Blog #3 Inclusion/ A Contemporary Challenge. What is your perspective?

One major argument for the inclusion of special education into general education programs is stated in Education For All it says “The history of separateness from general education, combined with a constant yet contradictory pressure to avoid labeling and segregated placement, makes inclusive schooling a contentious issue within special education” (pg 71). Families and educators who support inclusion want students with special needs to be included in the same aspect of education and life as typical students, but in the same sense they need special services in order to acquire these opportunities, which makes them always viewed as different.

Some teachers argue that the change of inclusion is too difficult and not what they had hoped for their classroom. A general education teacher may have not chosen to get certified in special education because they may not have the patience or understanding of the skills needed to teach a student with special needs. This was a choice given to us when we signed up for college and took our classes. However, now with inclusion, if a student is entered into our classroom that requires special needs it is no longer our choice, we must receive additional training, plan instruction, and teach students on a different scope of learning. With testing requirements the way they are today, not only is that teacher responsible for successfully teaching all of her students but she is also held accountable for making sure the data shows growth in order to consider herself viewed as a good teacher. I saw this frustration recently, a general education teacher did not truly understand how to teach her students with special needs and relied mainly on the intervention specialist to work with these students, but when it all came down to it, all the assistance the intervention specialist gave the students was useless when it came to the standardized tests. On a daily basis the students had classwork and tests read to them and extra explanations to help them understand but on test day the student were given headsets and told to press start. It is a scary idea for a teacher to know that the results of these test will affect their reputation and sometimes their jobs. I do not believe that any good educator is against inclusion because they do not believe students with special needs deserve and are entitled to an education, I just feel all the outside factors that are brought onto them with inclusion is an additional stress they are not always comfortable with.

As a parent if I was put into the place where my child was born with a disability, I would want to open up the world to them and have my child treated equally in education and life. Parents want nothing to hold back the opportunities for their children, including a disability, and because of this inclusion is very important to them. Just like we saw in the video The Story of Morgan Warren, her mother viewed inclusion as something that brought her daughter to life. All the support and experiences Morgan had in school gave her the opportunity to make friends with students that she would of never shared any time with if there was no inclusion. Not only did it benefit Morgan but also the other students in the classroom where given the chance to learn about Morgan and her disability, while they still understood she was different they accepted her as one of their classmates. In Education For All we learned about a mother Sandra who went into a IEP meeting and said “My interest is my child and I’m not willing to negotiate my child’s education” (pg 109). With the stories I have read in our book, I have learned that parents have so much to deal with when they have a student with special needs including making sure they are getting the best medical treatment, having what the child needs at home for daily living, and finding places in the community that support their child’s disability that seeing they get something as important and expected in life as an education should not be a fight.

As a educator and a parent I can see why the change to inclusive classrooms brings so much controversy, however I completely support inclusion. I went into education with the belief that I wanted to be a teacher that will do all it takes to teach any student in my classroom. This belief is why I am adding special education to my licensure. Once I learned about inclusion on a different level I know I have a lot to learn about and am willing to do what it takes to welcome and teach any student into my classroom regardless of whether or not they require special services, more of my time, or me co-teaching with another teacher in order to do so.