When is the Mainstream NOT the Best Option?

I will always stand by the fact that students have the right to be educated with their non-disabled peers to the maximum extent possible, however, I also recognize that fully including children in their mainstream environment may not always be the most appropriate programming option.   This is especially the case in international situations when school services may be limited in resources, experience and quality staff.

www.thenthdegree.com

Students learn best when they are in their Least Restrictive Environment, or LRE.  This term comes from the US law that requires its schools to provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive environment that is appropriate to the individual student's needs.  Although a student’s LRE will vary depending on their needs, in general, it is the environment where the child can spend most amount time with non disabled peers while making appropriate progress towards their learning goals.  For some children, learning full time with their non disabled peers may actually be more restrictive to their learning and progress than if they were educated in a more self contained or “resource” environment.   For others, a combination of mainstream and other options may be an appropriate way to define their Least Restrictive Environment.

So, the question isn’t if the mainstream is the best option for your child, but rather where is your child’s Least Restrictive Environment?  It could be that it is the mainstream math class but in a resource room for literacy.  Or it could be that your child can be successful and benefit from a paraprofessional/shadow support specialist in the class instead of a pull out option…or a bit of both! If your child is having social issues, perhaps his LRE is the mainstream classroom so “teachable moments” can be utilized while a weekly private counseling session is integrated to review social “mishaps.”  And don't get me started on the value of online learning for students in brick and mortar schools.  Creative programming options are limitless and schools should be planning for children with his or her needs as the catalyst to any decision making.

Too many times, especially in the international systems, we see children with an “all or nothing” option.  They are either fully mainstreamed or in a special needs school.  We need to start recognizing that those are not options.  Schools must be willing to program for those who fall in between the "all or nothing" model.  A continuum of services and opportunities should be a part of EVERY mainstream school as much as a school cafeteria or playground is. To accept anything less is a grave disservice to EVERY child who attends.

www.thenthdegree.com

What if a child’s LRE is a full time, special needs placement for some of the school day, but he happens to be one of the most gifted artists in the city?  Could he be a model student to non-disabled children in a mainstream art class?  Should he be given the opportunity, with appropriate supports, to be in such a class?  Sure…and the students may benefit from what he can bring to the group.  But will he be given that opportunity in our mainstream, international systems today?  Most likely not.

 The bottom line is this:  We need to develop programs for each child instead of fitting children into pre-determined programs.  By deciding, as a team, what the child NEEDS, only then should we determine how and if those needs can be met in a mainstream environment.  

Blazing a New Mainstream: Why Online Learning May be a Better Alternative to International Schools for Kids with Learning Needs

Over the last couple of years it has proven to be increasingly difficult for children with needs to gain entry into international schools and those that do get in, often find support services very limited.  As a group of educational consultants based in Singapore, it was difficult to sit back and watch this happen.  “There just had to be,” we thought, “a better way.”

In what started out to be a “holding plan” until we could get a student into “proper schools” we decided to try out this new world called “online schooling.”  We connected with the K12 International Academy, an accredited online private school program of K12.com, and together worked to train our inclusion support staff to facilitate the K12 online program in our learning center.  As many of the expatriate parents weren’t keen on leading a home-based online learning program themselves, we knew that our staff working as “Learning Coaches” could facilitate the K12 curriculum as a comprehensive, mainstream program until we could get a “real” school to accept them.

What we have learned, however, is that in the time we have implemented the K12 program with dozens of students, it doesn’t get more “real” or more appropriate, for that matter, than this:  Based on our experiences with the online learning as an option for children with special needs, this type of educational alternative may very well exceed the quality of instruction offered in the brick and mortar, mainstream international schools.  We make this statement substantiated by the following grounds:

1.     International Schools have Selective Admissions:  Mainstream international schools often have discriminating admissions standards for children with learning concerns.  It is such a pervasive issue that we often observe families concealing their child’s needs to get them accepted.  Alternatively they may also try to enroll them in any school that will accept them while the other sibling(s) attend their first school of choice.  The online program solves this issue whereby almost all children gain admission and if siblings do attend other schools, the online program can accommodate for any holiday schedule.

