"The success of a special teacher is conditioned only by the desire for constant professional development, high motivation and love of the profession" said Mariam Mateshvili, a special teacher at Tbilisi Public School N173, whose goal is to protect the fundamental rights of students with special educational needs.

The teacher is motivated to work individually with the students, to discover their interests, abilities and skills, to evaluate their teaching process, which requires effort, principledness, patience, to establish effective and positive connections with the school administration, subject teachers and parents.

Mariam Mateshvili is convinced that every day is different for her, because the individual opportunity, interest or motivation of each student is different. And you, as the special educator, should be able to correctly determine the level of development of the child and carefully, gently, correctly move to the new zone of his/her development, recognize the achievements of the child and, most importantly - appreciate!

"I participated in many trainings, seminars or public lectures, but I wanted to study child development disorders in more depth, and to get more practice. That is why I became a Master of Special Education. Indeed, within the master's program I gained both theoretical knowledge and practical skills, but I am still trying to develop professionally, I know modern approaches, teaching strategies, and I want to participate in various projects of the Ministry of Education and Science, Teacher Professional Development Center, stated the teacher, who was awarded the status of Senior Special Teacher due to his special master's education, and today he is one of the most successful.

"However, before that I was a student for 4 years, which is also related to the social work profession" recalls Mariam Mateshvili. She quickly realized that the results she received in the teaching process gave her happiness and feeling of content, which became a turning point.

Mariam Mateshvili believes that the 2019-2021 academic year was even more diverse, the challenges of the pandemic made the work process even more interesting.

"The need for social distancing has made the lesson process relatively 'dry', especially for some students with special educational needs, but on the other hand, the inclusion of modern technologies in the lesson process, the creation of virtual workgroups, has further increased parental involvement. In fact, they assisted their children, monitored the learning process, cooperated with the school administration, teachers, special educators, and, through the principle of teamwork, jointly planned and implemented prevention-intervention paths as needed. The principles of inclusive education are based on the involvement and cooperation of each circle around the student.” - said the teacher.

Mariam Mateshvili thinks that it is necessary for a special teacher to take care of establishing the right policy of inclusive education at schools. It is also necessary to establish effective communication with colleagues, to arouse empathy and positive attitudes.

"I advise colleagues, special teachers, to set the right priorities, constantly take care of professional development, never be afraid of challenges, keep calm, always remember that positive relationships with colleagues lead to proper management of emotions, which has a positive impact on student development and well-being. As a special teacher, I consider myself successful when my students achieve results, when the degree of their independence gradually increases in front of me.”