{"id":23676,"date":"2023-03-17T20:19:46","date_gmt":"2023-03-17T20:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=23676&post_type=story"},"modified":"2025-04-18T02:36:36","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T02:36:36","slug":"a-new-school-of-thought","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/a-new-school-of-thought\/","title":{"rendered":"A New School of Thought"},"content":{"rendered":"

On most weekdays, Jacqueline\u00a0Rodriguez \u201913PhD<\/strong>, works from\u00a0her home in the Boston area. She\u00a0can play soft music while fielding phone\u00a0calls from Washington, D.C., and chatting\u00a0with Aspen, her German shepherd. But\u00a0don\u2019t let the gentle vibe fool you. As the\u00a0CEO of the National Center for Learning\u00a0Disabilities (NCLD), Rodriguez has a huge\u00a0responsibility \u2014 and she knows it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe this is the pivotal civil rights\u00a0issue of our time,\u201d she says. \u201cFifteen\u00a0percent of the nation\u2019s public school\u00a0students have an identified disability.\u00a0The largest proportion has a learning\u00a0disability, and the majority are students\u00a0of color. The way we educate our students\u00a0with disabilities will define us as a society.\u00a0This is urgent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodriguez has a full-time staff of 14,\u00a0plus a core group of consultants for the\u00a0nonprofit NCLD, which was founded in\u00a01977 and serves individuals with learning\u00a0disabilities through advocacy, research\u00a0and partnerships with experts. It seems\u00a0like a small squad to cater to tens of\u00a0millions of needs, so why does Rodriguez\u00a0sound so optimistic? It\u2019s because she\u00a0sees teams of people just like her in every\u00a0community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot take the approach that a\u00a0student with a disability is only taught\u00a0by a special education teacher. These are\u00a0everybody\u2019s<\/em> kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here Rodriguez shares more about\u00a0her career path and the importance of\u00a0her work.<\/p>\n

I’m atypical for this field.<\/h2>\n

The preponderance of people who enter special education has friends or family members with disabilities, but I took a wiggly route. I\u2019ve always wanted to serve communities [in need]. After graduating with degrees in international affairs and Latin American studies, I thought I\u2019d be a diplomat. For my preparation program, though, I was told, \u201cThe only way you can stay in D.C. is if you teach special education.\u201d What I experienced changed everything.<\/p>\n

I saw firsthand the problem with special education.<\/h2>\n

The classroom that needed the best\u00a0teacher received the most unqualified\u00a0person: me. I felt like a fraud for two\u00a0years, knowing the outcomes for my\u00a0students would be dependent on my\u00a0ability to teach them effectively. We\u2019re\u00a0talking about 16- to 19-year-old students,\u00a0some of whom still couldn\u2019t read or\u00a0write proficiently. I realized my students\u00a0needed well-prepared professionals,\u00a0not a college student with a degree in\u00a0international affairs. That\u2019s why I pursued\u00a0a graduate degree in special education and\u00a0advocate for every student to be taught by\u00a0professionals who are qualified to meet\u00a0their needs.<\/p>\n

A classroom of kids with special learning needs is no place for experimentation.<\/h2>\n

The education Ph.D. program<\/a> at UCF opened my\u00a0mind to the power of technology. Mike\u00a0Hynes, Lisa Dieker and Charlie Hughes\u00a0developed a virtual reality (VR)<\/a> classroom called TeachMe (now TeachLivE). You pass through a VR classroom of students with different abilities and behaviors. You\u2019re figuring out the best ways to communicate a lesson plan so no one falls behind. It allows you to learn from failures without harming anyone. The program started at UCF and is now being used around the world.<\/p>\n

I did not get into this field simply because I’m nice.<\/h2>\n

That\u2019s how special education teachers\u00a0are too often characterized: \u201cOh, you\u2019re\u00a0so nice, you should teach special\u00a0education.\u201d No, it should be, \u201cYou\u2019re\u00a0highly intelligent. You\u2019re a force. You\u00a0know how to get things done. And yes,\u00a0you have a big heart.\u201d But we need to do\u00a0more to attract those people.<\/p>\n

Two issues are creating a wide gap.<\/h2>\n

One, more students are being identified\u00a0with disabilities. It used to be \u201cwait until\u00a0they fail\u201d before anyone would identify a\u00a0specific learning disability. That approach\u00a0leads to young people being pushed\u00a0through school and into the world without\u00a0the necessary knowledge or skills to be\u00a0successful. We now reach kids earlier and\u00a0support them through interventions.\u00a0The second issue is the shortage of welltrained\u00a0special education teachers.\u00a0That\u2019s what I want to change.<\/p>\n

The contribution of a special ed teacher is as great as any profession on the planet.<\/h2>\n

Education will determine whether a\u00a0person finds a purpose in life or not.\u00a0That\u2019s why I advocate for high-caliber\u00a0professionals who devote their careers\u00a0to teaching. They\u2019re valuable, so they\u00a0should be paid as such. Also, this is a civic\u00a0service, so their degrees should be fully\u00a0funded \u2014 they should have no college debt\u00a0when they start teaching. And finally, give\u00a0them six years to prepare instead of four.\u00a0I like the idea of a paid two-year residency,\u00a0similar to a doctor. Our country will be\u00a0better off if we do that.<\/p>\n

My message to college students? Don’t copy my path.<\/h2>\n

You want to add value to society? See\u00a0where each opportunity leads, because\u00a0you never know. I wanted to be a diplomat.\u00a0A turn of events piqued my curiosity about\u00a0a big problem in education. Now I\u2019m in a\u00a0position to help do something about it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":23837,"template":"","categories":[999],"tags":[1340,1452],"class_list":["post-23676","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumknights","tag-college-of-community-innovation-and-education","tag-ucf-alumni","issues-spring-2023"],"yoast_head":"\nUCF Alum Aims to Change National Approach to Special Education<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""The way we educate our students\u00a0with disabilities will define us as a society.\u00a0This is urgent," says Jacqueline Rodriguez.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/a-new-school-of-thought\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A New 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