Friday, May 22, 2009

Inclusion....Good for all students or none???????????

This text offers a basic historical background on inclusion, it gives the legislation that backs why inclusion mandated by IDEA in 1990. Special Education, as we know it today, began in during the implementation of the law in 1975 (previously known as Education for all Handicapped Children Act) when “children with defined handicaps have the right to free public education (Noll, 231).” In the 1990 version of the law, IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), has spawned an “ “inclusive schools movement, and supports recommend no students be assigned to special classrooms or segregated wings of public schools. (Noll, 232)” The two authors with arguments stated in the text: For inclusion Richard A. Villa and Jacqueline S. Thousand Making Inclusive Education Work and Against inclusive settings, Karen Agne, The dismantling of the Great American Public School.

Villa and Thousand begin their article by given a brief synopsis of the federal legislation that brought about these “inclusive settings” At the bottom of the first page he gives a brief fact “By 1999, 47.4% of students with disabilities spent 80% or more of their day in general education classrooms, compared with 25% of students with disabilities in 1985 (US department of Education, Villa and Thousand, 233). Later in the article, the authors state that “despite the movement toward inclusive education, tremendous disparities still exist…the US Department of Education found that the percentage of students with disabilities ages 6-21 who were taught for 80% or more of the school day in general education ranged from a low of 18% in Hawaii to a high of 82% in Vermont (Villa and Thousand). In the text, they give research findings that will make documented effective inclusive school practices. These include: Connection with Best Practices, Visionary Leadership, Redefined Roles, Collaboration, and Adult Support. The authors wrap up the text with “systematic support, collaboration, effective classroom practices, and a universal design approach can make inclusive education work so that students with disabilities have the same access to the general education curriculum…”

Agne begin her stand with a conversation that many individuals may have when speaking about an inclusive setting. She goes on in to discuss a common scenario in an inclusive setting classroom where a child with behavioral difficulties is interrupting a typical child’s classroom learning time, or even when a child with a medical condition needs to have one on one attention due to his medical conditions and it interrupts the school day. In her article she gives an analogy which is beneficial for a teacher to think about “ if a horticulturist were to provide the same amount and type of food, water, soil, and light to everyone of the hundreds of plants in her care, easily half would not survive. Moreover, it would surely require many years for the same professional to acquire enough varied knowledge and skill to ensure that each plant will survive, much less thrive. Now, if every ten months each gardeners stock was replaced with a collection of completely new and different plants, only then would his task begin to compare even slightly with that of today’s professional teacher (Agne, 242).” Advocates of inclusion call for these changes in education, to make inclusion effective, knowing through research that inclusion is not an effective strategy, (listed on page, 242).

We all come from very different walks of life, with many, many different experiences---some good and some bad, but it has molded us into the teachers we are today(or are going to be). How do you feel about inclusion (do you feel that it is beneficial, or is it hindering all parties involved) ? Do you like the co-teaching idea as suggested by advocates for inclusion? Do you have these experiences in your classroom, school?

36 comments:

  1. Question: How do you feel about inclusion? I think the successful implementation of inclusion depends entirely upon the attitudes and expectations of the administration and the teachers involved. It also depends upon the student. In no case should inclusion take away from the typically developing students education. There is a movie called Educating Peter. Peter is profoundly handicapped and in a fully inclusionary setting. Peter is disruptive and is did not learn skills that would improve his life. I do not feel that Peter’s best interests were being served. He was sitting in a regular ed classroom, learning to write his letters while other kids were doing grade level work.
    When a child’s placement is being considered the question should be posed where this student will learn the most that will help him in his daily life. If the student being considered is an LD student, then of course he should be included in the regular ed setting. If this student requires support those supports should be provided. In some districts the co-teacher model is the norm. When done correctly this is a great strategy. When the students are viewed as belonging to both teachers, and each teacher has a role they are comfortable with, this can be advantageous to both the regular ed kids and the special ed kids. Other school districts employ the co-teacher model, but the inclusion teacher sits in the back of the room, not interacting with other students with little input or communication with the “real” teacher. This is beneficial to no one. If the child being considered for placement is a child with severe behavioral issues and disrupts the learning environment, then I do not believe in full inclusion. I do however feel that child could be allowed to participate in extracurricular activities, itinerants, or lunch with regular education peers.
    My bottom line is that I agree with neither Ange nor Villa. I think the spirit of IDEA is that the needs of the child must be considered. I believe it was instituted to get the kids enrolled in special ed out of the boiler room closet, and into the real world. It was intended to stop school districts from saying, “Hey we have no place to put your child, sorry.” When considering placement of children first we must consider, where this student will thrive. It is impossible to define what will work for all students. It should also be noted that inclusion can teach regular education kids skills as well. It can be a positive experience, if the teacher and administrators set the tone.
    Please understand that my students never leave my classroom, except to go to music, a class that only sixth graders take in middle school. I teach 7 and 8th graders. They are escorted to the rest room. They eat lunch in our classroom. They have no interaction with regular education peers. Do I feel this is right? To some extent I do. They are extremely disruptive to the learning environment. Do I feel that they should be able to go to computer tech with regular education peers? Yes I do. Not all together, but my aide could escort 2 students, and stay with them in class.
    The key to special education is individualized education; this is what needs to be remembered. What will be the LRE for one student is not necessarily the LRE for all.

