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Blog #229: Why Teachers and Administrators are My Key Audience?

  • Writer: Jeffrey Snyder
    Jeffrey Snyder
  • Apr 23, 2022
  • 3 min read

A lot of people may ask me what my key audience is as an autism/neurodiversity self-advocate and public speaker. I would answer you that it would be private and public-school teachers and administrators (principals, assistant principals, superintendents, etc.) because I believe that anyone who works in those positions within the education field can benefit from former and current special education students on seeing the educational aspect from their point of view.

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Plus, there is a personal matter of why teachers and administrators are my core audience. You see, when I was a student, teachers and administrators would look up to me as someone to turn to whenever they were having problems in the classroom. I had the opportunity to know my audience on a personal level more than any other student at the time. Some may think I was like a son to them that they never had.

You might say that I became what is known as the “teacher’s teacher” even though I was classified as a student. Now I called myself that because even though teachers are supposed to teach students, we can teach them something that they don’t.

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To me, going to school every day was like going to a job. You go in, you work with your teacher and then you go home at night to do the same thing 5 times a week (4 times a week if there was a holiday or in-service day). I always viewed teachers and administrators as like the first types of colleagues that I worked with.

Sure, my peers looked up to me as well, but there was something about teachers and administrators that struck a chord with me.

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Plus, a lot of teachers have to put up with a lot of crap from undisciplined classes and students on a daily basis. Teachers and administrators in today’s schools are resigning at a rapid pace because they can’t handle the pressure, or they don’t have the right motivation to keep teaching or govern their schools and classrooms.

As a former special education student, it galls me to hear stories of teachers and administrators being disrespected by today’s generation of students.

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Just the other night, we were having dinner with my next-door neighbor who was in education for 39 years and is a substitute teacher for Seekonk Public Schools, and I was hearing nothing but horror stories from the classes she was assigned to cover.

What’s more, is that a few weeks ago on Twitter, I saw a tweet from a teacher who said that her students brought her to tears because they were so rude to her.

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It’s these types of situations that have motivated me to come forward and say, “you guys want a distraction from what goes on in the classroom or hallways and want to learn something from a former student who NEVER gave you or any other teacher trouble?”

I can assure you that what I have to offer may be educational to teachers and administrators, but they are lessons that they will want to learn more than anything else such how to help students cope with school safety drills, IEP’s, school assemblies, school dances, etc.

What is more is that all these lessons I have to offer are not just designed to share my personal experience as a former special education student, but also to inspire teachers and administrators to help today’s generation of special education and sensory friendly students.

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If you are interested in having me speak to your private school or school district’s teachers and administrators either virtually or in-person, please feel free to reach out to me today!!


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Catch you all later!!

 
 
 

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