A Special Educator

(Dr. Fedor)

    We know that those with disabilities need more help with their education amongst other things. However, how many of know how to teach others how to help them properly? One of those few people is Dr. Kali Fedor, a professor of special education on Bloomsburg University's campus. While the phrase special education is relatively simple, the field itself is wide and diverse as the people it means to help. So it is thanks to people like Dr. Fedor that, "...more people can have an understanding, patience, and appreciation for individuals with exceptinalities..." though, who exactly is Dr. Fedor? 

    Dr. Fedor, with her semi formal attire, brown hair pulled up, and glasses, excels in her role as a professor. During class, she floats back and forth across the front of the classroom, with its desks stretching far back whilelarge windows illuminate the room, as her voice resonates off the high ceiling of the room during her lecture despite her short stature. This helps to enrapture her students' attention rather than the dull drone that some professors develop. She also frequently checks in with the class to answer any questions that may have come up such as when she was discussing how parents react to their child being diagnosed with a disability.

       "Why must they feel it's their fault?" a student inquired after being informed of an average parent's reaction to a disability diagnosis.

Dr. Fedor responded with examples from her own life such as her eye condition
and boiled it down to, "We can't help the way we feel about things."

(Front of her classroom)

    This is often how she explains things in class; she tells stories that relate to the topic and eventually summarizes it in a more understandable manner for the class. Of course, she does more than just teach in her field.

    Being a professor involves more than just teaching on a campus. As Dr. Fedor told me during her interview, "I also conduct research independently, with colleagues, and guide student researchers." The main focus of being a professor is to expand upon the knowledge of your respective field so this is not unexpected. However, Dr. Fedor goes beyond that with her advocacy for gifted education. "...I am involved with gifted education associations at the state and national level. I have served in several executive committe roles, most recently president of our state gifted association and currently a co-chair for a national public policy and advocacy committee." Dr. Fedor has been using her position as a professor in order to act as a voice for others. Overall, she performs research and adovocates all for the sake of others which takes compassion to do so effectively. 

                                                          (What is Gifted Education?)

    Dr. Fedor has made it clear to me through the interview and class that she has a high level of compassion. Once when she was still the special education teacher at a school, she was dealing with a difficult fourth grader who was getting suspended multiple times for behavioral issues and that she had tried multiple education plans to try and correct his behavior.

    "Buddy, you're killing Missus Fedor. What is going on?" Dr. Fedor gently spoke to the child as she confronted him.

    "I just want to be with mom!" the fourth grader cried, bursting into tears.

    In response to this, Dr. Fedor thought to herself, "Oh my God, I made him cry!"

    She was reaching her breaking point yet she immediately moved to comfort the kid. Dr. Fedor had also experienced an unusual circumstance when she was overseeing student teachers. According to her, she just had a meeting with her student teachers and was driving home when she had received a call from the one of them. The student was calling her for help as she had gotten into a car accident and their family  slightly over two hours away. Dr. Fedor, who was stuck in traffic at the moment, picked them up and drove them to her house so that they could have somewhere dry & safe to wait for their family to pick them up. This just continues to show that Dr. Fedor has compassion that extends beyond what is needed for her job.

    It takes a unique person to teach those in special education and even more so to teach others about special education. "I always thought I was going to be a doctor, specifically a neurosurgeon, but then I had an opportunity to work with my advanced art class assisting instruction with individuals with exceptionalities. I love the joy that both the students and their families experience when they are able to accomplish tasks and skills that they may not have believed possible" Dr. Fedor reminsinced during the interview in her office while later saying, "I believe the most important thing you can teach a student is to advocate for themselves and to ask questions." Based off of what I have seen and heard, Dr. Fedor is one of those people and why people should know more about this special educator.