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  2. Inclusion is a philosophy, a set of beliefs that we have about students with special needs. If you believe that all students can learn and have the same rights, then you believe in inclusion. If you believe differences should be celebrated and respected, then you believe in inclusion.

    Teaching is not throwing out information and hoping students pass the test you give them. Teaching is trying to meet ALL children where they are and helping them progress. If students with special needs can make progress in the regular classroom, then they deserve to be there. In my opinion, regular ed teachers need to get more training in special ed techniques so that they can service their students in the regular classroom. And special ed teachers need to be in the regular classrooms much more to collaborate and meet the needs of students. (at least in the district I work in). And like Jessica said, it's all about least restrictive environment and TEAM decisions. IDEA says the team of professionals and parents that know the child best get to decide what is the best learning environment for each student with special needs and the regular ed teacher must be involved in this decision-making process.

    I feel typical children need to adjust and learn about people with differences. They need time and authentic situations to form real relationships with peers that may not act, think or look like them in order to become tolerant and understanding people. Teachers need to adjust their idea of what learning looks like so that all kids can be successful.

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  3. Jen your last paragraph is so right on. In the Fall when I was long term subbing, we had a kid in the classroom next door who was other health impaired, he was full inclusion and all the kids learned from him and treated him with respect and kindness. I am sure they learned quite a lot from him

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  4. As educators, I believe we all use general education theories and practices that effectively support inclusion in our classroom(Noll, 237) Such as differentiated instruction. I find myself trying to meet every student's needs no matter if they are on an IEP or not. I try to teach to what is best suited for them and accommodate their learning styles. Using different teaching practices and having authentic alternatives. We know what works for our students and what doesn't, and as we know, that varies from student to student, but we need to be able to adjust and think quick. I completely agree with Jen stating "typical children need to adjust and learn about people with differences." As a general ed teacher, I feel I should be given more training to be able to provide and fully accommodate the needs of special ed students so they can participate with in the classrooms academically and socially. I feel the special ed teacher and myself should collaborate more and work together whether its having weekly discussions or team teaching. I think that would be the only way to provide effective learning for all.

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  5. The reality is "there can be no either-or, all children must be served."(Noll,p.245). I think inclusion is a good thing for some students and not so good for others. I do agree it is necessary, if not in its present form it is needed in some form or another. When I think of Special education students I think of variety, just as if I think of regular eduction students. All students regardless of ability learn differently. In terms of inclusion, students that have SLD(Severe Learning Disabilities and those having CD(Cognitively Disabilities)labels I think, can benefit from inclusion or mainstreaming. However, students with Multiple handicap (MH) and Emotionally disturbed (ED) could benefit from a more intense education intervention. The senerio's that Agne writes about in our text on pages 240-241 reminds me of some experiences I've had. The student who were a serious, constant disruption had emotional issues. A lot of students were on psychotropic medications to asist them with controlling their behavior. So if they don't take their medication that day or for a few days, concentration is school can be an extremely difficult task. These students may need a more creative way of being educated. I have always been a fan of co-teaching. I agree with Agne's thought of it taking many years for one professional to acquire enough varied knowledge to service all. He was using the horticulture comparison to make this point(Noll,p.240-241). So the old saying that Two heads are better than one as it's place in education. Thus, the better the collaboration between co-teachers the more effective I think they could be.

