On the basis of decile then, are these schools adequately equipped to deal with special needs children, because as you said, they require more attention, empathy and tolerance.
Decile’s just for government funding, as you may already know…
Yes, exactly…and taking New Zealand public schooling into context, parents aren’t required to pay a fee. Instead, it’s called a ‘donation’. How do the lower decile schools fit in to this scenario?
In higher decile schools, the parents of the students are able to pay those ‘donations’. But with lower docile schools, the donations are much less in comparison…they depend more on government funding. Along with that, the community is structured in such a way that there are a lot of opportunities and support for the schools to take advantage of.
With special needs students in particular, they are ORS funded; the funding depends on the needs of each individual student. This funding also pays the support staff and the OTs and the PTs along with paying for any special equipment that these students may require.
As you say, the government is doing their best to support these students and the schools. But how are the parents of these children being helped? What is being done for them?
Dealing with special needs children is a lot of work; we, as teachers, only deal with them for 6 to 8 hours in a day, their parents have them for the rest of the time. So, the government has special organisations in place – in Auckland there is the Taikura Trust – where parents can go and ask for help; these places have translators in case the parents have trouble speaking English. There are also respite days where parents can send their children off to the respites and take a day or two off. Some of the funding that they get from the government also goes to the respite centres, so they are well equipped.
This is the good that they’re doing, but do they lack anywhere?
Well, I am too new to the profession to be able to comment on that, but so far so good!
But, there are certain changes that the government is trying to bring about, like increasing the classroom size and bring in the concept of performance pay. That affects us adversely…because special needs students don’t achieve as much, or as well as normal students would, so performance pay doesn’t really work for us.
It’s like a sales agent receiving commission…
Yes, exactly..
So do you as teachers have a say in these issues?
Yes, we do. We have a teacher’s union who we pay on a fortnightly basis and they raise any concerns or issues that we may have with government policies.
Apart from this, like you said, your mother has been trained specifically as a special needs teacher. But what about someone like you who went straight from university to special needs teaching? Is there some sort of special training?
I don’t think one can ever get trained; practical knowledge is far more important than theoretical knowledge in this case. What I’ve learnt is on the job. We need that basic theoretical knowledge in terms of how to run a class room and setting a curriculum for the students, but with special needs children comes an added responsibility of learning about their disabilities, and that only comes with being in the classroom with the children. I learnt it by first relieving and the support staff helps a lot as well. They have been with these students for quite a while and know them really well, so we get to learn a lot from them.
Also, seminars help a lot; I attend them quite regularly. I recently went to a seminar by Dr. Wendy Lawson, and believe it or not, she’s autistic herself! She’s quite autistic and travels with a carer, but has achieved so much in life. It’s amazing to see and hear what goes on in the mind of an autistic person.
Give the readers a glimpse in to your day to day teaching life…some interesting incident?
(Laughs)..
Each day is a new day and no one student is the same!
Even if two children have been classified as autistic, they will still be poles apart. Taking the example of autistic children, time is extremely important to them, to have a sense of control. So at any point when there’s a disruption in the timetable, it’s extremely interesting to see their reactions because they are so different. Some will continue to stick to the timetable, some will panic. So it can sometimes be a task to regroup them; but like I said, you learn more and more on the job every day and with time get used to it.
But I am sure that you might have had some particularly difficult days; how do you deal with those?
Yes, definitely! This is where the support staff comes in…they aren’t just there to help students, but they’re there to help us too. Sometimes you need to do one on one with students, and they help a lot with that. But like I said, you learn over time along with learning how to deal with stress.
So, like you said, this wasn’t your first choice, but it has now caught your fancy! So would you like to continue on this career path?
So far so good!
With special needs, there are a lot of opportunities out there…and it makes me feel like I am doing my bit for society (smiles)..
It’s interesting to see the reaction when someone asks me what I do. I always get the “Oh, special needs teacher. That’s interesting.”
You don’t get a lot of teachers my age going into this field straight after they come out of university. It’s such a unique and interesting job, and I am really enjoying this.
Is there then much being done to get students to take up special needs teaching? Are there enough teachers to support special needs schools and teachers?
It’s funny you say that, because 20 years back or so, New Zealand teacher used to be the highest paid! And when I started teaching, there was a shortage of teachers, but now there are fewer jobs in comparison to the number of teacher available. So now we have a brain drain of teachers, and increasing class sizes really isn’t going to help us special needs teachers.
And I didn’t study as a special needs teacher; I studied as a normal teacher…and New Zealand law says that any child regardless of who he or she is, can study in a normal school, so it depends on the parents where they’d like to send their children. So you will still get a child on the spectrum studying at a normal school.
As far as teachers being encouraged, I haven’t been in a permanent position at a normal school to be able to comment on that, but like I said, it really depends on the school – my school has been sending me on courses. We as teachers just basically adapt normal curriculum for our students.
So how do you do adapt the normal curriculum to the needs of these children?
Well, with special needs children, sooner or later, they need to go out into the society. Apart from teaching them the regular subjects, we also teach them life skills. Things like understanding body language, gestures, going shopping, using public transport, issuing books at a library; this is an additional aspect to the normal curriculum. So, that is the one big difference.
And special needs students can go up to the age of 21; so once they’re past the age of 18, they go in to the a transitional unit where we mostly try to build up a CV for them to they can transition easily into the society.
Lastly, any words of encouragement for young teacher wanting to take up special needs teaching…
It’s a great field! And I didn’t know that I had the knack for it until I started relieving, and I now love it. So yeah, if you have a passion for teaching, definitely go ahead with it, and see where it takes you!
- SHREYA BAKHSHI.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON HOW THE GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO HELP SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN; PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS CAN VISIT:
http://www.minedu.govt.nz/NZEducation/EducationPolicies/SpecialEducation.asp
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