The cerebrum -- which is just Latin for "brain" -- is the newest (evolutionarily) and largest part of the brain as a whole. It is here that things like perception, imagination, thought, judgment, and decision occur. I hope you are thoughtful as you leave your comments on this blog.
OK. Where to start? How about that the article put me exactly where it intended to - in the middle. Although my heart and head truly want to lean toward be a supporter of inclusive classrooms, this article has opened my eyes to some new facts that support the contrary. Being an advocate of SUPER optimism, I have always felt that including these children in a class with general education students would and could only benefit them. But what about those who are not positively effected? What about those students with disabilities who feel isolated or frustrated? I never thought of it that way..honestly. I started reading the article while nodding my head, agreeing with the fact that the benefits of inclusion far outweigh the difficulties and that it allows for teachers to improve their ability to adapt to new and different teaching and learning styles, but I was halted by the frustrated disabled student. Sure they are probably frustrated on a daily basis due to obvious reasons but to further frustrate them by putting them in a scenario where they feel they are further behind? less intelligent? more alone? I'm not gonna lie, it swayed me for a minute. The truth of the matter is though, I still believe in the inclusive classroom. I think that there are opportunities (that I have stated before) for students, both disabled and general ed, to gain understanding. It also allows for social support and academic gain. Call me naive - but it's what I believe.
PS - so confused on the difference between inclusion and mainstreaming...HELP?
The research into inclusion is what I thought would result especially after reading the introduction to the article that discussed the difficulties of conducting useful research about the effectiveness of inclusive environments. When one first considers inclusive classrooms a common first concern will likely be the effect on the general education populace; will classes be more directed towards special education students? I feel that having a co-taught classroom silences this concern. Every special needs student will have a special educator to turn to and every general education student will have a content area specialist to turn to for help. Both teachers can lean on each other for help when brought out of the specialty area. This opinion was echoed in the article.
Another interesting find was how some research found special education students to have a boost in self-esteem from inclusion, while other reports claimed the opposite. This goes back to the blog conversation our class had a few weeks ago about whether we would want our children to be in inclusion classrooms. If as a parent you felt that your child could handle the challenges of general education, then why would you not want him/her to be in general education? This feeling out process for special needs students is probably a likely opinion of many of their parents, which would explain why inclusion works for the self-esteem and emotions of some, while it has poor emotional outcomes for others.
The barriers to inclusion were interesting to me. After observing an inclusion classroom, the planning for it seemed fairly standard, but I never considered that a special education teacher may be working with as many as six teachers a day which I could see being a problem. After reading that attitudes of teachers pose as an obstacle for inclusion, I looked to see the date of the article. It was written in 2001, have attitudes changed in any discernable way since then?
After reading the article I was not surprised to see that there was data to support both sides of the inclusion issue. Aren't there always two sides to a story? As I had stated in a previous blog, I had my own concerns about my daughter being in an inclusion class. As one of the reports states teachers thought too much time was spent on special education students and time was taken away from the general education students, which is one of my original concerns. But following that statement a study was done to disprove this concern. No significant time was lost to the the general students. As Alicia stated, I too had never thought of the issue of special education students feeling isolated and frustrated. I really never thought about the fact that it could cause a negative impact on the special education student being placed in a general classroom. I only thought it could cause a negative impact on the general student in the inclusion classroom. But thinking about it further it does make sense that a special needs student could feel frustration and isolation. He could feel as if he he is unable to keep up with the work and as if he is behind the other students. He could also feel uneasy about the fact that he has an extra teacher in the room for him. The extra teacher brings more attention to him and his disability. But on the other hand if the co-teaching is effective and done well the other students wont know who the special needs student is, as was the case with my daughter in one of her classes. As I stated before, there is always two sides to a story. You can find data to support either side. After reading this article I still agree with the inclusion setting. I think this setting has more benefits than not for both types of students.
This article didn't do much for me that I am now educated about inclusion. This article is a good introduction to both sides of the inclusion argument. However, I am really hung up by the date of the article and the date of the research. This was all done before NCLB and a big increase in standardized testing and accountability, and the recent rage over charter schools. I would like to see research from the previous 5 yrs or so to see if there is any difference in the findings. I think the inclusion model can be very successful for all parties if done correctly and with the right support. From speaking with teachers, there seem to be a lot of people teaching who are unfortunately set in their ways. They want a cooperating teacher to not do anything, sit in the back, and not make noise, instead of working together to provide the best possible education for their students. From what I have seen in the classroom, there is discontinuity between what we are being taught to do in school, and what many practicing teachers actually do.
