The Pros And Cons Of Inclusion

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.

In elementary school, my classroom had students with and without disabilities, and we all shared the same space while working towards a common goal, but over time this diverse community diminished. This phenomenon of tracking and hierarchy of opportunity in education that I notice today is also responsible for creating an environment in which secondary special education is often a segregated locale, physically and socially removed from mainstream public schooling. I've witnessed Syracuse University push against this norm and challenge these boundaries time and time again, and I feel that before entering my own my classroom I want to address these issues of homogeneity and continue to build my tool box of inclusionary practices that extend past my current

Inclusion can be defined as the act of being present at regular education classes with the support and services needed to successfully achieve educational goals. Inclusion in the scholastic environment benefits both the disabled student and the non-disabled student in obtaining better life skills. By including all students as much as possible in general or regular education classes all students can learn to work cooperatively, learn to work with different kinds of people, and learn how to help people in tasks. “As Stainback, Stainback, East, and Sapon-Shevin (1994) have noted, ‘...the goal of inclusion in schools is to create a world in which all people are knowledgeable about and supportive of all other

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 education is when children with and without disabilities participate and learn together in the same class. One law that provides rights to students is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, which is a law guaranteeing special education services to all children with disabilities in the United States. Then there is the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which is a” United States Act of Congress that is a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which included Title I, the government 's flagship aid program for disadvantaged students, increased the concentration of educators and parents to help each other find ways to include and to also support students with an intellectual disability in the least restrictive environment” (“No Child Left Behind”, 2015).

Inclusion is an approach used in conjunction with a standard academic core to assist in the education of exceptional students. A key aspect of the inclusion model is to allow students with special needs to occupy most or all their time with non-special needs students. Inclusion settings allow children with and without disabilities to play and interact every day, even when they are receiving therapeutic services.

In my opinion the education departments are not doing enough to encourage schools and explain to the teachers the benefits of inclusion to both the children with disabilities and the rest of the students (Ashman & Elkins, 2009). Children are our future and it is important that through inclusion they learn to understand that differences make us who we are. I think it also further teachers the message to booth the children and the rest of the community that of social justice which says just because your different doesn’t mean you don’t deserve fair treatment (Ashman & Elkins, 2009).

Inclusion began when The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), was passed in 1974. IDEA marked a turning point for the placement of children with special needs. This legislation stated that all school systems are required to receive federal funding to provide a free and appropriate education for all students regardless of how handicapped they are. The term inclusion does not actually appear in the text of IDEA. Instead, the law requires that children with special needs be educated to the maximum extent appropriate in the least restrictive environment. The IDEA says that the least restrictive environment is the regular education classroom. (Special Education, 2001) The IDEA requires the Individual Education Program (IEP) team to consider placement in the regular classroom in the beginning to determine if it is an appropriate placement for the child. The law specified different environments where special services could take place. The main goal was to place special education students in regular education classrooms for gains in academics and behavior for the children. (Singleton, n.d)

Each child is unique and learns in different ways; however, most schools still have a tendency to cling to the one-size-fits-all education philosophy. It is often overviewed when catering to a classroom that each child has specific needs, and that a small group of children within the class may also need further attention. Disability isn’t always visible nor is it always what we think it is. A child may have an undiagnosed hearing or vision problem, he or she may have difficulty with attention or with sitting still, or may have difficulties comprehending instructions. Whatever the need, the issue of whether or not that child should be pulled from the classroom and work with a specialist in a resource room,

Inclusion, as it all too frequently is being implemented, leaves classroom teachers without the resources, training, and other supports necessary to teach students with disabilities in their classrooms. Consequently, the disabled children are not getting appropriate, specialized attention and care, and the regular students? education is disrupted constantly. SEDL (1995)

This controversy may stem from the fact that inclusion is expensive and experts disagree about how much time disabled students should spend in regular classrooms (Cambanis, 2001). Although this topic is controversial, it cannot be ignored. Inclusion will, at some point, affect 1% of all children born each year, who will have disabilities and the families and educators they will come in contact with (Stainback, 1985).

Inclusion in the classroom is a widely debated issue in education today. Inclusive education means that students with disabilities are supported in chronologically age appropriate general education classrooms in schools near their home. These students also receive the specialized instruction outlined by their individualized education programs (IEP 's) within the context of the core curriculum and general class activities. Inclusion was developed to make sure students with disabilities go to school along with their neighbors and friends. These students are also receiving specifically designed instruction and support to achieve and succeed as learners. Is inclusion in the classroom beneficial for both general and special education students is the issue. I believe that there are positive and negatives about inclusion but overall it is beneficial for some students.

In the webcasts, titled Inclusion: “What does it mean and who is it for?” and “How do we make it meaningful?” Cynthia Pitonyak who works with VCU-ACE and has been a special educator for over twenty years explains inclusion beyond the typical way that it is prevalently used in the realm of public special education programs today. She starts out in video one where she reviews the meaning of Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) and how special educators are there to design an individual program to meet the needs of the disabled student in the Least Restricted Environment in order to help the individual progress and grow. She states that inclusion is not the law, and there is no mention of it in federal laws such as IDEA, No Child Left Behind, or in the, Every Student Succeeds Act. However, she points out that because of FAPE, LRE, and the IEP which are all required by federal law, inclusion, which is vitally important, happens.

Inclusion, in the world of education, is an approach or teaching strategy that focuses on including students with disabilities. 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 involved with it. Whereas, some educators believe that it takes away from student learning for the non-disabled student. It is true, not all students with disabilities can be included in a general education classroom successfully. However, should the students who can participate in that setting be provide with the best, well-trained teachers in a district who provides useful professional development and access to high quality training for their teachers and staff. The word staff is where there are issues that need to be also further addressed. The staff should not only include teachers, administrators, and aids, but should include all support staff such as the janitorial, cafeteria and common area personal. Inclusion in the classroom starts at the elementary level and continues through high school and sometimes beyond. The success of inclusion has many determining factors. The early stages of inclusion for students with disabilities and their teachers can set the stage for the rest of the student’s school year experiences.