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  6. I have witnessed inclusion perform in schools in a couple of fashions. The process I think worked best was at a particular school where students were mainstreamed. For clearification I'm thinking inclusion is when a student is in a special education classroom and for some classes the student attends a regular education class, with a special education teacher coming in to help. Mainstreaming is when a student has all regular education classes. However, the special education teacher meets with the student in every class. By the student being in regular education classes lifts the stigma of the special education label placed on the student. If the special education teacher ends up helping all student this can really be a good situation for all. Villa and Thousand make mention to the concept of the visiting teacher working with all students and not appearing to be "Velcroed" to individual students(Noll, p. 236). The latter is way I've seen inclusion work. But I have to agree the system approach presented by Villa and Thousand (Noll,p.234-239) should be used as a foundation for schools to deal with the diversity that our students bring into today's classrooms.

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  7. The senario that is described on page 241 about a brain damaged child who is wheeled into a regular education class to have exposure to other regular education kids is telling. Agne states that it costs 140,000 dollars to pay for this child to be educated, which would be okay, if in fact he was being educated. It states that the child is not capable of understanding. Whom does this serve and at what cost? Is this what IDEA intended? Is the law going to far in order to maintain political correctness? $140,000 hires several new teachers, text books, programs etc... If the child is not benefiting then what is the purpose. I am not saying that I am anti inclusion, nothing could be further from the truth. I just think that it needs to be weighed and tempered. I think that the child who Agne writes about has parents that are certainly well informed of their rights and this is good but is it the best setting for all concerned? In closing I will say, I don't know.

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  8. We have a situation right now in our district just like the scenario on page 241. I don't know how much money is being spent on her education, but the parents are wanting full inclusion in the regular classroom. She has multiple handicaps, communicates through a computer, and has severe medical needs. Since I am a parent of a child with special needs (but not severe), I can emphasize with these and other parents. But I am also a special education teacher and I can see from the district and teacher's point of view. Parents have to be reasonable and schools have to be accountable and do what is best for the child. The most expensive is not always the best or necessary way. Meeting her intense needs takes creativity, collaboration and effective communication. There is so much drama between the parents, the attendant, the teacher and the district right now with the girl in my district. So many hurt feelings and everyone being so defensive. The only way that I feel that this situation could have been prevented was for the teacher and principal to build a better relationship with the parents and attendant. Build the relationship from the beginning of the year so the parents felt that they could trust them. Then maybe when they got to their disagreements, the parents would have trusted and considered their judgement and professional opinion.

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  9. I agree with Jessica when she said the decision needs to be weighed for inclusion. Inclusion does not fit all students, especially those with severe disabilities. In the ideal world of teaching, every teacher wants to be able to touch each child's life and make a difference. If a child is physically able to partake in inclusion classes, then I am supporting the staff 100%, but if the special ed teacher and the child's parents believe their child could learn better in a different environment other than what I am promoting in my classroom, then I will do everything in my power to make sure that child gets what he or she needs in the environment that is best suited for them.

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  10. Agne quoted a teacher as saying "If I had wanted to teach special education I would have trained for it. I'm not cut out for that. It takes a certain type of person. This isn't fair to me or the special students assigned to my classroom." I had a hard time reading this. My belief is that students with special needs are STUDENTS first. Not special education students. And special education is a set of services we provide, not a special place where kids with special needs get their education. The reality is that regular ed teachers have to be able to teach children with special needs. I do think college is not preparing teachers for reality, but acting like they are not YOUR students is just wrong. If students are in a classroom, then they should feel they belong. Just like in the real world. If we want children to become peaceful, accepting, tolerant people then we better model it for them in school. Maybe I'm wrong, but I felt like Agne exaggerated the reality of parents taking their children out of public schools because of inclusion. The two sentences where I agree completely with Agne are: "There must be a balance to serve students of all types and abilities equally." and "Successful schools must be prepared to offer all these approaches in order to serve all learners equally." But as I've said before and Dr. Chapple says, equal and fair does not mean SAME. Equal and fair mean giving students what they need in order to make progress. If they can make adequate progress in the regular classroom with accommodations and support then they deserve to be there.

