I guess I'll be poltically incorrect and say that I am not completely in favor of full inclusion. I know, it sounds quite harsh, and I admit that my reasons are selfish indeed. It sounds wonderful in theory, but I speak from the view point of a parent who has had a very disruptive child in her daughter's class for three solid years. Unfortuantely, the special needs child is extrememly hyper-active, and his parents have told me he also suffers from anxiety, and a sensory integration disorder. This poor little boy can hardly sit still. During various periods of the past few years he has had to sit in a taped off "box" in the classroom to control his unpredictability. Currently, he has a "cubby" in the classroom which offers more separation from the other students. I truly feel bad for him and for his parents. I know his parents worry endlessly about their child, and rightly so. As badly as I feel for them, I'll be honest....it irritates me to no end that this kid is in my daughter's classroom. She has come home crying on so many occassions because his disruptions bother her so much. His behavior is so unpredicatable and disruptive that I feel it has negatively affected the teacher's ability to teach, and the other children's ability to learn.
It's a tough situation, and there is no right answer. I have always loved the teachers my daughter has had, but have sometimes wondered about their ability to have 22 third graders in a classroom, two of whom have special needs. It seems like a lot to expect from a general education teacher. I never came straight out and asked, but I wonder what kind of training was provided to the teacher in order to deal with children with special needs.
Sadly, the little boy I speak of now spends most of his time in a special education classroom, joining the regular education classroom only for pullouts and social studies. I guess the inclusion approach did not have the desired result for him. It's unfortunate for this little boy and his family, but I think it has enabled the class this year to be more focused and have less disruptions. For this, I am relieved. It doesn't seem fair to ask the twenty or so other kids in the classroom to tolerate such intense disruptions.
Lisa your example of what your daughter has experienced in a full inclusion class is a great example of how full inclusion may not always work. I can see why you would be against full inclusion. The boy really seems to disrupt the learning experience for the whole class. The teacher seems to very overwhelmed with the whole situation. If full inclusion doesn't work for this student, what options do the parents have at this point for his schooling? With the teacher only having a general ed background, your example is a good reminder that I need to take a few special ed classes to prepare me a bit more if I end up in a full inclusion class.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded by the quote in the movie: "inclusion is something that is really easy to do poorly". I think your feelings are valid, and yet I wonder from an outside perspective what might have been done differently (by the teacher, school, etc.) to better support that classroom for all students. I have been that teacher before, and you will be someday. How will you address that kind of situation?
ReplyDeleteI would also challenge your notion that there are only two children with special needs in that 3rd grade class. I would argue that most all children have a diversity of needs. Such language creates an us vs. them mentality. That somehow the other kids are "normal". How would it sound different if we changed your language so that instead of "special needs" we said "black" or "poor". People used to actually talk like this (and unfortunately, some still do). Is inclusion fundamentally about civil rights (as someone in the movie said)?
Lisa, That is a sad situaton for all that is involved. Its difficult for the students who are in the class, for the child acting out, all the students parents, the teacher, etc. I think that more support is needed for teachers, in training and also support. The schools, community and administration need to be available to give that support and training. This is just the beginning of this for us as teachers, I think Jesse is right when he said that someday we will be that teacher...I believe that starting to think about it now will only make us better teachers!
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