What is a shadow master and what is his job?

A shadow teacher aims to establish effective communication between the child and his school environment to make learning activities as pleasant as possible and that he can develop continuously in the different situations that arise.

This professional gives the child with special educational needs the necessary tools to face their difficulties and increase their self-confidence and thus obtain greater independence in their actions. This whole process is step by step and takes time, depending on the difficulties you present, your personality and the context in which you operate.

The shadow teacher has extensive knowledge in child development and can be therapists, educators or psychologists, as well as have diplomas in language problems, autism spectrum, learning strategies for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, among many other skills.

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It should be noted that minors with special educational needs have a particular way of learning, characteristics that make them different from the rest of the group and that is where the shadow teacher must act.

A regular teacher can meet the academic needs that a student with Asperger may have according to the level of their condition, however, the shadow teacher can provide support in terms of parameters and standards that the child must meet and this in turn allows them to get directly involved when some type of crisis occurs in the classroom, due to some activity that has destabilized them, an action that is very normal in them due to their level of irritability and their own characteristics of wanting to do what in those moments wish.

In general, educational centers request a shadow teacher when the child presents many difficulties in his behavior when socializing with his peers, unable to integrate effectively in the different activities of the classroom.

There are children who need a shadow teacher both at home and in the classroom. It all depends on the level of difficulty presented by the student.

From my own experience I can say that there are children who need the shadow teacher throughout their school life. But there are also cases in which the shadow teacher will be there for a short period and then the student can continue without any help. After the pandemic, a greater number of children with various symptoms have been presented both at school and at home; These students are what are now called students with special educational needs and in the clinical part they are called neurodevelopmental disorders, which can be transitory or permanent, and for which a prior diagnosis is needed to then execute with the necessary pedagogical tools. according to the level of disruptive behaviors they present, plus the cognitive level.

Ruth León, shadow teacher with extensive experience.

Shadow teachers, a true educational inclusion

For the psychologist Rodolfo Rojas, a professor at the Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil, educational institutions should have shadow teachers depending on the number of students with special educational needs in each classroom; however, it is something that would not be a reality.

In reality, it is a service that must be assumed by the educational institution, due to an inclusion criterion precisely. It is about equating possibilities, and if a student is required to cover much higher values, it is a way of closing accesses. In addition to the fact that more and more institutions refuse to receive students with disabilities, although the law prohibits this discrimination, it occurs on a daily basis. What it comes down to is that the cost of a shadow teacher borne among all students is much less than just charging one

Rodolfo Rojas, psychologist and teacher at the Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil.

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Students without disabilities also benefit from this, since they learn firsthand to live with different people. In other words, inclusion benefits everyone, since it fosters the true social fabric.

The functions of a shadow teacher are:

• Support in activities within the classroom and according to the instructions of the head teacher.
• Support in social interaction with the teacher and their peers.
• Development of specific actions programmed by the institution and the classroom teacher.
• Support in the difficulties you present, whether behavioral or learning.