    I got to experience co-teaching during my student teaching for my special ed license. I loved it! The challenge of trying to make the instruction work for my students really motivated me. I loved working with the regular ed teacher and seeing the special ed students feel a part of the larger group. I was there to help with the RTI process for at-risk students and add my own creativity and personality to the learning process. It truly felt like a learning community. I agree with Villa and Thousand that "For school personnel to meet diverse needs, they must stop thinking and acting in isolated ways: 'These are my students, and those are you students.'"

    When I think of the "only as much as needed" principle in providing adult support to students that Villa and Thousand write about, I think of the zone of proximal development. If they need a little help to make progress, then they should have it so they can get to the next level. If they can do it on their own, then they should do it on their own. If it's too hard, then we need to go to an easier level where they will get support, feel success and move forward.

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  11. I love what Jen B says about inclusion in her opening paragraph. I also agree with what both she and Jessica have to say on the matter. I do feel inclusion is beneficial to all parties involved if and only if inclusion is what is best for the child. I have seen the film about little Peter and he is not only a major distraction to the other children but I feel like he physically injures another child at some point (not that injuries don’t occur with “regular ed” kids as well). Also as Jessica states he was at an entirely different place from the rest of his class. He was not really being “included” he was just in the same room with the rest of the class. If a child is not able to participate what so ever in the general ed classroom then I do not feel it is in the best interest of the child, the rest of the class or the teacher to practice full inclusion. As stated by others it all depends on the severity of the child’s needs. I do like the different models of teaching presented by Villa and Thousand (237). In some form or another I feel that all the models are beneficial and that we employ them all at my school. As a Title teacher, I work closely with both the special ed teacher and the general ed teacher to formulate lessons and to provide interventions for specific children (consultation). I use parallel teaching with the special ed and general ed teacher when we do reading groups in the classroom. I practice supportive teaching in the fourth grade math class. I provide complementary teaching when I revisit the subject in a small group with students after the initial lesson.

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  12. Ali it is a good thing for you and the students that the teachers in your building are cooperative. Having more adults to teach kids is a definate plus. What school are you at? I think to often these models end up not giving any input to the special education or title teacher.

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  13. Jessica, I work at Puritas Community School it is a charter in Cleveland (Westpark area). We do not seem to have too many children with severe special needs issues. Lots of ADD and lots of kids on medicine. I wish we did not have to use all these drugs. It is so crazy how many kids are these days. I cringe when I hear, Oh you can tell so and so didn't take his meds today".. Don't get me wrong I know many children need the meds but I can't help thinking some of them don't, they are just highly energetic, highly creative and just plain kids. Some adults cannot stand still. I am a fidgitter, I have always been, somehow I found a way to pay attention, learn and my teachers found a way to keep me interested. I think if teachers spent more time making their lessons truly engaging and enriching we would have a lot less cases of ADD and ADHD on our hands.

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  14. Ali, I agree that it seems too many kids are on medicine. I wonder what the long-term effects are with these medicines and also how many kids really need them.

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  15. I agree with Jessica when she stated that the spirit of IDEA is to have the best needs of the child in mind. Indeed it is, but that is not always what is found in the classrooms. One of my good friends that teaches down the hall in 1st grade has a student that is both blind and deaf. He does have an aide in his classroom, which communicates on occasion by signing is his hand. She is by no means signing everything that they do in the room, and I'm willing to bet not even half. My friend has voiced her frustration with this student on more than one occasion. During her lessons he sometimes starts banging his fists on his desk and interrupts not only what she is teaching, but the students trains of thought. He has no idea what he is doing, or probably not even that he is making noise. My issue with this is that the classroom was deemed his LRE (least restrictive environment) when in reality, he is learning nothing from sitting in the room all day. His parents have voiced their opinions that they want him to lead a normal life and grow up with the other students. I believe there has to be another outlet for him that he can at least learn better on an individual basis. I'm sorry, but honestly he is never going to lead a normal life with the other students in his class! I think for students with such severe needs such as his need to be taken out of the classroom and worked with individually or in a small group setting. His parents also need to realize what is best for HIM and not worry about how it "looks" if he was secluded from the rest of the kids in the school.

