When I did research on this topic I would give myself like an hour at a time to research. When I first started I was thinking that I would force myself to research all the information, but when I started I just couldn’t stop; I didn’t want to stop. The information was so interesting I couldn’t put it down. I read a lot about inclusion from everywhere; books, magazines, and the internet. I think the best place to start is the positives of inclusion.
There are so many positives why every school should have inclusion, but the main reason is it is morally correct (Mercer). Mrs. Wasem wrote on email that stated, “Students that have disabilities are just like “normal” people; they just take a little longer to learn. It doesn’t make sense if the kids just learn a little slower than most kids they have to be isolated in a room. People with special needs are a part of society so why shouldn’t they be infused throughout the school population as well. It makes it more real life like.” These kids need to experience things for themselves and see kids they wouldn’t normally see or talk to. Another important reason is the kids self esteem (Mercer). Just imagine you have to tell your 6 year old that learns a little bit slower that everyone else they can’t be with their best friend. Instead they have to be with a group of kids that learn slower than everyone else. How do you think that child would feel; I know the feeling, stupid.
I think that the most important thing that inclusion could do for the community is for the children without disabilities become friends with the children that have disabilities. They can learn the differences they have, so they will accept them in the community (Harchik). If the children learn not to be afraid of students with disabilities or if they know that they are the same as you and me it will be a lot easier on the children with handicaps. Mrs. Chuey said to me in an interview, “I do see the positive impact that this does have with them regarding social skills though in extracurricular classes like lunch, recess and special area classes.” Also, if the students can create a long lasting friendship it can give the kids with disabilities skills to communicate with others on a social level later in life (Perles). The lessons you learn as little kids you will remember forever; if you realize that kids that aren’t like you can talk and be friends with it will stay with you and you will remember. Something that you would never think of that is a positive is the kids with non-disabilities’ can be a role model. The students with disabilities’ see that the kids with non-disabilities’ talking and having fun with kids in a normal social matter (Perles).
I talked to a lot of teachers about inclusion and they had a lot to say about the topic. Mrs. Strong said, “The beauty of education is that it is always changing to meet the needs of our students. Inclusion is one of the many initiatives that has helped to bring education to where it now but it will continue to be molded and changed to meet the needs of our students.” And the most important thing is what is best for the students completely. Personally I like it because it allows students who have disabilities to access the general education setting. Students with disabilities are infused with their typical peers instead of being isolated in a special needs classroom. It is good socially for both students (Wasem).
Now that we have gone through the positives of inclusion we need to go through the negatives. We talk about inclusion and how children with disabilities need to be in regular classrooms, but just because the child with disabilities is in a regular classroom does not mean that the child will learn and behave appropriately or be socially acceptable by the children without disabilities (Heward). Just because the student is in the environment of the other students with non-disabilities doesn’t mean they will change their behavior; you are just changing their environment. Another big issue with the inclusion rule is there is no real research; and if there was research it was from many years ago (Mercer). No one really knows which the best thing is for the kids with disabilities because no one has done testing to figure it out.
Another important negative factor in inclusion is that it doesn’t always put the child’s need or family’s preference first (Harchik). The teachers or class administration doesn’t take account the student with disabilities weakness; they just think inclusion is the way we have to go even if it is not helping the student. “It is impossible for some students to be fully included because of the need for skill development. We would be doing a disservice to them to expect them to function in a typical setting and we would be preventing them from learning and receiving the education that they deserve,” Mrs. Wasem said. Parents in general usually do want to see their child included in the regular education curriculum as much as possible. Sometimes even if that means having less time to prioritize skills regarding academic versus functional and what the child would benefit most from during their school education years (Chuey). An additional problem is the children with disabilities if they go to a public school. Some public schools are unable to provide the services for the children with disabilities, especially the students with severe language and behavior disorders (Harchick).
What about the teachers? They didn’t go to school to teach children with disabilities. The teachers know how to teach the children with non-disabilities, and they also know how the children with non-disabilities kids learn the best, not the kids with handicaps (Mercer). In addition to that, most of the children have one-on-one aides, but some aides don’t have any teaching experience or have little experience, so they don’t know what to do (Harchik). Also, the teachers already have enough trouble teaching kids with the same learning style and learning level how much more difficult do you think it would be if you brought in other students with a completely different way of learning and a different learning level (Mercer). Another reason is if the general education classroom is not their least restrictive environment and they would not benefit from the typical setting, then it is our responsibility to make a setting available which the student would be successful in (Strong). A negative for inclusion is they don’t have enough time to get accomplished what needs to be done. Mrs. Chuey shared with me, “there is not time for the functional skills curriculum to be taught within the school day when in the classroom they are required to master skills in order to pass state and district wide tests that are connecting to funding issues.”
In dealing with Sycamores policy of inclusion I have seen it first hand and I believe that is it the best possible way it could be. Sycamore teachers care about their students and it is amazing to be associated with them; but don’t take my word for it I have talked to teachers in the area and they have given me their opinion. Sycamore has always been one of the top districts in regards to implementing new laws and initiatives. They have been efficient and effective in transitioning students to be fully included within the general education curriculum. While the current policy and implementation is proficient there are certain areas which could be improved upon however, like with most things, this will take time (Strong). Mrs. Wasem stated, “We are always looking and reviewing what we do, sending teachers to workshops on this to see if we can bring improvements to our school. One of the problems that we as special education teachers sometimes encounter is that we don’t have the time to collaboratively plan with the general education teacher that we are co-teaching with. Scheduling at the high school is difficult and with the special education teacher’s caseload and needs of their students, that adds to the difficulty of common plan times, etc. Also if we co-teach with more than one teacher in a subject area, it adds more constraint in scheduling a common planning time.” These are really good points that most people would never think of that would be necessary to plan with the kids. Overall, I do think that Sycamore has a good policy for inclusion. I think our district does a good job of trying to meet the needs of all students. It is based upon individual needs of students so someone who has severe behavioral outbursts may not be included fully or is removed if behaviors are disrupting to other learner’s needs as well as someone who needs intense work on skill development. I like how we take a look at what is best for each student and adjust as needed to make it a good fit for everyone (Wasem). I do believe that Sycamore is very advanced in their philosophy regarding inclusion and the need to serve all individuals to the best of their capability (Chuey).
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