Special Education Interview Paper

Inclusion is a program that has been in effect for many years, yet has not become standard procedure in all public schools. The program ?inclusion as the name implies, means all students with disabilities, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability and need for special services, receive their total education within the regular education classroom? (Haller 167). Inclusion is an involved program that has taken time to establish in the most beneficial manner, however the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has helped in the formation of the program (Haller 54). ?The Education of all Handicapped children Act mandated that all school-age children with disabilities receive a free appropriate education in the least restrictive environment? (Haller 54). This means that the education program would cease to pull children out of the classroom for resource instruction. The idea of the

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.

For this assignment, I interviewed a parent of a child who does not have an IEP or receive special education services. Through this interview I was able to learn how parents of children with no special needs are aware of the inclusion classrooms.

I also believe that a key element of inclusion is maintaining a close relationship between me and the special education teachers and paraprofessionals that I will be working with. If it is at all possible to work together in one classroom, I believe that this will benefit all my students.

The inclusion movement consists of placing students with disabilities into general education classrooms and settings (Lesson 1: Presentation (Transcript)). Through this movement students with disabilities are given opportunities to spend time with peers that are not disabled in hopes that the social

Students with special needs need deserve the same education general education students are presented with. The philosophy of “ Disability Inclusion” concentrates on creating a safe, loving, and effective learning environment for students who suffer from physical, learning, and behavioral disabilities. When a student with disabilities is placed in the same environment as a non-disabled student, the results show wonderful improvement. When we are able to discover the strength of the student we are able to see just how much the student can improve in an inclusion classroom. Disability Inclusion not only sets a new beginning for an equal education of special education students, but it allows for more interaction with the child, and a more hands-on assessment.

Inclusion, in the world of education, is an approach or teaching strategy that focuses on including students with disabilities in the general education setting. The goal of inclusion is to educate students who may struggle with a variety of disabilities. The views on inclusion differ. Some educators are very receptive to the ideals of inclusion and all that it in tells. “The teachers (a) had favorable views of the concept of inclusion; (b) differed in their efficacy in achieving successful inclusion, and (c) faced challenges in their inclusive practices” (Hodge, Ammah, Casebolt, LaMaster, Hersman, Samalot-Rivera, & Sato 2009, 402). Some educators believe that it takes away from student learning for the non-disabled student. Jana Kratochvílová states: teacher have to address the fundamental question: how to most effectively organize the learning process for a diverse community of pupils within the class and therefore he needs to think through the possibilities of internal differentiation in the organizational aspect” (Kratochvílová 2015, 640). It is true, not all students with disabilities can be included in a general education classroom successfully. The student’s placement may require reevaluation in order to help provide the student with the best opportunity to succeed. Reevaluating the staff and their level of understanding and education concerning inclusion may increase the changes for a student to be successful. The staff should not

Are all children created equal? Are they all the same? Do they all need the same things? Can they all excel at the same pace? These and many more questions come up when we discuss the topic of inclusion. Inclusion is the term many educational professionals use to explain the integration of students with special needs into regular education classes. The terms mainstreaming, deinstitutionized, normalization, as well as the least restrictive environment all have been used to in the past to refer to inclusion. Is inclusion what is best for all students with disabilities? What steps need to be taken in order to achieve this goal?

The teacher needs to prepare students to be accepting of the special needs students by being honest about the nature of the child's disability and/or behavior difficulty. Although inclusion seems like a great idea that should be of some form of benefit for all involved, if not handled properly it can become a very stressful situation

Inclusion in classrooms can further benefit the communication skills and sense of community among students with and without disabilities. “Children that learn together, learn to live together” (Bronson, 1999). For students with special needs, inclusive classrooms provide them with a sense of self-belonging. The classrooms provide diverse environments with which the students will evolve feelings of being a member of a diverse community (Bronson, 1999). For students without disabilities, they learn to develop appreciation of the diversity. The classrooms provide many opportunities for the students to experience diversity and realize that everyone has different abilities that are unique and acceptable. From this realization, the students will learn to be respectful for others with different characteristics (Bronson, 1999). Inclusion in classrooms is beneficial to all students’ individual and community growth.

Many children have had learning disabilities for many years. Each year more and more of these children are being helped. Schools are working to improve their special education programs and to have all kinds of students work together in the same classroom. The practice of inclusion was started because educators felt that special needs students would achieve more in traditional classrooms with non-learning disabled students than they would in special education classes. However, research findings suggest that there really is no difference in academic achievement levels for special needs students when they are placed in regular classrooms.

For years children with special needs were ushered off to separate classes and schools. Children with special needs have the right to attend classes with their same aged peers in the same classroom with support. Students with special needs deserve the same opportunities they would have if circumstances were different. Inclusion gives those students with special needs the chance to be part of the community; able to form relationships outside of the family unit. All students benefit from inclusion; students with disabilities develop social skills and develop friendships while non-disabled students learn tolerance and acceptance.

In order to get a true understanding of teaching in an inclusion classroom, I was able to observe a fourth grade classroom at Village School in West Windsor, New Jersey. The general education teacher was Ms. Welsh and the special education teacher was Ms. Wilush. Ms. Welsh has been teaching for many years, while Ms. Wilush has only been teaching for two years. Each teacher brings with them different strategies, that together make a wonderful classroom dynamic. The students make up an average size fourth grade classroom of a little more than twenty, but there are three students who receive additional instruction from Ms. Wilush in a resource room throughout the day. During my observation, I was able to sit in on writing lessons and science lessons. There was a wide variety of students in the class with all different strengths, weaknesses, and personalities. Watching and learning from both teachers through observation and interview was an extremely valuable experience.

According to Idol (2006) (p.77), “inclusion is when a student with special learning and/or behavioral needs is educated full time in the general education program. The student with special education needs is attending the general school program, enrolled in age-appropriate classes 100% of the school day” (Idol, 1997, p.4). By enforcing inclusion, special education students are brought out of isolation and placed back into the general education classroom among their peers. This prepares the students for the real world by teaching them to coexist with both their classmates and teachers. They are able to develop better social and cognitive skills needed for a productive lifestyle.

Every child has the ability to learn, but the way a child learns and processes knowledge can be very different, especially for a child with special needs. (Mainstreaming Special Education in the Classroom) As a society we owe all children the chance to reach their full potential, thus we must set up an environment where this accessible. Integrated education unarguably allows the must vulnerable and excluded children this chance. According to Inclusiveschools.org, “Inclusion” does not simply mean placing students with physical or mental disability in general mainstream classrooms, but rather offers fundamental change to school community and how children learn altogether. Effective models of inclusive education according to various sources, is the right model of education for special needs students because it allows greater access to mainstream curriculum, preparation for integration in an inclusive society, and promotes a tolerant and inclusive society. (Full inclusion: Has its time arrived?, The Benefits of inclusive Education.)