The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) does
not require inclusion. However, the law
does require that children with disabilities must, to the maximum extent
appropriate, be educated in the least restrictive environment. With
that being said, by law, the majority of students with disabilities should be
getting educated in the general education classroom. While there are many arguments for and
against inclusion, what is best for all kids?
When talking about the pros of inclusion, Keith
Jones really put a picture in my head when he said “you cannot box people up in
a room 20x20, 8 hrs. a day and then ship them off to the world and expect them
to have social interactions.” In a study
done by Woldensberger, inclusion helps, to establish and/or maintain personal
behaviors which are as culturally normative as possible.” (Wolfensberger,
1972). Students with disabilities need
to be able to see how their typical peers interact, so they know what is
appropriate. Besides improving
behaviors, inclusion, also raises student achievement and closes the gap for
students with disabilities. When students with disabilities are able to have
and hear good conversations with their typically peers at many levels, they are
able to gain considerably more knowledge then being in a resource room with
students at their same level. In
inclusion, students without a disability are able to learn how to interact with
them and gain an understanding of how students with disabilities behave and
learn. Another advantage to inclusion is
you have two teachers in the room, in most cases are willing to help anyone who
needs it. I believe when inclusion is
done right it has many positive effects for students with disabilities and
without.
When I see the cons to
inclusion, I really only see excuses. I
believe most of the time when districts implement inclusion, it is done poorly
which creates a negative attitude. Like
Carol Ward (teacher) said in the video, “I did not have formal or informal
training to have these students in my class.”
I do agree the majority of schools do not provide enough support/training
to teachers to help them teach in a co-teaching environment. According to the Council
for Exception Children, “Such setting should be strengthened and supported by
an infusion of specially trained personnel and other appropriate supportive
practices according to the individual needs of the child (Council for
Exceptional Children, 1994, pp. 5-6).” But, beecause Carol did not have enough education to teach inclusion, like
most teachers she has already set an expectation for “these students” in her
head, which has an effect on how she teaches them, that they have a lower
expectation in her classroom than typical students. In my opinion if you are not teaching to the
struggling student in you room, you are probably not reaching the majority of
your class either.
I have seen first-hand inclusion work successfully.
While I was working in Warren I had a student that was emotionally disturbed and
academically low and since Warren includes the majority of students, this
student was in my inclusion classroom. He
would scream obscenities, throw furniture, and bother other students on a daily
basis. I had a really good relationship with
my co-teacher and we had already built a good classroom environment, but she
was getting worried that the student’s behavior was hurting the education of
the other student’s in the class. So we
decided to have a class meeting and get the other students opinion on the
situation. To our surprise the majority
of the class said the student was part of our class and they wanted to help him
succeed. Our class ended up having one
of the highest test scores in the district that year. I believe when students
are put in the right environment all students can succeed. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages for
inclusion and this shouldn’t really be a debate; it is the law.
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