2.     International Schools have Limited Learning Support.  Let’s face it…even if a child does gain admission into a mainstream international school, very few of them can consistently plan, deliver and maintain a model of individualized programming that is at acceptable and appropriate levels.  With online schooling, facilitated by trained learning coaches in our learning center, student needs, learning styles, behavioral trends and motivators are regularly accounted for.  As knowledgeable educators who understand how to interpret psychological assessments, our strong communication link between our organization and K12 allows us to take on a team approach closely aligned to US standards for children with special needs.

3.     International Schools have Minimal Differentiated Practices.  Although international schools can boast cultural diversity, very few of them cater for the diversity in learning styles.  Differentiating instruction is pivotal in heterogeneous classrooms; however, as many of these schools cater to the families of the “upper management expat” there is a notion that the “average is above average” and, as such, differentiation doesn’t seemed to be implemented as often and as comprehensively as it should be.  The supported online learning model we have developed over the past couple of years with K12 has afforded a unique opportunity to truly differentiate for each and every child according to their academic, social and emotional needs.  Individualized programs are developed for the child as opposed to fitting a child into a school’s “one size fits all” curriculum. 

Because students can place into different grades without a child necessarily knowing the level they are being instructed at, the K12 program has proven effective in designing their learning plan on where they are academically, not where they should be according to their age.  What a difference it makes when we teach to their instructional level instead of at their frustration level!  Good educators know that when we teach above a student’s current level of performance, learning is stalled and a child cannot progress.  (Fountas & Pinnell, 1996)  In addition, if our team (Learning Coaches, K12, parents, therapists, etc.) believes instruction is too easy or hard for a child, immediate adjustments can be made.  Our collaboration with K12 allows us to also make appropriate accommodations and modifications for children within the program.  One-to-one facilitation allows for individualized learning, yet with more than a dozen children working on their own K12 programs in our center at any given time, we can implement social skills activities, common break/lunch times, morning meeting activities and drama/PE classes, to name a few. These multi-aged groups make for incredibly meaningful interactions between students.

4.     The Transient Expat.  As expatriate families are highly transient, students often move from country to country, forced to start the process of admissions, advocacy and programming all over again in the new international school community.  By taking advantage of the mobile aspect of K12, the child can complete the curriculum from anywhere, thus reducing the transition challenges that are associated with moving with a child with learning needs. 

5.     The “Learning Support” label is removed.´ Unfortunately for students in the international school world, if a child  requires assistance by their learning support department, this label as a “Learning Support Child” follows him from school to school, making it a continual challenge to be accepted and accommodated for in each new location.  Because K12 is an accredited international school there is no label associated with enrolling in such a program.  Students aren’t identified with the “learning support” tag in their transcripts and are in fact able to prove just how successful they can be when they are taught in the ways that they learn best.

We know that when a child is accommodated for appropriately, she can achieve at or beyond what is expected of her.  When she is educated in a caring, safe environment without the stigma of being “different” than everyone else, anxiety is reduced and more learning can occur.  Based on the achievements we are seeing first hand, every day, kids are actually achieving more and at a quicker pace than if they were educated in the brick and mortar international school.  Kids learn more when they are taught from the right starting point.  Our students, who previously in the mainstream were struggling to achieve close to the levels of their peers, are now closing achievement gaps like never before.  “When you let every student work at their own pace you see students who take a little bit of extra time on one concept or another, but once they get through that concept they just race ahead.  And so the same kids that you thought were slow 6 weeks ago you now would think were gifted.  And we are seeing it over and over again and it makes you really wonder how much all the labels really just are due to a coincidence of time.” (Khan, 2011)

Because our model is a one–to-one ratio, the child gets incredible attention and support, yet still with a focus on independence and skill building.  Take Louis*, for example.  As a 4^th grader, he struggled in his previous international school and upon moving to Singapore, couldn’t get accepted anywhere.  We started him in the 3^rd grade K12 program, allowing him to build a foundation that he seemed to miss in his previous international school, likely because his unsupported attention deficit kept him from focusing and learning.  In the short 8 months that Louis was with us, he not only finished the third grade curriculum, but almost completed the 4^th grade program and gained admission in his new location in a 5^th grade, mainstream international school.

