Not sure what you are looking for, but without adding my own personal opinion, inclusion to me means that all students are serviced in the regular classroom, with assistance as needed. All students are included in the regular classroom, but some students require almost full-time assistance to participate. Other students require little or no support.
Hmmmm.... this sounds like an assignment question! Might I be right?
Inclusion means that kids who are put into your class have high needs (disability, disfunction, diagnosed special needs) because society and educationalists say they need to be in the mainstream.... But what it really means at the coalface is that the classroom teacher is then far more STRESSED out because the child needs extra everything- time, attention and resources. So what is warm and fuzzy in a political means in reality, it is actually a huge headache.
At this point in time, it means aggravation for me!
For the special needs kids I have in my class, it means that they are stuck in my room where they get the best I can give them. Problem is, no matter how hard I try, I CANNOT give them the one on one attention they need. There are just too many things going on and there's no way I can spend the whole day with the two who desperately need it. It also means that they get an assistance who stays in my room for an hour and a half every day. At least they get some specialized help then. An hour and a half is just not enough though.
Not to mention that many special needs students are distracted by things going on in the classroom, and even when they get one on one in the classroom, it is not the same as taking them to another room with small groups of students.
I had an autistic boy in my class a few years ago. It was like having a 2 year old in my class while I tried to teach. I was constantly trying to keep him out of things. It was a frustrating situation.
My daughter had a little girl in her class that drooled on her desk all day. It was very frustrating when my daugher is responsible for passing the state mandated test and she has a kid drooling on the desk next to her that didn't have to take the state mandated test. I understand "least restrictive environment" but don't think that this situation was good for my daughter.
Inclusion for me means that within my 2nd grade classroom, I have children who are barely identifying letters of the alphabet, along with children who can decode and comprehend text at a 5th grade or higher level, and everything in between. It means that four days a week, I have two 5th grade boys who come to my room for ELA instruction because that's their level as determined by lord knows who. It means that I have 27 children to manage with this range of abilities, and it means that I spend hours a week trying to differentiate one concept to meet the needs of all these different children.
Then for Math, ditto what I just said, sans the two 5th graders because aparently their number sense is slightly better than ELA skills.
It leaves a bad taste in my mouth, especially the 5th graders. I have children who should have been retained but teachers were "too nice." Grrrrrr...not the day for me to answer this question as I prepare to spend a majority of it planning.
I have two very high needs inclusion classes this year. I teach 6th grade Science and Social Studies. I have three blocks of Science. One has no inclusion, we get to do lots of fun things. The other two....I think are unfair to the students that are not specail needs that are in there. To be fair, some of my inclusion kids are pretty high performing, but some are so low that it brings down the rest of my class. It has to. I haven't found a way around it. I have an inclusion teacher that comes in and helps, but...in one block I have 8 inclusion kids and the other has 12. Some of these need one on one attention. That's not possible when there is twelve and what about the other 15-16 kids in the class. They are really missing out. I had a meeting about one of the kids with the sped dept. because he is just too low to be in inclusion and was basically told that the state wants the number of sped kids reduced and they would not be putting anyone back into resource classes. I guess it doesn't matter what's best for the kid or what's best for the rest of the class. Forget what's best for my sanity. It must be what's best for the state. I'm sure it has to do with funding.
I just feel like in my school that the sped teachers just don't want to do their job. They are to come into the classroom and work with those children during the day, but we NEVER see them.
I think that it's unfortunate that with No Child Left Behind that these students are being left behind. We are trying to get these children to do something that they are not capable to do at this time. Maybe eventually. In my state, the sped students are going to be taking the state mandated test on the grade level that they are in not the grade level in which they are working. For example, one of our students is on a second grade level but will be taking the 5th grade test. How frustrating can you get for him and his teacher. NO ONE comes during reading time to help him. Then, in the state's infinite wisdom, the test doesn't count against the child, but it does count against the school and the reg. ed teacher.
I hate that this is happening. My son is in sp ed and is required to take a test, and he's not ready. Fortunately, he's only mainstreamed in Math. However, at his school, he is getting help from his sp ed teacher and goes to tutorials after school. He is also getting help from me at home. I try to make sure that he has down time so that he doesn't hate school because he still loves school. What about those students who are not getting behind.
All I see is not No Child Left Behind. I see No Teacher Left Standing and No Child Left Untested.
I have 5 fully inclusion kids. They are completely serviced in the regular education classroom with support from the SPED teacher. The SPED teacher is in my room every morning during math time and every afternoon during language arts. I think inclusion is great for most kids. They are getting taught on grade level and we can work to fill in some of the gaps that they have. Most of my 5 never should have been in special ed to start with.
I can see both sides to this issue. I've had kids in wheelchairs, autistic, speech, low end functioning students, and learning disabilities. The way the sp. ed laws are written, nothing will ever change. Yes, it is challenging, demanding, and time consuming, but I've had great support from TA's and the sp. ed teachers. It does work at our school. The main problem is planning time.
