Abstract:

An American Journalist Dan Rather said: The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth." It showed the important of teachers in the development of children and Dr. Robert Brook, a psychologist further confirmed this. Special education is challenging as it is difficult to anticipate the behaviour of special children and it will take longer time and greater effort to teach them. Thus, by understanding their needs and utilizing proper methods will make teaching easier. It will be better if special educators have a clear mission and be embedded by great passion. This paper identifies ways to shape ourselves to deal with special children effectively. It is based on three important areas: my special education background, 10 years personal experiences in interacting with special children and teaching from Confucius, the great educator. This paper will discuss the following ways to shape ourselves: pacing and leading, flexibility, clown atmosphere, brain map, 24/7 passion, personal appearance and Confucius teaching.