I have spent several of my years teaching as a special education teacher and as a learning support teacher. I think that all too often teachers get caught up in the things that these students can't do and forget that there is a lot that they are capable of. I love that you point out the idea of having high expectations. If we don't have expectations for these kids then how are they ever going to be motivated to set high expectations for themselves? It is so important for them to feel like they are being treated the same as everyone else in the class. They may have special needs that we need to make sure are being accommodated for but that doesn't make them people who should be treated like anything less than a student in your class. They will respect you more for that then being treated like a fragile china doll.
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Exactly. Different not less. I didn't know if I wanted to put it in the post but the teacher assistant I was talking about would mess with the kids (never in a mean way) and the kids loved it! Too many people thought they were so fragile that they didn't dare bust their chops like they would with any other teenager. One of the kids he worked with needed to use a communication device because he couldn't speak. So my buddy was the one whose voice was on the machine. For fun (both for him and the kid) he would change up what he said for each button. For example, when the kid ordered a sandwich in the cafeteria, he would push the button that should have been this adult voice saying, "One turkey sandwich please". But Instead my friend recorded, "Put all the cookies in a bag or else!".
It is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. And the kid LOVED it. Obviously the guy had built a very good rapport with the kid by then so he knew the kid would be laughing right along.
Your students are lucky to have you my friend.