I teach Life Skills (or that is what they want to call it) and since this hole RTI and inclusion stuff has been pushed I have turned into a resource room. I am maxed out with 10 elem/middle school students in the mornings and 10 middle/high school students in the afternoons.
I understand the regular education teachers are overwhelmed but special education teachers are too. I am stopped every few days by a reg. education teacher telling me that Johnny is to low for her class and needs to be with me. I am going to another meeting on Tuesday because another teacher wants to place a student with me that is working on a 2nd grade level and is in the 4th grade. This student does not need an alternate curriculum, he needs a resource room that don't exist any more.
I have went from teaching functionial life skills all day to teaching academics to my younger ones and life skills to the afternoon kiddos. I think it is wrong to place them in life skills because they are behind their non-disabled peers. I have resorted to teaching them on their level because there is still a chance that they will be able to gain knowledge in reading and math.
Inclusion and NCLB both look good on bumper stickers and stink in reality.
We nol onger have a "special education" room for our students with disabilities. Among our 7, second grade rooms are divided 17 special ed students. Kids all with IEPs and needs. We have one special-ed teacher and an aide trying to go between the classrooms to service these students. I have two students in my room. She comes in for all of 20 minutes a day and sits with them to help with whatever skill we are working on. The rest of the day they get only what I can provide, which like others have said is tremedously hard to do. I am NOT qualified to meet their needs. I am not certified to teach special ed students and I remember only one college course 16 years ago about children with diferent learning styles, and I think that was tied into a child pysch. class. It is very frustrating to have these children ion the room and know that they might be able to learn more, even up to grade level performance if they had the proper instruction, methods, and materials provided.
Among our 7, second grade rooms are divided 17 special ed students. Kids all with IEPs and needs. We have one special-ed teacher and an aide trying to go between the classrooms to service these students. I have two students in my room. She comes in for all of 20 minutes a day and sits with them to help with whatever skill we are working on.
Why split them up so much? Instead of spreading them to all 7 classes, why not put 5 or 6 in 3 different classes. You could have the SPED teacher for longer in each class if she didn't have to go to each of the 7 rooms?
At my school, I have all the special education kids in the 4th grade at my school in my homeroom (5 kids). The SPED teacher is able to spend one hour with me in math and one hour in language arts.
Congrats to your school for effectively using inclusion! I think the reason you may think your kids didn't need SPED to begin with is because they are making progress and doing so well. That's wonderful news, for it means your school is doing a good job. I tell parents all the time that SPED does not have to be a terminal placement for a child with an LD. Good, effective remediation and proper placement can do wonders to help children with LD's.
If inclusion is to "work", the districts are going to have to hire more Special Education teachers who can come to the classroom and assist these kiddos that need the special help.
I'm all for helping students get mainstreamed into the classroom IF THEY"RE READY FOR IT! But, if their reading 1 or 2 grade levels BELOW, the resource room is the best place for them!
The inclusion kids I have are just frustrated because they can't keep up with the regular curriculum. It's NOT what's best for kids. THere needs to be a resource room for the kids that need it AND a teacher who can come with the kids to the regular room.
I don't think the politicians thought this all the way through!
As the mom of an autistic daughter, inclusion meant that many years, my daughter was put in a classroom where she was not wanted and where her needs were not met. Her kindergarten teacher actually made her put her head under a bookshelf at naptime so she wouldn't "bother" any other kids. (I didn't know about this until years later.) The kids made fun of her, the teachers didn't want her, and she didn't learn anything in the regular classroom.
As a first grade teacher, I am the one who usually gets the inclusion kids in my class. Why? Because I care about them. I teach the other kids to believe that they are the disabled child's teachers. They are in the room to learn from the kids more than they are in the room to learn from me. My students learn to appreciate their disabilities and to be thankful that they are able to do what they can do.
IMHO, NCLB is a slap in the face to inclusion kids. Of course they are left behind. There is no way to put them in a regular classroom and expect them to keep up.
Okay, I'm off my soapbox now.
Ok at my school there are 3 special ed teachers and 1 special ed parapro. They all do inclusion and resource throughout the day. Some of the kids have inclusion and resource hours daily. The inclusion teacher comes in my social studies class where 3 students receive inclusion. The problem exists in that she does not have a single minutes planning time (because like a previous poster stated they spread out the sped kids amongst 7 classes and they can only stay with you about 45 minutes per day). She even eats "lunch" while a student who is self contained resourced with her has his computer time per IEP. So she has no minutes to spare. She does inclusion with about 6 different teachers and there is not time to sit down and collaborate with the regular ed teacher and come up with lesson plans together that benefit both the reg ed population and the sped population. Collaboration (which is what it is TRYING to be called...) is not really collaboration but extra work on the regular ed teacher. Once shes gone after her 45 minutes of "collaboration/inclusion" the kid is in your room the other 6 hours a day without help. How is this fair to anyone? I have my doubts although I do love seeing an adult's face throughout the day. It seems to break it up a little. Sorry if that was too much info but I couldnt stop myself.
