As you may be able to see, my posts are progressing. I rarely get the opportunity to take so much
time to lay it all out there. Never are
there enough opportunities to share with people, in such a systematic way, what
it is we believe in, why we believe in it, how it helps and what we can do to
move forward in our mission in helping ALL kids achieve. It is the gift of time, given to me by this blog,
as to why I am happy to write each week.
If you have been following along, I hope by now you
understand the philosophy behind our belief of inclusion. Mind you, we didn’t just “buy into it”
without knowing the facts, the benefits and weighing the pros and cons. We live it everyday and we see it work, all
the time. We know it is the direction we
should all be facing. Mind you, we will
always stand by our belief that inclusion is right for most kids, however, we
also do agree, support and firmly maintain the notion that it may not be right
for all. Stay tuned for a post, in the
not so distant future, about how to determine if the mainstream classroom may
not be the best choice for a child.
It is also important to mention that just because we believe
in the concept of inclusion, we believe it is necessary to appropriately
determine if a child should be mainstreamed with their non-disabled peers for
the entire day. Some children may be
best serviced through programs that required them to be away from their
classmates and educated in other environments for certain parts of their
day. As long as we are always developing
a program for a child and not fitting a child into a program, we are more
likely to make the right decisions.
There are so many benefits for children in an appropriately
supported, inclusionary classroom. In my
fifteen years of doing this worldwide, I have seen it work brilliantly. I have also seen it crash and burn, and
unfortunately I have to say, in many of the international schools I consult
with, this is the case. It is the lack
of student success, extra work for the teachers and increasing demands from
parents that cause them to decide not to give it the attention it
deserves. It is my contention, however,
and the overarching belief of Live and Learn, that with the RIGHT supports in
place, an appropriate inclusionary model will benefit all children, those with
special needs, those without, and those in between. I have concrete ideas on just how
international schools can improve in this area, but that is another post for
another day…
Generally, an effective inclusionary program will benefit
all children in the following ways:
- Accommodations, modifications and strategies help all students.
- Inclusion encourages effective collaboration between professionals
- When 2 adults work collaboratively in a classroom (with a co-teacher or trained paraprofessional) questions are answered more quickly, projects are easily monitored and all students receive more individualized attention.
- Students accept one another as contributing members of the school society because strengths of each child are recognized.
- Differences are more accepted by students resulting in more empathy towards those with disabilities or needs.
- Regular education teachers tend to view their students as individuals rather than a classroom of the same ability level.
I have dozens of “stories from the field” that will amaze you and hopefully convince you how important it is for all kids to have the opportunity to learn from students who are different from them. I’m excited I actually have the forum, the time and the opportunity to share some of those stories and experiences with you here. Stay tuned…
No comments:
Post a Comment