Five Ways To Promote Inclusion In The Classroom

As a teacher when delivering any lessons planned we have to make sure that each students individual needs are met, so they will feel included in the lesson. “Inclusion is about creating interesting, varied and inspiring learning opportunities for all learners, ensuring all learners contribute and are never disadvantaged by methods, language or resources” Wilson (2008).

Inclusion is one of the very controversial topics concerning the education of students in today's society. It is the effort to put children with disabilities into the general education classes. The main purpose is to ensure that every child receives the best education possible by placing them in the best learning environment possible. Inclusion is a very beneficial idea, supported by law that promotes a well-rounded education while also teaching acceptance of others.

Inclusion is the act of placing students with disabilities into the general education classroom. Students are given the tools, time, and resources necessary to actively participate in all aspects of the general education classroom. Inclusion is not just adding a student with disabilities into the classroom, but genuinely including them as valued members of the classroom. Inclusion is not an easy system to put into practice because it requires a great deal of teamwork and cooperation between teachers, administrators, and parents. Positive Inclusion programs closely supervise the social and academic progress to ensure the students are thriving. When inclusion is done correctly, the teacher finds a way to meet the student’s needs in a way that is natural and unobtrusive. The resources and supports in an inclusion classroom benefit all students, not just the students with disabilities.

An inclusive environment is a condition where everyone has an opportunity to fully participate. In education, this means everyone has the same opportunity, there should be no borders such as ethnicity, gender or disability. All students should feel valued, be able to mix and participate with all members of the group be in a safe and positive environment.

In 1993 a woman by the name of Dee Begg filed a lawsuit against the school district office of Baltimore County, Maryland. She wanted her son Sean, a developmentally challenged eight-year-old boy suffering from Trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome, to be able to attend a public school with normal children. Down Syndrome is a genetic condition in which a person is born with forty-seven chromosomes instead of the usual forty-six causing both physical and mental handicaps. Children suffering from Down syndrome will often have a smaller than usual and abnormally shaped head. An abnormally large forehead, with their eyes slanting upward, small ears and mouth are just a few of the telltale signs. Children suffering from this disorder

The notion of inclusion is progressively being accepted as a vital method of learning in our growing school systems. I believe that every student, those with and without exceptionalities, have the right to be included in a general education classroom. Students with learning, social and behavioral exceptionalities or varied abilities deserve the right to be provided with the same opportunities as any other students in the regular general education classroom. The information that I have acquired through my own experiences (in my observations and my classes) have molded my goals as a future teacher. I believe that teaching and education are fundamental in getting students to grow, learn, and flourish;

As an inclusion teacher, I am often tasked with growing students who have not achieved much success in the traditional classroom structure. Often times my students do not respond well to typical behavior management strategies. These students tend to be highly emotional and reactive in their responses to stimuli as opposed to working through those situations in a rational process.

The follow assessment will have a brief description of the importance of inclusion and inclusive practices in work with children and young people. And it also contains an exploration of how our own attitudes, values and behaviour may lead to that inclusive practice, how to challenge discrimination and how to promote some important anti-discriminatory and inclusive practices.

Creating an inclusive learning environment is an extremely important aspect of modern education, which, according to Gravells (2008: p18), ensures that “[…] all learners are entitled to be treated with respect and dignity. Everyone is an individual, with different experiences, abilities and needs.” She also offers a brief explanation of inclusivity (2008: p18), which is “[…] involving all learners in relevant activities rather than excluding them for any reason directly or indirectly.” Inclusion has also been defined by John Tomlinson (1996: p26) as “the greatest degree of match or fit between individual learning requirements and provision”. In the other words, inclusive learning environment nurtures individual potential of all learners,

Aside from providing children with academic benefits, it provides them with a better understanding and respect for diversity. Being in a setting with many different types of students with different needs and abilities provides students with a way to learn about differences and how they can help others. In the Success For All study, results showed that the children involved in the study had “a reduced fear of human differences accompanied by increased comfort and awareness.” (Stout, 2001) If children are separated in the school because of their developmental differences then they will never truly learn that it is okay to be a unique individual. The idea that it is acceptable to be different should become a common knowledge to our students. With that knowledge, our students can make the future a better place for everyone. It has been said that the goal of inclusion is to “create a world in which all people are knowledgeable about and supportive of all other people.” (Whitworth, 1999)

Reflection is an important part of the planning process. “Ongoing learning and reflective practice is one of the five principles of the early years learning Framework” (DEEWR, 2010. p. 7). It gives the educators an opportunity to look at the planning process, the successful areas of planning, the areas of improvement and progress and to get motivated to work better for the learning of children. The following reflection will highlight the merits of implementing the inclusion improvement plan, some of the issues that impact on educators’ capacity to provide an inclusive care environment and how can the educators manage the competing demands of inclusion of children with additional needs, with the demands of providing an inclusive environment for all children.

It was very interesting to interview my teacher. I have learned more than what I wanted to learn. I learned what full inclusion was. Full inclusion is when all students, regardless of handicapping condition or severity, be with the rest of the class learning in the same place and time. Miss. Al-Hiaki feels that it’s her responsibility to have her student level-out of her grade all almost at the same level of education if not better. “It’s my job to make sure that every student is leaning what he or she is supposed to learn at this age and in this grade,” said Miss. Al-Haiki. Me and Miss. Al-Haiki had three newcomers in the class room who didn’t know their letters nor their numbers. Therefore, there had to be special assistance in the classroom

Reflecting on Ms. McPherson speech about her son; I was deeply moved from her speech. One big take away that stirred my emotions was inclusion for her son and that it took a decade before another student to call Robert by his first name. Another aspect was Roberts’s third grade class and those students that included him in their activities like playing soccer or inviting him to a birthday party. This is the type of classroom I want to incorporate and be the premises of my class and that is inclusion and being diverse by allowing the students to learn from one another’s culture instead of them getting the extreme version of these cultures from the media since we might have different religions, skin color, different sexes and different disabilities in the classroom.

In a perfect world, everyone would be accepted just because we are all human beings, but, that is not the case. Children with special needs have been subjected to everything from separate classes and schools to institutions and facilities for years. With the passing of laws children with special needs were taken into consideration and the need for inclusion was brought forth. Inclusion is when all students learn, participate, and contribute to all aspects of the learning process.

A lot of people do not agree with inclusion in classrooms. They say, “the disabled student might be disruptive” or “the other students might get upset when the teacher has to slow down for the disabled student.” All students have their right to an education, whether it be inclusive or not. If a student is disruptive, the teacher should be able to handle it. Although people think inclusion has many disadvantages, there are far more advantages and benefits for all students, teachers, families and even for communities. Since everyone can benefit from inclusion,  we as society should make schools and communities inclusive.