My personal philosophy of special education comes not from teaching in the field, but from observations, personal experience, and workshops I have attended. I have had the opportunity to work with people with special needs in many different contexts, all of which has helped me cultivate my knowledge in managing the needs of students with special needs. Students with special needs have the ability to learn, function, grow, and, most importantly, succeed. The difference lies in how they learn or how they are to be taught. There are as many "how" beliefs as there are teachers, and we each form our own philosophy through our own experiences and research. As a student in a special education teacher program, students with special needs include all students in special education programs in the public school system or other appropriate settings. However, the students I would like to focus on in my career are students with learning disabilities and so when I think about students with special needs, my mind focuses on this population. Students with learning disabilities can learn; every student has their strengths and weaknesses. Educators must continue to focus on and build on each student's strengths, creating a stronger student and person. Identifying weaknesses is critical to getting help from a student with a learning disability, but after this initial identification and positioning, the focus should shift to strengths and adapt the student's schoolwork to reflect these strengths. For example, if a student is weak in reading but has wonderful group interaction skills and is good with his hands, the students' reading tasks should then be moved to reflect these st...... middle of paper.. ...personalized plan Because of time constraints, it is reasonable to treat each student as if he or she had a personalized education. Teachers should know their students well enough to personalize classroom activities so that all students have strengths in every lesson. Through collaborative efforts, teachers can gain insights into students and new ways of teaching for different learning styles. By working together, each student can receive a personalized education where their full potential is used. Students in our classrooms, both special education and general education, require personalized instruction to reach their full potential. Every child's potential is different, just as the path that every child takes to reach it is different. Our job as teachers is to be there for students to help them reach their potential in their own unique way.