The article said that many teachers feel they are not prepared or have the skills to run an inclusion classroom. I thought that teachers needed to get continuing education credits, so are these types of classes not being offered or are the teachers too ignorant to learn and implement new ideas?
I am extremely sorry this is so late, but it's better late then never....I 100% truly think that inclusion classrooms do benefit both, general ed and special ed students. But now after reading this article I'm not so sure. I've been in one class this week and it seemed like a typical high school class with two teachers. More than three-quarters of the class had IEP's and no one student seemed to be getting held back, slowed down, or didn't understand. the pace seemed right and functional. But I was only there for one day so far, so I can't really base all my thinking from that.
I think maybe if a student is in an inclusion class and is excelling way beyond any of the other students in your class, and at a fast rate, try moving him/her into a regular general education class. Or simply challenge that student more. If a student is having trouble in an inclusion class, then it's possible it may no be the correct setting for that student. Or maybe the teacher could try a few different teaching styles or work one on one with the student. I'm sticking to my original thought and leaving open options that could help better the students environment and ways of learning.
After reading this article, I believe I am swaying towards the pro-inclusion stance. However, what struck me most were three "barriers" to inclusion. The manpower and planning time (or lack thereof) that goes into effective and inclusive co-teaching environments seems to be a recurring problem. At a time in our country when jobs are tight and school budgets are even tighter, this sadly looks like an issue that will not be fixed quickly.
The barrier about how some teachers are not "accepting new ideas about teaching, learning, and learning styles" is a sad reality that is all too often seen. Within schools I have attended and observed, there are always the stubborn teachers who swear by the way they have always taught, not accounting for the fact that the makeup of their classroom has changed. The unwillingness or mere ignorance of special education practices is one of the biggest problems that need to be addressed in order to make inclusion more effective.
There are clearly problems that need to be dealt with when considering inclusion. I am hopeful of the positive results that have been garnered from them and of overcoming the barriers.
6 comments:
OK. Where to start? How about that the article put me exactly where it intended to - in the middle. Although my heart and head truly want to lean toward be a supporter of inclusive classrooms, this article has opened my eyes to some new facts that support the contrary. Being an advocate of SUPER optimism, I have always felt that including these children in a class with general education students would and could only benefit them. But what about those who are not positively effected? What about those students with disabilities who feel isolated or frustrated? I never thought of it that way..honestly. I started reading the article while nodding my head, agreeing with the fact that the benefits of inclusion far outweigh the difficulties and that it allows for teachers to improve their ability to adapt to new and different teaching and learning styles, but I was halted by the frustrated disabled student. Sure they are probably frustrated on a daily basis due to obvious reasons but to further frustrate them by putting them in a scenario where they feel they are further behind? less intelligent? more alone? I'm not gonna lie, it swayed me for a minute. The truth of the matter is though, I still believe in the inclusive classroom. I think that there are opportunities (that I have stated before) for students, both disabled and general ed, to gain understanding. It also allows for social support and academic gain. Call me naive - but it's what I believe.
PS - so confused on the difference between inclusion and mainstreaming...HELP?
The research into inclusion is what I thought would result especially after reading the introduction to the article that discussed the difficulties of conducting useful research about the effectiveness of inclusive environments. When one first considers inclusive classrooms a common first concern will likely be the effect on the general education populace; will classes be more directed towards special education students? I feel that having a co-taught classroom silences this concern. Every special needs student will have a special educator to turn to and every general education student will have a content area specialist to turn to for help. Both teachers can lean on each other for help when brought out of the specialty area. This opinion was echoed in the article.
Another interesting find was how some research found special education students to have a boost in self-esteem from inclusion, while other reports claimed the opposite. This goes back to the blog conversation our class had a few weeks ago about whether we would want our children to be in inclusion classrooms. If as a parent you felt that your child could handle the challenges of general education, then why would you not want him/her to be in general education? This feeling out process for special needs students is probably a likely opinion of many of their parents, which would explain why inclusion works for the self-esteem and emotions of some, while it has poor emotional outcomes for others.