Children with learning needs who are enrolled in an accredited online learning program, facilitated by coaches knowledgeable about learning needs makes for a formula that may be far superior to a mainstream, brick and mortar international school. 

There is no doubt that online learning is growing at tremendous rates and is the future of education.  In fact, the children currently enrolled in our “Learning Coach” program with the K12 curriculum are actually part of the trail blazing phenomenon called online learning that is changing education as we know it.  How about that?  The kids who are currently being excluded from the mainstream may just be the ones who define a new mainstream because of it.

*Name was changed for confidentiality reasons

A shorter version of this article is published on www.expat-kids.com, a site I am a regular contributor on.

References:

Fountas, I. & Pinnell, G.S. (1996). Understanding Guided Reading. In Guiding Readers and Writers Grade 3-6: Teaching Comprehension, Genre & Content Literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

                  Khan Academy.  (2011).  Excerpts from speech .  Retrieved October 2, 2011 from:  http://www.khanacademy.org/video/salman-khan-talk-at-ted-2011--from-ted-com?playlist=Khan+Academy-Related+Talks+and+Interviews

Inclusion Works: The Proof is in the Puzzle

As promised in my previous posts...another story of inclusion working...

Mark was a third grader with a variety of diagnoses from Oppositional Defiant Disorder to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder with Learning Disabilities and Social Anxiety thrown in.  Adopted from an Eastern European country when he was 5 years old, Mark’s early development was impacted by a lack of nutrition, education and love.

Never the less, Mark was one of the most caring children I ever worked with.  Educated in the regular classroom with his non-disabled peers, Mark received 100% of his instruction in Mrs. Dundee’s third grade class.  As the special educator assigned to Mark and other children in his grade, I co-taught reading and math daily while my paraprofessional supported the children during the writing time block.

Mrs. Dundee was and still is one of the most talented teachers I have ever worked with and she ran a tight ship.  She believed in inclusion and the concept that all kids need to learn in their own way, regardless of whether or not they have diagnosed learning issues. 

Mark was a child who, as you can imagine, struggled in most areas of learning and socialization.  Because of effective differentiation, however, he was able to be successful without standing out too negatively in the classroom.  The kids accepted Mark’s differences and because of the teacher’s ability to encourage empathy, all differences were not only accepted but also celebrated.

My last post highlighted how inclusion doesn’t just benefit the ones with the learning needs, but all children.  In that example, I wrote about how combining kids with needs and typical peers in a co-taught class, all of the students benefitted and improved in their learning.  In this case, Mark’s story reminds us the lessons of inclusion teach all students, in a real-life manner, how everyone has strengths and that we can all learn from each other.

Mrs. Dundee often planned dynamic math lessons that were hands on and differentiated but Mark still needed extra instruction and he realized he couldn’t keep up.  This day, however, when the concepts of an ancient puzzle called, “Tangrams” was introduced, would be different.  Various Tangram puzzles were set up around the room and students were required to go from station to station and try to solve the puzzles.  Being a very visual task and knowing that Mark was a visual learner, we had hoped he would find success in the lesson. 

Boy did he ever.

