Teacher Interview and Observation 1

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Special Education Interview Essay
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Teacher Nathan Ritter Interview
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Alisha Carlin
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ITL 604
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May 1, 2018
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Professor Saltinski
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Teacher Interview and Observation 2

Abstract
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This paper records a classroom observation and interview taken by the author. Interview

questions have been answered and recorded in the later portion of this paper. The paper ends with

a conclusion where the author remarks on the field experience.

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Teacher Interview and Observation 3

Classroom Observation

The classroom I observed is lead by Nathan Ritter, who is a third year SDC teacher at

Elsinore Middle School. Mr. Ritter has students ranging in grades from 6th to 8th. Ironically, the

demographics of his classroom fit the percentages of the school-wide demographics. 21% of the

students were Caucasian, 10% were African American and 69% were Hispanic. Mr. Ritter

primarily teaches students with mild to moderate disabilities. His subject matter rotated

throughout the day depending on the period. He teaches both English Language Arts and Social

Studies. During the observation hours, which covered several periods, some students would stay,

while others would leave to go to another class. They would either head to his team teacher’s

class (connected next door) or head out to a general education class like PE. Depending on the

individual’s strengths, they were either with him for one or more periods.

The subject I observed during my time in Mr. Ritter’s classroom was Social Studies. The

class began with attendance and then a 15 minute review of what they covered the day before.

The students began interacting and reviewing with the previous slideshow lecture on Chinese

Philosophies. Every time a student participated and knew the correct answer, Mr. Ritter would

reward the student with a raffle ticket stub. This was a built in reward tactic that the students

were very familiar with. I found this technique interesting. It kept students involved while

motivating them to stay on task. After review was over, they transitioned into the new notes. I

will admit, I thought that this task was going to be difficult for the class as Mr. Ritter had

explained to me that the previous class did not do a good job and had to bare the consequences of

their punishment. He even warned the class of the consequences period 2 had received as a result

of their decision to not listen. Fortunately, period 3 stayed on task and avoided the punishment of 

Teacher Interview and Observation 4

writing down a lengthy quote from the lecture on Daoism. The lesson wrapped up with reward

time. The students placed all of their raffle tickets they had earned, after they had written their

names on them, into a metal bucket. Mr. Ritter than took the bucket to draw several names. The

winners would then draw prizes from Mr. Ritter’s box of goodies. He had parent pre-approved

snacks in the box that the students could choose from in the event that their ticket was drawn.

Mr. Ritter drew several tickets because the class had behaved so well for their guest.

There was one para-educator in the room with a male student who had more severe

learning disabilities. She helped to keep him on task most of the class and they sat at their own

table while the other students sat in desks. He was very distracting to his classmates if she was

not with him at all times. However, most of the students encouraged him to stay on take when he

started to misbehave. The other students had mild cases of learning disabilities. In fact, it was

hard to tell what their disabilities were so I asked Mr. Ritter what the demographics of his

classroom disabilities looked like and he responded 15% Autistic, 6% ED (Emotionally

Disturbed), 6% ID (Intellectually Disabled) and 73% SLD (Specific Learning Disability).

The classroom layout was inclusive and rectangular in shape. The desks were aligned in

rows of six with three desks in each row. There was a large table that could fit four students on

the left side of the classroom, close to Mr. Ritter’s desk, where the para-educator and the one-on-

one student sat. During note taking time another student moved to the table and encouraged the

other student to stay on task. The classroom was also covered in supplemental materials that

related to the course content of History and English Language Arts. The classroom had

technology, but it was not up to date like the technology I have seen in other classrooms from

other districts. EMS meets the requirements of a Title 1 school due to its demographics, but it is 

Teacher Interview and Observation 5

rich in history. The classroom was located in a special building. Mr. Ritter explained that it was

part of the original campus building that was built back in 1910. The rest of the school was

newly renovated, whereas the original building was renovated but the bones of the structure were

original. I got to walk across a neat bridge into the classroom, one that has been apart of the

school’s history since 1925.

Evaluation

As mentioned earlier, the demographics of the classroom were not shocking to me. I have

previously substitute taught at this specific middle school and found the school demographics to

be similar to the demographics of the school as a whole. The majority of the learning disabled

students were Hispanic, followed by Caucasians and lastly African Americans. When I learned

the age range of Mr. Ritter’s class, I was caught off guard. Typically middle school students are

between the ages of 11-13, but Mr. Ritter had students as old as 15. Which confirmed his

statement that students with learning disabilities are typically 3-4 years behind the average

student. None of the students in the class I observed looked close to 15, so I assumed he was

speaking on behalf of a student in another class.

I found it incredibly interesting that there was only one female in the classroom of 11

students that I observed. The other 10 students were male. I asked Mr. Ritter if this was a

common theme in his classes and he confirmed that male dominance was common. He said that

1 out of every 6 of his students is a girl, in other words, 16% of his students are female. It fits

with Slavin’s theory that “boys are more likely than girls to be labeled as learning

disabled” (Slavin 306). In my interview with Mr. Ritter, he confirmed the theory that males get

diagnosed more than females because they exhibit behavioral issues more often. Therefore boys 

Teacher Interview and Observation 6

are usually pinpointed for testing of learning disabilities whereas females hide their learning

disabilities well and slide under the radar, going unnoticed. He also stated that roughly three

fourths of teachers at his school are women, which in his experience, tends to contribute to

gender bias. He is one of a handful of male SDC teachers in his district, a majority of them are in

fact female.

