Why Special Education?

  Seeing as this is my first blog, I would like to introduce myself to my fellow readers.  I am currently a junior at Illinois State University studying to be a Special Education teacher.  I am not 100% sure what age level I want to teach once I graduate, but I am pretty confident that I'd love to teach in a self-contained elementary or junior high classroom, with students with moderate to severe disabilities.
  I have had the privilege of working at many different special recreation summer camps the past ten or so years. I also have been a part of my high school's Peer Mentoring program where I was placed in a SED classroom during one period, the whole year.  I loved working with peers my own age in the Special Education department and still keep in touch with many of them today.  Working with this population of children has been my passion since I was very young.
  But why Special Education?  Where did this passion start?
  My older brother, Daniel, was diagnosed with Cornelia De Lange Syndrome at birth.  This is one of the lesser-known cognitive impairments out there.  He could not walk or eat food the way most people do.  He could not talk or tell us how he was feeling.  He could not read or write, but what he could do was smile and love.
 Daniel's  passion was music.  You could pop in any CD or turn on the radio and he would be humming along to any song that came on.  I grew up listening to Steve Green CD's and the Les Miserables soundtrack.  We owned the Broadway musical on VHS too, so that was constantly playing on our TV.  Les Miserables is still one of my favorite musicals to this day because of those countless times spent listening to "Look Down" and "Do You Hear the People Sing".
  Daniel was my best friend.  He was a few years older than me, yet was my inspiration.  He always lit up my life and brought a smile to my face.  Countless times he could be found smiling at himself in the mirror and humming his favorite tunes.  Though I knew he was in pain, never once did he show it.  His smile was unwavering.
  Sure, I knew my older brother was different, but that made no difference to me.  He was special to me and that was all that mattered.  I spent many years visiting the halls of his school, which only taught students with moderate to severe disabilities.  His friends became my friends, his teachers became my role models.
  As Daniel grew older, his health weakened.  His immune system began to struggle fighting off the various sicknesses and virus's he caught.  Days in the hospital and  hours in the E.R.became very frequent for my family and when I was in second grade, Daniel passed away.  After fighting Pneumonia for a week or so, his body was too weak and it was time for him to go.  And yet even in his dying minutes, he clapped his hands and smiled.
  So why Special Education?  Because since I was born, a young boy with disabilities was my role model.  He taught me happiness and love.  He showed me all that he was capable of, no matter his weaknesses.  He truly changed my whole outlook on life.  After his death, I promised that I would commit the rest of my life to helping educate students just like him.
  Daniel inspired, impacted, and empowered me.  Why Special Education?  Because that's what I want to do for the rest of my life....inspire, impact, and empower.