As soon as Mark stepped up to his first puzzle he just “got it.”  For those of you who know what it is like to have a child who struggles get something so clearly and confidently, there is no feeling like it in the world!  Mark knew how to solve the puzzle and quickly he moved onto the next.  Before he knew it, he had solved every puzzle in the room before the other students had completed one.  Kids were yelling out, “Wow!  Look at Mark!”  and “Mark, help me, I’m stuck!”  The day brought new meaning to “flying on cloud nine” as I don’t think Mark’s feet hit the ground that day.  He was truly floating with confidence and joy at being so great at something.  The other kids got to observe and experience, first hand, that just because someone might struggle at some things, he may actually be better than everyone else at others. 

All the students learned incredible lessons that day.  Mark went home and told his mother it was the “best day of his life because he was the smartest one in the class.”  Ten years later as I tell this story again, we are still learning from Mark….

When Inclusion Works.....it’s Elementary, Even in Middle School!

When I first started teaching, I worked as a special educator in an inner city middle school in the United States.  As the Individuals of Education with Disabilities Act (IDEA 1997) was just being passed, our school was a hybrid of an inclusive philosophy.  If students could manage in their regular classrooms with very limited support, accommodations or modifications, they could be there.  If not, they would be scheduled into a “resource room” class in a content area (Language Arts, Math, Science or Social Studies).  Those with serious emotional needs were confined to a class in the basement and the students requiring life skills had a small room off the library.  So, basically, as special educators we had to “fit” a child into one of those programs and rarely were we able to offer anything in between if the child didn’t quite fit appropriately.  Like jamming a round peg into a square hole, we had to use a hammer, metaphorically speaking, to get all the students to fit.

I was assigned to teach a 7^th grade resource room math class and being a first year teacher at the time, I had really only been trained in special needs, not curriculum content belonging to middle school math.  I had a class of 12 students, all with IEPs.   Not having any resources to draw from (no Google back in those days) all I could do was consult with one of the 7^th grade math teacher for ideas.  I assessed my students’ abilities in math and realized many of them, with regular practice, were pretty proficient in their math facts.  They weren’t quick at them, but I was pretty sure, being tagged as a “resource room math kid” for most of their school career, basic computation was about all that had been covered.  So I started each day with a basic practice concept but really felt that based on what the 7^th grade math teacher was doing in her classroom, I could introduce the kids to those topics.  If I could teach them in a way they could understand, I was pretty sure they could get it. 

And get it they did! 

By the end of the first quarter, my students, in addition to maintaining and enhancing their computational fluency, really started to comprehend the regular 7^th grade objectives!  Sure, they may have needed more hands on instruction, more manipulatives, more examples to draw from, but they were getting it!  I was so proud of them but I was also keenly aware I was providing them a mainstream education in a special needs, resource class….certainly this was not within the spirit of which this new law was being passed. 

I knew these students deserved a chance in the regular classroom.

I sat with my friend, Mrs. Jones, a 7^th grade math teacher, and told her my story.  I had identified at least 5 kids who could be and should be included immediately in her class.  After a discussion with the principal, multiple changes to children’s schedules and time consuming IEP meetings, we piloted this opportunity. 

The caveat was this:  I was to co-teach with Mrs. Jones every single day during this class period.  We were to plan together, teach together and reflect together for every student every day.   We worked in an inner city school where we certainly had under achievers in the regular classrooms and Mrs. Jones could see the benefit of both of us being there.  So we added five children to her class halfway through the second quarter. 

With her content knowledge coupled with my abilities to plan lessons that targeted various learning styles, we were a hit.  ALL students were learning and achieving.  For the rest of the year all of these students, who had been “fit” into a special needs class, looked no different than the rest of their classmates.  Sure, they struggled sometimes but with an effective differentiated approach and two teachers cohesively working together, the result…well, it was magic.

We knew it was working.  We could just feel it in the class dynamics, the excitement and positive energy in the kids…and in the data.  We conducted a survey of the class at the end of the year to determine if the children liked having the co-teaching approach to their learning.  All but two kids said they preferred having two teachers…the two that didn’t were part of the original mainstream class and they stated that now they couldn’t get away with passing notes between the two of them like they used to!