In regards to financial demographics, as mentioned earlier, this middle school is

classified as a Title 1 school. Spring argued that “the family income of students parallels the

levels of ability grouping and tracking” (Spring 86). This certainly seemed to be the case at EMS

in regards to their special needs students. The area surrounding the middle school is saturated

with low-income housing. Fortunately, EMS is also known for their GEMS program which is at

the opposite end of the spectrum. GEMS stands for Guiding Exceptional Minds to Success with

an emphasis in the math and science fields. Their is an application process in order to be

considered for the program and most of the students in the program are from wealthier areas.

This solidifies Spring’s theory that “places students in different classes or groups within classes

based on their abilities” (Spring 86). According to Spring, “the higher the family income of the

students, the more likely it is that they will be in the higher-ability groups or a college-

preparatory curriculum” which is proven true at EMS.

Interview

Question 1: What is your current position?

I am currently an SDC (Special Day Class) teacher for students who have mild/moderate

disabilities. I teach English Language Arts and Social Studies to middle school, grade 6-8.

Question 2: What are the ages and grades levels of your students?

Teacher Interview and Observation 7

My students are grades 6-8 and range from 12-15 years old.

Question 3: What student information system do you work with?

I am not sure what system this question is referring to, but we utilize a program named SEIS to

input student IEP information (i.e. goals, present levels, accommodations, services, eligibility

etc.) We also utilize a program named Infinite Campus, which keeps track of student absences

and behaviors. Our grade are posted on a system called Jupiter.

Question 4: What data is collected for teacher use?

Present levels in reading, writing, math, communication development, gross/fine motor

development, social/emotional/behavioral, health, vocational, adaptive/daily living skills.

Question 5: What are the assessments used in the practice of early screening and/or

identification?

There are multiple assessment tests/programs we utilize. Some of them are the Woodcock

Johnson IV test of achievement, Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, Wide Range

Assessment of Memory and Learning, 2nd Edition, KAUFMAN BRIEF INTELLIGENCE

TEST, SECOND EDITION (KBIT-2) and San Diego Quick.

Question 6: What are the most important legal mandates a general education teacher should be

aware of regarding services for students with special needs?

FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) and having the students within the LRE (Least

Restrictive Environment). Many teachers do not understand, but a student’s IEP (Individualized

Education Plan) is a legally binding contract between teachers, students, administrators and

parents. Every service and accommodations outlined within this document needs to be followed

through. As a case carrier, I also need to stay in compliance with all of the students and their 

Teacher Interview and Observation 8

IEPs. Every student, who receives special education services, has an IEP, and an IEP meeting

with an administrator, general education teacher, parent and case carrier has to occur every year

by a specific date based on their initial IEP meeting. Every meeting needs a Notice of Meeting

sent home 10 days prior to the meeting, and it needs a parent signature stating they will attend or

hold the meeting via teleconference. During the meeting, all updated elements of the IEP are

gone over in detail and signatures need to be obtained from all members of the team. Every 3

years the IEP meeting is held as a “Triennial” where the psychologist need to be present, and the

case carrier and psychologist need to test the student to have more formal assessment results to

be able to claim that the student is still eligible for an IEP.

Question 7: What are important insights for a general education teacher regarding issues related

to common medications administered to children abad adolescents?

It is important to understand that student behavior or mood can easily be affected from change in

medications, dosages or if a student was unable to take their medicine that day. This can cause

anger, nausea, hunger, lethargy or even inattentiveness.

Question 8: What is your experience implementing UDL in your teaching practices and/or

collaborating with other teachers?

As a special education teacher, it is necessary to utilize Universal Design for Learning strategies

on an ongoing basis. This is because many of my students have varying abilities and need

information to be presented to them in multiple formats. These students also benefit from SDAIE

strategies as well.

Question 9: With your classes, have you found that there are a large percentage of males than

females being diagnosed with learning disabilities?


Teacher Interview and Observation 9

Yes. Some say that the referral rate for boys who exhibit behavioral issues is higher, which leads

to more boys being tested for eligibility for special education. Others say that boys’ brains are

wired differently than girls, and this makes it difficult for boys to learn the same way that girls

do. Something like three quarters of teachers are women, which can also attribute to this gender

bias. I also have noticed that girls who have trouble in their education tend to hide it well, where

boys tend to lash out and disrupt the natural flow of the classroom, which leads to a special

education referral. 1/6th or 16% of my students are female.

Question 10: Did most of your students come in to your classes already diagnosed with learning

disabilities or were they diagnosed during their time at EMS?

All of my students, except one, have been diagnosed with their disabilities prior to middle

school. The one student that has been diagnosed is considered an RSP (Resource Specialist

Program) student who spends most of her time in the general education setting, with aids and

supports provided through a paraeducator and special education teacher in a general education

class taught by a general education teacher.

Question 11: What are the demographics of your learning disabled student population?

Ethnicity:
21% White
10% Black
69% Hispanic
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Disability:
15% Autistic
6% ED (Emotionally Disturbed)
6% ID (Intelectually Disabled)
73% SLD (Specific Learning Disability)
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Teacher Interview and Observation 10

Conclusion
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This classroom observation was extremely beneficial. I am glad it is a part of NU’s

curriculum as it is important for general education teachers to have knowledge of what takes

place in special education courses. I learned a lot about my limitations and know if I was in Mr.

Ritter’s position, I would not be able to “control the chaos” as he puts it kindly. Mr. Ritter is

gifted in ways that I hope to aspire to in my own teaching philosophy. He is kind, patient and

loves serving the underserved.

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Teacher Interview and Observation 11

Sources
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Ritter, N (2018, April 12). In-Person Interview

Slavin, R. E. (2018). Educational psychology: Theory and practice. Boston, MA: Pearson
Publication.
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Spring, J. (2018). American Education. New York, NY: Routledge.
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