Arguments both for and against the inclusion of people with
disabilities within the general populace are playing out as has happened within
the past. All aspects of society are involved in this debate; however the
educational institution seems to be the primary battleground.
Opponents have arguments that consist of the costs of
inclusiveness, not just the monetary cost but the cost to the general
educational students. The claimed cost being the time taken away from the
classroom to make special accommodations for students with disabilities.
Proponents argue that a student with disabilities being in
inclusion tends to raise the academic success of the ELN student, and improves attendance.
And legally speaking the government requires that (Jimenez,Graf)schools must show good faith efforts to
provide services in general education which has been determined to be the least
restrictive environment(1951-2008 p75).
My perspective on children with disabilities in general
education and extracurricular programs
is a three fold answer. First I believe that all people should receive
equal opportunity in society and especially in education. Second equal
opportunity is proportional, meaning the opportunity received is not always the
same. Students should receive what they need to succeed. Third while it is not
always practical to make accommodations for everything we must make accommodations
to the best of our ability while taking students needs and abilities in
consideration.
I was in complete agreement while reading your blog entry John. When I was placed inside numerous school environments as an outsider contracted from a mental health agency, I was able to acknowledge that the cost benefits did overpower main purpose and that is to assist the children with disabilities!! Many schools did the best that they could and most of the time some of the cost to utilize behavioral programs such as "token economy" was paid for by the teachers.
ReplyDeleteI applaud your courage and enthusiasm when you stated that all people should receive equal treatment and it is more relevant within education. I feel that more needs to be done and children with disabilities need to be treated with less stigmatizing labels and given more respect. The general education classrooms, I pray, will employ more trained professionals that can deal with physical and emotional/behavioral disorders so that the Special Education teachers along with Emotional/Learning Support are not being overburdened. I have been in school settings in which there were not enough trained professionals to assist the ELN students and it was taking the well-deserved time away from the children.
"Equal opportunity is proportional, meaning the opportunity received is not always the same." I could not agree more!!! There are no two people who are exactly the same therefore education should not be the same for every student. Students have different needs, abilities, and strengths that require their own accommodations/modifications. Just because procedure 'A' works for one student does not guarantee that it will work for a different student. Each student beats to their own drum and we and we need to celebrate that. As educators it is our job to teach the foundations of music and adjust the grip of the drum not give them the same music to beat to.
ReplyDeleteI think your two examples of the argument for and against inclusion are very to the point. While both make good points they can also be fought with reasoning quickly. That is why we all know this is a on-going battle. Yes, the time it takes to teach students with special needs does take away time with other students but if the teacher has the right resources and knowledge she/he can incorporate the other students to help aide in instruction. This gets all the students working together. That's just a suggestion I would give a teacher who was having trouble dealing with how to teach in an inclusion classroom.
ReplyDeleteJohn, you’re absolutely on point with this post. We cannot look at inclusion as the best fitted practice without taking into account what each student needs to succeed. I also agree that we need to make accommodations the best way that we are able to in order to make the chances for success much higher for these students. The biggest issue that I see many of us have posted in the blog this week is that many general educators are just not willing to do the extra work in order differentiate lessons to teach these students. Unfortunately, I feel as though if they were doing their teaching correctly in a general educational setting, then differentiation would already be taking place to an extent. Even when dealing with students without disabilities there are many different levels of learning occurring that we should be meeting. Students SHOULD definitely receive what they need to succeed so I really agree with you on that perspective. Again, how many educators are willing to go out of their way to promote social integration and actively seek out the components in order to make inclusion work successfully?
ReplyDelete