 

Back then we didn’t have standards based grading and still used the “old fashioned” letter based grades….but from the first quarter to the last quarter, every single child, without exception, improved their report card scores by one whole letter grade.

From the next year on, many teachers decided to follow suit and we continued to enhance and grow the co-teaching model which, in turn, improved the learning for all the children involved.

This was in 1997….Fourteen years ago…and yet still, I feel the need to share this story to try to convince people how powerful and beneficial inclusion practices, when done right, can be.   Did it work? Are you sold?

Do you have an inclusion “story from the field” to share?  If so email me and we just may post it on our blog as a “guest story!”

Generally Speaking...It Benefits ALL

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…

Making it Moot

When presenting on the concept and philosophy of inclusion, I often find it effective to have people reflect on relatable personal experiences.  We all have them….we have a lot of them in fact.  We don’t have to be a person with special needs to experience times when we felt “included” or “excluded” at points in our life.  So, let’s take a moment and do that together, shall we?  It sets the stage for the bigger picture.

Think back…to a time when you were included in something.  Many of us are drawn back to times in our childhood when a friend invited us over to play or we were asked to go to a big party exclusive to the “popular” crowd in school.  Maybe someone invited you to sit with them at lunch or when you were part of a sports team.  By virtue of being a human being and existing in this world, you will have had experiences I am sure you can reflect back on.  Now…how did you FEEL when you were included?  What adjectives could you use to describe the emotion you felt during that experience? 

(This blank space is giving you time to think….)

When I do this in groups, we don’t share the experiences, we share the words that describe our emotions.  This exercise usually elicits words such as:  Accepted; loved; confident; connected; empowered; cared for; positive; happy; secure….

Now, and I am sure you know where I am going with this, think back to a time in your life when you were left out of something.  When you were “excluded” from a group or from an event.  Perhaps you were chosen last in gym class or were the only one of all your friends not invited to a party.

(Wait time…..)

Unfortunately I often find people have more of these stories and experiences that come to mind quickly when we do this activity.  It’s staggering how these difficult memories are still quite near the “surface” of our hearts and minds, even if many years have passed.   We don’t have to think very hard or dig down very deep to relive the real pain and hurt those experiences caused.  Words this exercise often prompts are:  Judged; insecure; angry; sad; hated; alone; unfair; rebellious; anxious; afraid; shy; disobedient; unloved.

One of my favorite podcasts is “This American Life” from National Public Radio out of Chicago.  Each week they take a theme and bring us a variety of stories all centered around a common premise.  A couple of years ago they ran a story called, “The Kindness of Strangers” and the introductory story was about a man, in a subway in New York City, who stood by the trains randomly pointing out people and saying, “You’re in.”  Depending on his decision, however, he could also say to another, “You’re out.”  There was no seemingly discernible theme in his decision making process…it was impossible to decipher or predict a pattern suggesting who would be fortunate enough to be “in” or who would be so glibly “out.”  And the remarkable thing about this was, he wasn’t picking these people for anything.  In fact, the man who was recounting this story said that as he walked nearer to this “man of judgment,” he surprised himself by getting a bit nervous, thinking, “I wonder if he will pick me.”  The irony, of course, was that although he innately wanted to be chosen, there was nothing he was being chosen for and as quoted by the reporter, “He didn’t particularly look like anyone I would want to hang out with anyway.”  

The bottom line?  It’s innate.  Its a human need to be accepted, to feel included….and how distinctively fearful we are of being excluded.

So why did this man so flippantly believe he had a right to randomly choose who was and wasn’t in?  This man in the subway, the man randomly choosing people…it doesn’t seem like he had the right to make such a decision, does it?   If it is an innate human need to feel included…and if being excluded makes us feel angry, sad, hated, alone, rebellious, anxious, afraid, shy, disobedient and unloved….why in the world do we have to fight so hard for inclusionary philosophies to dwell within our schools? 