At our school, the biggest problem has been inclusion classes where there are approx 20 sped kids with 3 or 4 reg ed. This is NOT inclusion, and the sped teacher gets 1 day/week or more off to consult with the students they are case manager for and/or meetings. etc. The reg ed teacher is left with far more sped students than the law would allow a sped teacher to have, and it's no good for anyone!!
If I may quote you -- "NCLB is a slap in the face to inclusion kids. Of course they are left behind. There is no way to put them in a regular classroom and expect them to keep up." My reply: "AMEN!!! "AMEN!!!!" My thoughts exactly. If they could do grade level work, there would not be any need for IEP's or special services. How can a child below grade level already in reading and math be expected to do grade level work????? When will the people in Washington learn this?????? Let them come spend a day or two with us in the classroom. Let me get off my soapbox now too.
The inclusion students in your class have a right to an education just like the other students. No, they may not be able to do the exact work that the others do but that is why accommodations and modifications are specified in their IEP. You can change their assignments so that they can be successful. That doesn't mean creating a different curriculum for them, it means shortening their assignments, books on tape, tests read to them, etc. A great deal of your SE students will not be able to perform on grade level but they have a right to be included and not be singled out into a resource room. When they get in the "real world", do you think their work site is going to have a seperate place for them to work? As a SE teacher, I can always tell how successful my kids are going to be in each class by the attitude of the general ed teacher about having them in their class. It is the law to keep all students in the general ed classroom so it is frusraing to keep having eachers ask that they not be in heir class. There is nothing we can do, we are just abiding by the law and doing our job.
In our regular ed classroom we have an autistic child with diabetes who has to have his glucose levels checked up to 6 times a day and managed accordingly. This takes a great deal of time, and if he is too high or too low, he must go to the nurse for evaluation or injection. We also have a severely handicapped child (severe cerebral palsy, microcepahly, he cannot swallow, cannot see, cannot speak, is in diapers, cannot walk or even hold his head up.) He must be spoon fed - which takes 30 minutes, and it takes 2 people to lift him up on the changing table. This takes a great deal of time and does a disservice to the other kids in the room trying to learn.
I guess you know how I feel about No Child Left Behind. I don't know what the answer is - but it's not THIS.
Thank you for letting me vent.
For me inclusion means being paid a teacher's salary to do a parapro's job. I have more experience than 2 of my coteachers and I have the same gen ed certification that they have on top of my sped but my ideas and opinions don't mean anything to them if another gen ed teacher tells them other wise. "My" students don't perform well in their classes because they are afraid to think outside the box. Not only are the sped students failing but also the low performing students that don't learn in a traditional manner. I think inclusion is not doing well at my school because of lack of training for the gen ed teachers. As for differentiating instruction, I had to define what DI was for a couple of them.
Our school certainly doesn't "do" inclusion exactly like it should be done for maximum benefit, but it's not horrible for all involved.
I have two "inclusion" classes. One has 7 students, and one has 5 students. Out of the 30 students in each class, when you take out the "inclusion" kids, there are still others who are borderline special needs all the way to gifted. Everybody has special needs. Planning for the upper level kids is hard, too, as is keeping the low kids . . . who get no assistance . . . the help they need.
My "inclusion" groups have a special education co-teacher who works in the room or pulls kids. We also have resource rooms for the kids who just can't function in a full-size regular classroom.
There are plenty of things that I know I could do better, but it's not a horrible experience.
I understand what "inclusion" is suppose to be and I realize many students may function very well in that setting; HOWEVER, not every child is going to benefit from inclusion. It isn't fair to the child with multiple disabilities (he/she can't help it that they need special care) and it's not fair to the other gen. ed. students for the teacher to be spending so much time with the sp. ed. child. The gen. ed. students are required to meet SOL standards, etc. that they depend on the teacher to instruct them. That special ed. child needs individual instruction that would best meet his/her needs. That child does not need grade level material and needs to be in a self-contained classroom to best meet his/her needs. I am in a self-contained special education classroom with 6 students and a student with multiple disabilities with an one-on-one aide. Not very often, but there have been times that his aide has been out. All his responsibilities fall on me and/or my parapro to take care of - diaper changing (I have to do), feeding, individualized instruction, etc. It is very difficult even in my setting. Even when we are working with him, my other students often have to wait until we can get back to them. I love these "special" children and I want what is best for them; however, putting everyone in a gen. ed. class so they will feel "included" is not the answer for everyone. I've said it before --- With No Child Left Behind - we are leaving more children behind than ever. Guess you can tell I'm not a big fan of NCLB either.
10-13-2007, 10:00 PM
Simple View