The barriers to inclusion were interesting to me. After observing an inclusion classroom, the planning for it seemed fairly standard, but I never considered that a special education teacher may be working with as many as six teachers a day which I could see being a problem. After reading that attitudes of teachers pose as an obstacle for inclusion, I looked to see the date of the article. It was written in 2001, have attitudes changed in any discernable way since then?
After reading the article I was not surprised to see that there was data to support both sides of the inclusion issue. Aren't there always two sides to a story?
As I had stated in a previous blog, I had my own concerns about my daughter being in an inclusion class. As one of the reports states teachers thought too much time was spent on special education students and time was taken away from the general education students, which is one of my original concerns. But following that statement a study was done to disprove this concern.
No significant time was lost to the the general students.
As Alicia stated, I too had never thought of the issue of special education students feeling isolated and frustrated. I really never thought about the fact that it could cause a negative impact on the special education student being placed in a general classroom. I only thought it could cause a negative impact on the general student in the inclusion classroom. But thinking about it further it does make sense that a special needs student could feel frustration and isolation. He could feel as if he he is unable to keep up with the work and as if he is behind the other students. He could also feel uneasy about the fact that he has an extra teacher in the room for him. The extra teacher brings more attention to him and his disability. But on the other hand if the co-teaching is effective and done well the other students wont know who the special needs student is, as was the case with my daughter in one of her classes.
As I stated before, there is always two sides to a story. You can find data to support either side. After reading this article I still agree with the inclusion setting. I think this setting has more benefits than not for both types of students.
This article didn't do much for me that I am now educated about inclusion. This article is a good introduction to both sides of the inclusion argument. However, I am really hung up by the date of the article and the date of the research. This was all done before NCLB and a big increase in standardized testing and accountability, and the recent rage over charter schools. I would like to see research from the previous 5 yrs or so to see if there is any difference in the findings.
I think the inclusion model can be very successful for all parties if done correctly and with the right support. From speaking with teachers, there seem to be a lot of people teaching who are unfortunately set in their ways. They want a cooperating teacher to not do anything, sit in the back, and not make noise, instead of working together to provide the best possible education for their students.
From what I have seen in the classroom, there is discontinuity between what we are being taught to do in school, and what many practicing teachers actually do.
The article said that many teachers feel they are not prepared or have the skills to run an inclusion classroom. I thought that teachers needed to get continuing education credits, so are these types of classes not being offered or are the teachers too ignorant to learn and implement new ideas?
I am extremely sorry this is so late, but it's better late then never....I 100% truly think that inclusion classrooms do benefit both, general ed and special ed students. But now after reading this article I'm not so sure. I've been in one class this week and it seemed like a typical high school class with two teachers. More than three-quarters of the class had IEP's and no one student seemed to be getting held back, slowed down, or didn't understand. the pace seemed right and functional. But I was only there for one day so far, so I can't really base all my thinking from that.
I think maybe if a student is in an inclusion class and is excelling way beyond any of the other students in your class, and at a fast rate, try moving him/her into a regular general education class. Or simply challenge that student more.
If a student is having trouble in an inclusion class, then it's possible it may no be the correct setting for that student. Or maybe the teacher could try a few different teaching styles or work one on one with the student.
I'm sticking to my original thought and leaving open options that could help better the students environment and ways of learning.
After reading this article, I believe I am swaying towards the pro-inclusion stance. However, what struck me most were three "barriers" to inclusion. The manpower and planning time (or lack thereof) that goes into effective and inclusive co-teaching environments seems to be a recurring problem. At a time in our country when jobs are tight and school budgets are even tighter, this sadly looks like an issue that will not be fixed quickly.
The barrier about how some teachers are not "accepting new ideas about teaching, learning, and learning styles" is a sad reality that is all too often seen. Within schools I have attended and observed, there are always the stubborn teachers who swear by the way they have always taught, not accounting for the fact that the makeup of their classroom has changed. The unwillingness or mere ignorance of special education practices is one of the biggest problems that need to be addressed in order to make inclusion more effective.
There are clearly problems that need to be dealt with when considering inclusion. I am hopeful of the positive results that have been garnered from them and of overcoming the barriers.
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