It will be a good day, one day, when the word “inclusion” is indeed MOOT.  Why?  Because when it is no longer needed, it means all kids are included…which is their innate human need.  Schools wouldn’t consider depriving a human need like food, water or safety from our children.  So why is this any different?

References:

Giangreco, M and Ruelle, K (2002).  Absurdities and Realities of Special Education:  The Best of Ants...Flying...and Logs.  Minnetonka:  Peytral Publications.  

WBEZ National Public Radio:  http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/75/Kindness-of-Strangers Originally Aired Sept 12, 1997

Making a Difference...

As a teacher, we want to make a difference, but very often we have to recognize the reality of this noble goal.   Making the biggest difference in the life of a child often starts with working with children who have the biggest differences.

As a special educator, I knew I would be working with children who have learning and behavioural differences...that is what I signed up for.   But are regular classroom teachers aware that they too will also likely have these children in their classes?  Are all teachers trained and prepared to handle such responsibilities?  Why should they have to be?

It’s all about inclusion and inclusion is all about classrooms today.  Teachers who are trained in understanding educational philosophy and curriculum also need to be trained in how to handle students with special learning needs.  Like it or not, it is the law in the US and in many other countries.  The rationale of expecting ALL teachers to know how to teach children with diverse needs in the regular classroom, however, has more to do with what is right, than what is law.  Including students appropriately in the mainstream classroom benefits not only those with special needs, but all students.

We all want to feel included.  It is an innate need many of us crave.  Think back to a time in your childhood when you felt included in something.  Perhaps it was on a sports team or friends asked you to sit with them at lunch.  Perhaps you were invited to a birthday party or asked to be a part of a club.  How did you feel?  Happy?  Accepted?  Motivated?  Now, think back to a time in your life when you felt excluded....to a  time when you were not invited or accepted.  Perhaps a time when you were an outsider hoping to be a part of the group, but were not given the chance.  What words would describe those feelings?  Defeated?  Worthless?  Insecure?  Different? 

When we think back to those experiences and emotions, do we need much more reason than that to know that including children in the mainstream classroom ,when appropriate, is the right thing to do?

But what, exactly, is inclusion? 

Inclusion is a belief that although we may not all learn the same, we all deserve opportunities to be successful.   Inclusion is a philosophy that fundamentally allows students with disabilities to learn in the same schools and classrooms as their peers without disabilities.  It is an understanding that fair doesn’t always mean equal...that to be “fair” we sometimes have to treat students differently.  That all students, all children, have a right to an appropriate education in a system that will cater to their differences and celebrate each person’s unique abilities.   As teachers, we don’t have the right to determine who is “in” and who is “out”.  We should have the mindset that we will teach all who enter our class, to the best of our ability.  It may mean teaching some of these children will require more work, more support and more personnel, but it does benefit all when done correctly.

The benefits of inclusion are powerful and students with disabilities are increasingly being included in general education classrooms for many reasons:

·         In general, accommodations, modifications and strategies help and benefit all students.

• Inclusionary practices encourage effective collaboration between professionals.
• Inclusion benefits all students.  When two adults (a teacher and a support specialist) work collaboratively in a classroom, questions are answered more quickly, projects are more easily monitored; 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.

Inclusion, when implemented effectively, will allow you to be that teacher who can make all the difference….and not just for those who are the most different.   

It isn't Rocket Science...But it is Just as Important

I keep thinking about the girl I wrote about in my first post, the 16-year old who couldn’t get into a single international school in Singapore.  It made me mad and frustrated all over again and I felt like posting all sorts of stories like these with the names of each of the schools that have discriminated against amazing kids like this…but then, the other day, during my daily quiet time in God’s Word, I came across something that really got me thinking.  I even “tweeted” about it…

Would you prefer to compromise JUSTICE or LOVE? 

