Why this blog?

It was once my dream to pursue further studies in the area of special education in the United States. As a special education teacher in Malaysia, with limited knowledge (even though I did receive a M.Ed in Special Education from Universiti Malaya) and limited experience, I wanted to be good at what I do. I was frustrated when I encounter behaviors that I couldn’t control. Many a times, I did not know what is the next thing I should teach or how to teach it. There was a lot of trial and error learning. I got better at some things and remain clueless in others. Most importantly I got to know and love the students. And I learned to read them pretty well and this helped prevent some challenging behaviors from escalating. But I failed to teach the kids many functional skills that they would need in life.

I am now beginning my fourth year in the Ph.D. program in Special Education in the states. I have taken 60 credit hours in special education and related courses and am working under the tutelage of good professors in this field. Many a times, I sat in lectures, and as I learned new things, I reflected on my special education practices with my students and realized that I should have done things differently. Other times, I realized that I did do what is considered best practices, maybe in a rather primitive form, but nevertheless it was assuring that I did not do everything wrong.

Documenting some of my struggles, reflecting on them and hypothesizing possible strategies that I could have used, I hope will help me be a better practioner of special education.