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  16. I think that if the staff and teachers are on board to not only have these students in their classrooms, but also to individualize their programs within the classroom, inclusion could be benefitial. Like I stated in my comment above though, that doesn't always happen. Some students are placed in the classroom because of their parents wishes without having any kind of plan to accomodate their needs, other than giving them an aide. Legally the school is covered by providing an aide, but like Jessica mentioned in her first post, it is not benefiting anyone if the aide just sits in the back of the classroom and does not intervene at all with the learning process.

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  17. I cannot even fathom being both blind and deaf. That poor little boy. I do not know how anyone could even imagine that this child could live a "normal" life. Having one of these disabilities to contend with would be hard enough, it is truly amazing what hands some people are dealt. I agree with biels this is a scenario when inclusion is not the right choice.(for anyone involved for that matter)

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  18. In response, I feel that it very much depends on the students and their personal LRE. Some students belong in regular education classrooms and some students don't, just as some people belong in college and others don't. In the case of the scenario that Mbiels posted, that is a case where the child seems to need more than what he is getting. It very much depends on the parents and what the parents want, we just have to be their for the kids and support the parents decisions whether we like them or not.

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  19. I think it must be extremely difficult to be the parent of a child with a profound disability. I am sure that you would do anything to try provide the very best life and education possible for your child. I cannot even imagine how hard it must be to concede what you would consider the battle. It would probably feel like you were giving up on your child. This is sort of a random rambling, but my point is, for educated people that understand their rights and the rights of their child under IDEA exercising the option of full inclusion is probably empowering. I would imagine that it also gives parents some of the power in a situation in which they feel powerless.

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  20. Very true Jessica, but being the only teacher in the room (no co-teaching) and having to deal with all of the other children and their exceptions in addition to this deaf and blind child can be a little overwhelming! Especially when the administration sort of leaves it up to you to handle the situation. I know this teacher has had such a rough year!

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  21. What a great discussion so far. You all have brought out some really key points: the benefits for the typical students, the importance of collaboration, the role of the parents...I think David's statement really brings it all together: "When I think of Special education students I think of variety, just as if I think of regular eduction students." We know that differentiated instruction is the basis of good teaching--for all students. There is no "one-size-fits-all", yet too many of the "players"--whether it be policy makers, district officials, lawyers, or parents--seem to interpret IDEA as some sort of "blueprint" to be "followed."

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  22. I completely agree with Molly's last comment that dealing with certain situations can be overwhelming! I currently co-teach at my school and I think it is very beneficial for the classroom teacher and for the students because of "having an extra set of hands and eyes" in the classroom. In my school, we have a lot of students on meds for ADHD and behavioral issues rather than for disabilities. Having a co-teacher, I feel helps any situations that may arise in the classroom such as if a child is being unruly or having a difficult time focusing. I feel I am able to intervene before a situation escalates and distracts the rest of the class. Thus, making it easier on the classroom teacher to maintain the rest of her students.

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  23. I should have added Jessica's last sentence from her first comment: "The key to special education is individualized education; this is what needs to be remembered. What will be the LRE for one student is not necessarily the LRE for all."

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  24. Wow, I enjoyed reading the discussion so far. I agree with much of what has been said already. I also agree that inclusion can be a very good thing, but it is not right for all special education students. For inclusion to work, I think it requires a lot of cooperation and support. As Agne stated, “Such an education requires much support, much expertise, varied and multiple personnel needs, and therefore enormous monetary backing” (Noll, 245). When inclusion is implemented I think it is a must to co-teach, in order to not only meet the needs of the special education student, but also to continue to challenge the regular education students. Inclusion is definitely not for all students, and the LRE mandated by IDEA should be specific to each individual student. I like when Agne said, “there is nothing so unequal as equal education treatment of students with diverse disabilities” (Noll, 243). This reiterates what I think Jen has said before, equal does not mean giving the exact same to all.