I can’t get that out of my head.  What good would it do to showcase the discrimination we see on a regular basis?  What JUSTICE would prevail?  If I show my LOVE and GRATITUDE to these schools for the few students they are willing to help, for listening to what we have to say, for considering our efforts, for reading this blog…will that get us further towards our goals?  Certainly.  Although I believe in JUSTICE, I don’t want to compromise LOVE to get it, so I will take my frustrations into a different direction and build them into something for good.

Let’s start with the basics first…always a good place to start.  There must be a reason why I am so passionate about educating children in the mainstream and why we have an entire company of 70+ employees and growing who share in that passion.  Before, however, we can understand the “why” I think we need to understand the “what.”  What, exactly, is inclusion?

Inclusion is the practice of educating children with disabilities in the general classroom with their non-disabled peers for much of their school day.  It is a philosophy whose purpose is to allow students with disabilities to learn in the same schools and classrooms as their peers without disabilities.  For the past 30 years educators and researchers have analyzed the negative effects of separate classes for children with disabilities (McLeskey and Waldron, 2000) and movements across the world have leaned in the direction of including these children to the maximum extent possible. 

Inclusion, in its most basic form:

• All students share the same classroom space
• Some students may be completing assignments or doing activities that are different from their peers 
• All students belong and are accepted as an integral part of the community 
• Students with special needs are supported in “creative” ways

These basic truths are what we hold to be the backbone of our organization and are at the heart of our initial trainings with perspective staff.  We explain to them that this isn’t a job to “fill time” or to just earn a paycheck.  There has to be a fully committed heart to the passion and belief of this concept; of this philosophy.  We certainly celebrate our staff members’ diverse backgrounds, cultural differences and varied levels of experience but one thing we won’t compromise on…the one thing that can’t be diverse, is the basic belief that although ALL kids may not be appropriate for the mainstream, many, MANY more should have the opportunity to be there and it is our job to make sure we give it the best effort to make that happen successfully.  Effective inclusion truly is “proving we can dream with our head in the clouds and our feet firmly on the ground.”

EFFECTIVE INCLUSION…now those are the key words.  There are plenty of examples of how a child was thrown into a classroom without appropriate support, with untrained staff and teachers who either didn’t buy into the inclusionary concept or had no training in the “how.” 

As part of our initial training at Live and Learn we discuss how children can be a “victim of the mainstream” and discuss a real life situation in where inclusionary practices were implemented without proper planning, training or staffing.  Laura Johnson, an American mother of a child who was mainstreamed in the US without proper support or a transition plan stated,

"At this point, we're about halfway through the school year, and she hasn't learned anything." "It's not fair for her to go to school and sit there and be teased because she doesn't understand what they're teaching her."  (deVise, 2008)

Can it go wrong? Can it be implemented ineffectively?  Can it be the wrong decision for some children?  Absolutely.  That is why professional, knowledgeable and experienced professionals in this field are pivotal towards the successful inclusion of children with needs in our mainstream classrooms.  

What we have found, however, is that it starts with a belief.  It starts with the philosophy that inclusion is right for most kids and it is our job, it is our ethical responsibility, to make sure we do everything we can to make it work.  

I have found that finding staff members who have the conviction of inclusion as part of their ethos, can certainly be trained by us and we can mentor them on the “how to” and the “strategies” as it really isn't Rocket Science, afterall. 

References:

McKleskey, J and Waldron, N (2000).  Inclusive Schools in Action: Making Differences Ordinary.  Alexandria:  ASCD.

de Vise, D (2008).  In The Mainstream but Isolated.  Washington Post, March 18, 2008, B-01.

Giangreco, M and Ruelle, K (2002).  Absurdities and Realities of Special Education:  The Best of Ants...Flying...and Logs.  Minnetonka:  Peytral Publications.  

Just the Beginning...

A blog....so daunting to just start writing about the things we are passionate about.  At some moments I feel as if I have so much to say...other times I feel like I have nothing to write, or nothing worth anyone's time to read, anyway.  But, I do know that people seem to enjoy it when I present and I tend to find ways of explaining or teaching concepts that seem to make sense sometimes, so although it will be a challenge for me, I'll do it.  Well, I'll try it and see how I go.

We set up this blog a few days ago and I am the kind of person who wants to get things done and cross them off my list.  Writing the first entry has been on my list since I was convinced to do this and I have been procrastinating which is so "un-Carrie like."

"Anything," I was told, "will be fine."

But I don't think just "anything" will do.  I feel a lot of pressure to say things insightful or meaningful.  Something that when a person finishes reading, she won't feel it was a waste of her time.

Sometimes just getting started on a daunting task is enough to paralyze people and probably the reason why so many ideas in this world don't actually get off the ground.  I find a lot of us have great ideas...like my dad's idea of opening a wine bar that serves only wine from his home state of Connecticut.  Sure, great idea...but where to start when you have absolutely no background or experience in owning, operating and maintaining such an establishment?  I guess you start with a baby step, whatever that is.  And that is what I am going to do.  I am taking a step.  I am starting this blog even though I am not sure what I am going to write about or if anyone is going to want to really read it.

So what I am I going to start with?  The beginning.  I am going to start at the beginning.  The beginning of what?  Well, as this blog is about me as the founder of Live and Learn, I decided I am going to start at that beginning because honestly, I have a lot of beginnings I could start at...my life, my schooling, my first job, my marriage, my pregnancy, becoming a mom, moving overseas...the list goes on.  But I decided I am going to start at the beginning of Live and Learn because that, I think, will be what I base my future posts on....the real reason I started Live and Learn.

Live and Learn officially started in February 2008 however I ran the operation, under a different name and different owners, since 2006.  Coming from the US as a special educator and school administrator, I was bewildered at the state of special needs in Singapore and later, as I learned, in Asia and the international community as a whole.  I was working as an after school "tuition specialist" providing one to one tutoring for kids with special learning needs while having little to no connection to the child's classroom experiences.  My heart hurt for these kids and I didn't understand how they could be successful with such limited support in the classroom.  All hope for improvement was resting on my hour or two a week in a one to one session after school.  What floored me even more was the tuition center provided this kind of remediation support for about 250 children and I was, by far, the most qualified and experienced person in the center....including the owner.  Was this the norm or was I just seeing one side of this unbalanced equation?

I have come to learn, almost 6 years later, that it was not only the norm, but part a pervasive, larger problem that revolved around how our children with even mild learning needs were not valued in this community I was living in.  And it wasn't, and isn't, a "local" problem only.  Actually, I worked with both expatriate and local children, all of whom received very little support in their schools.  More concerning was that many of these "expat kids" were being asked to leave their schools if their academics didn't improve dramatically, and quickly.  But with such little support in their school day, how could they possibly make the necessary gains in such a short amount of time?

And then there were the new students coming in flocks to Singapore to settle into this "First World Country" with world class educational facilities in these mega expensive, super facility international schools.  And these students couldn't get in.  Mind you, we weren't even talking about kids with moderate to severe disabilities....kids with MILD needs could not get into these schools.  I remember one child, for example, who was 16 years old and had been diagnosed with a mild learning disability to which she received only 1 hour of special needs service PER WEEK in the US, mostly for organization.  She received all A's and B's in school, placing her on the honor roll every year since middle school, but because she had an IEP (Individualized Education Program) international schools in Singapore wouldn't even look at her.  Her family had to make the very difficult decision not to come to Singapore after all.  They couldn't sacrifice her daughter's educational success for a "cushy" Singaporean expat assignment....regardless of how much the job paid.

I saw a need.  I saw an ethical need.  As clear as the sky was blue, I knew I needed to do something to help, at least in some way, to make this better for kids and families.  I knew the benefits of providing appropriate support for children and they included benefits for all the other kids in the class as well.    And so...God brought me Shannon, my business partner, at the perfect time....and we jumped into this together.....and Live and Learn began.