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  25. Jen stated her distaste with a teacher’s comment ending with, “this isn’t fair to me or to the special students assigned to my classroom” (Noll, 242). I think this could quite possibly be a situation where the regular education teacher is not getting the support they need, maybe there is not co-teaching or no communication lines with the special education teacher. In situations where inclusion is handled incorrectly without the correct support, or the special education is not a fit for inclusion, I think it is unfair to all parties involved.

    I do agree that regular education teachers should take more courses in special education. As Agne states, “most regular education teachers receive none (training)” (Noll, 242). I had one three credit hour course about special education and inclusion. This class was mostly based on the history of special education and laws passed, not at all about how students with disabilities learn, what they might need, how to include them in the classroom, or how to work with special education teachers.

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  26. I agree with the comment that David started and Dr. Scott reiterated, “differentiated instruction is the basis of good teaching – for all students”. This was one of the major areas we concentrated on in my education courses in college. It is important to differentiate instruction because each individual student learns differently, which also ties into the other issues we are discussing of gender and race. It is so important to differentiate instruction to give ALL students an equal chance at learning (again with giving them what they need, not the same). In line with the plant analogy we have been using, if you go to the store for fertilizer for your plants you will notice there are fertilizers for, evergreens, deciduous, flowers bushes, vegetable plants, houseplants, and much more. Each plant requires a different fertilizer to grow and thrive; I believe the same goes for students. So, we need to incorporate all of these different “fertilizers” in the classroom to benefit each student individually.

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  27. For me inclusion can be a good thing for dealing with alot of educational challenges. It is definitely a team effort. The team must consist of support from the parent, teachers and administrators. Villa and Thousand make reference to the importance of administration, "for inclusion to succeed, administrators must take action to publicly articulate the new vision, build consensus for the vision and lead all stakeholders to active invovlement"(Noll,p.235). Now who thinks educators would not be good politicians? In some parts of the job they have to be.

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  28. For me, I feel that inclusion is a good thing as long as it is benefiting the students. Many people have said that they don't feel some of the students that are in the regular classroom and have a disability are benefiting at all and I think that this is when inclusion is not the best for that student. The whole idea behind inclusion is to make sure that students are learning to the best of their ability and if they are not able to do that in the regular education classroom, then how are they getting the education that they deserve?

    I also agree with what many people have said that working with inclusion is a team effort. Villa and Thousand state, "For inclusive education to work, educators must become effective and efficient collaborative team members." (Noll, 236) I think as a teacher, if you have a student who has a disability in your classroom and you are unsure of how to properly teach them, then don't be afraid to ask for help or get ideas from the special education teacher or other teachers. Also, co-teaching can help because teachers will be able to get advice from one another on how to benefit all their students in the classroom and I think it would greatly benefit all the students.

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  29. In reference to Jessica's first comment, I agree with her that inclusion has a lot to do with the attitudes of teachers and professional working in the school. If teachers are feeling negative about inclusion or teaching students who have disabilities along with students who don't have disabilities, then no child will be able to thrive in that classroom.

    Also, the practices that Villa and Thousand mention on p.237 are great instructional strategies that I think can help more than just students who have a disability. I think differentiated teaching should be used in the classroom whether or not a teacher has to deal with inclusion because this again will help students benefit by having a variety of ways to learn and to be assessed. The same goes for the universal design approach where they state that it "benefits every students, not just those identified as having disabilites" (238) Others have also commented that they think inclusion allows for students to learn compassion and understanding and I wholeheartedly agree with this. Through inclusion, students will learn that there are people in this world who are different from them and they can recognize this at an early age and gain a positive experience from inclusion because they will know what it is like to work with and socialize with people who may not be exactly like them.

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  30. Many times, I think, it is hard for parents to realize that their child may be better suited in a classroom that is not a regular education classroom. As mbiels said about the parents wanting their student to be with the other kids and in a "normal" setting, they may not fully understand that this situation is not going to benefit their child. I think it is very difficult to talk to parents sometimes about how their child is progressing in an inclusive classroom, especially if they are not doing as well as they maybe would be in another classroom.

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  31. Ali: I feel the same way about meds, and before I started my current position, I felt as if meds were just plain unneeded most of the time. I know my current situation colors my view, but I have 4 kids on meds currently and 1 other one that should be on meds... I can tell the minute they walk into the door if they have not taken them. If it were not for meds these students would not be able to be in school. My one student who should be medicated was on home instruction for a portion of the year and has been suspended for 15 days thus far. Just from today I have two pages of inappropriate actions, and words documented in his file.
    Mbiels:I truly feel for your friend. The good news is only 7 or so days left :)

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  32. This is a very hard issue, but I have to agree with the father of physically handicapped child in which he pleads his case on page 245-246 (Noll, {Agne}). He talks about his son, Mark and that no teacher can be trained or prepared for the challenges from one day to another. Mark's father seems to prefer Special Education and not the idea of Inclusion. "The drive to ditch this flawed program in favor of a radical alternative will almost certainly result in just such a disaster."
    As a father, I would not want my handicapped son or daughter in a mainstream classroom. It would be unfair for all in the classroom, the other students, the teacher, and especially my child.

    On page 243, Agne claims that the faulty approach of the issue with inclusion that remains on the educational scene is because it is CHEAP! She continues to outline that politician love it because of how they can move around funding with no increase funding for the gifted students. This is rather disturbing! Everyone is a gifted student in the educational system today! (pg 243) She also points out that students with disabilities that are in regular classrooms fail more often than do those taught in special settings. Noll, {Agne} pg. 242.

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  33. I have no experience in the classroom, but I have a cousin that is developmentally handicapped and he was a handful when he was growing up. There was no inclusion classes or schools for him and looking back there would be no way for him to become part of the fabric in a mainstream classroom.

    Villa realizes that teachers can not implement inclusion within their classroom by themselves. The parents, my cousin of the handicapped child could not handle him together on a good day. I can not even imagine one teacher in charge within a classroom, responsible for the well-being of a child with special needs along with the issues of a regular classroom full of students. Co-teacher should be a requirement.

    Villa continues with his outline that is step by step in regards to "responding to diversity" on pg. 238 with the first bullet point, "First, a student can simply join in with the rest of the class." There is nothing "simple" about the issue of inclusion!

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  34. With the five year govenment study released in 1994 found that special needs students who spend all their time in a mainstream classroom fail more than others who spend only some and Abigail Thernstrom's concerns about discipline being a "diseaster" under IDEA in the classroom, I think there has to be a better way.

    Villa and Thousand provide suggestions for a successful program of inclusion using the tools of commitment, creative thinking, and effective classroom strategies, stressing that inclusion can be a benefit to all students. Their outline comes across as "Polyanna" based on very serious and difficult applications that need to be applied to the classroom. No simple task for anyone, especially the trained teachers. And Karen Agne claims that the special needs students rob other students of needed attention, robs teachers of their sanity, and does not serve the special needs students effectively. Noll, pg. 232{Issue Summary}
    I know that I am not a teacher (...but I play one on TV) but I am a parent and I know how cruel children can be and just the thought of having my son or daughter (if they had special needs)and not having the ability to defend themselves and attend a mainstream classroom or school would drive me to an early grave.
    The discussion in class, in the book, on-line speaks to the enrichment of the other students in the classroom. The other students become aware that everyone is not the same and a certain relationship of understanding can take place, and that is all good, but is inclusion enriching the lives of the special needs students at a high percentage. The stats are all over the place and I have learned over the years you can manipulate numbers/stats in anyway, shape, or form to justify your case.
    I have to side with Mark's father and his story with the passionate plea for specific special education programs for his son. That the idea of inclusion does not work for the majority based on reading both sides of the issue. There are more information that claim that special needs students do not thrive in a mainstream classroom. (Noll,{Agne} pg. 245 & 246)
    The topper is the political spin on funding inclusion programs and forfeiting the gifted programs because it is CHEAP and the perception to the voters is their representative is this all caring sensitive person. Very upsetting when politicans play games with our children's lives for their political gain! Noll,{Agne} pg. 242.

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  35. David said, "Now who thinks educators would not be good politicians?"

    http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/dcr0760l.jpg

    "The topper is the political spin on funding inclusion programs and forfeiting the gifted programs because it is CHEAP and the perception to the voters is their representative is this all caring sensitive person. Very upsetting when politicans play games with our children's lives for their political gain!" I agree, Tom.

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