Inclusion research paper

As a teacher I’m not a fan of inclusion even though as a parent of an LD child, I have my son in an inclusion environment. I teach in an independent school where we do not have IEPs but we do have many students with learning differences lumped in with students of pristine learning style. The mix often doesn’t work well for the kids who need something extra.

I find with inclusion, most of the time, that there’s a portion of the class whose learning needs are not being met. Unless I do all the right things, and go more than the extra mile… like finding three different books at three different reading levels and writng three different tests, inclusion simply isn’t fair to the kids with learning differences.

It also creates unteachable classrooms. In an inclusion environment, I will have as many different learning styles as there are kids in the classroom. ADD, ADHD, reading issues, writing issues, conceptual issues, and kids who have been mistakenly identified as having learning differences but really who are sad and depressed given challenging life situations.

Inclusion may be well intentioned by those who practice it but I have strong doubts as to how well it really works for the students.

I was the first teacher in my districy willing to “try” inclusion. It is a lot harder to do than self contained classrooms. I have been teaching since 1977 and have seen many changes.
Inclusion does NOT work for all children in the classroom. It IS, however very beneficial for role modeling age-appropriate behavior. My higher skilled DH/LD kids excel in the regular classroom with the right teacher. Their reading and math skills in particular grow faster than with the just small group instruction because they are forced to apply the skills that they are taught.

I work with grades 3,4,5 both LD and Developmentally Handicapped in a lower income small community that is a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. I have actuaaly been able to decrease my services because they are succeeding.

Lower skilled children are still a difficult situation due to not just because of minimal skills, but socialization issues as well.

There are three “Intervention teachers” in my building. We talked our principal into letting us share 2 rooms that do not have a wall. We will expand our “leveled services since we will be together (right now the primary teacher works at the other end of the building). I will service tutored and more self-sufficient kids, the other two teachers will be a “mid-range” and “self-contained”. We now have an autistic and an mh student with severe behavior issues)
I f I can answer any questions, just email me.

Cathy

Cathy: I just wanted to send you a cyber “pat on the back” for your hard work — “teaching outside the lines” is something not everyone can do, and you should be commended!
Best wishes, and I hope my son is lucky enough to get a teacher like you…

I have been an inclusion teacher for 4 years now. I have seen students once in special education classrooms flourish in regular classrooms. Students feel more accepted, less different, and in general, more ‘normal’. They have peers to model good behavior. For inclusion to be successful, there must be proper support, and cooperation of all teachers involved, which is difficult to always have. I have found that teachers are “won over” when they are taught how to work with my students, when I provide other perks such as working with additional low students, sharing workloads, marking papers, etc… It is a very difficult job to adapt curriculum to meet the needs of each individual student. To do a good job is extremely time consuming…but when I see the success of my students, it is all worth it. I do agree that not all children should be included. It is an individual decision that should be made for each student, depending on the student’s needs. If the student’s goals and objectives CAN be met in a regular classroom, with support, why not? :)

Inclusion means that the regular ed. and special ed. tachers are team teaching in the regular classroom. This typically does not happen. I have found that not many teachers are understanding and accepting of students who need extra time, etc. I. too am in grad school and I have heard so many differing opinions from teachers of all grades and subject areas. What I typically hear is that they do not feel inclusion is right. They are not willing to make accomodations, they are impatient, they find inclusion disruptive, etc. In my school teachers are fighting over who gets to have the inclusive classrooms and the aides (no one wants it). I just don’t understand how teachers feel they can “pick and choose” their students when we are all supposed to be in this field for the students!! I personally have seen students absolutely blossom, both socially and academically due to inclusion. And the best part is that “typical” students benefit the most from inclusion as they learn compassion, understanding, and caring!!! Hope this jhelps a little!

Hi Kristen…..
I have been a Special Education teacher for 14 years and have “experienced” both resource settings and inclusion (formerly mainstreaming) . I have taught in a collaborative setting at the H.S. level in Mathematics and English. I can truly say that it is both a very rewarding experience and one that is full of trial and error (and adjustment). In a self-contained environment you are the teacher and teach students based on their needs and your methods. In inclusion you are serving as the “methods” expert and not the “content” expert (unless you have a major in that content area too). It can be a disaster unless both teachers are willing to plan together and share “expertise” in content and method. In order for it to be successful, both teachers have to believe in it and support “the cause”. Not all special students are candidates and I feel that the beginning of a great experience starts in properly identifying those students who are most capable of being in a regular ed. setting and being responsible for reg. ed. curriculum. Most students really like this model due to many reasons. They are not attached to the special ed. setting or teacher as far as labeling goes and they feel better in terms of self-esteem. Behavior often seems improved due to the need to “fit in”. Teachers and students can be utilized in teaching in this model. It has to be supported by all involved: teachers, students, parents, administrators etc. in order for it to work. It is a lot of hard work when done correctly but the benefits are far too many to rule this out. It is good for all involved. Some great resources to consult are other special education teachers, Special Ed. Coordinators in various counties/school districts, CEC, GLRS, www.ldanatl.org. is a great on-line resource for LD- parent and profesional org. with state and local cahpters, The DLD (Division for Learning Disabilities) is a unit of prof. within the CEC. LD center at UGA. ,www.learning differences.com and many more. Click on any of the boxes on ldonline to connect to Nat’l Org. etc. I am compiling a resource guode for LD for a grad. class. How can I send a final copy to you?

Hope this helps…

Me

Hi Kristen,
We have an inclusion program where I work. We are a Headstart center and have inclass support teachers and speech therapists that work with our diagnosed 3 and 4 year olds. It works very well for children that are this age. The best part is when I enter the classroom for the first time, I generally cannot tell who is receiving services. Perhaps if we can start children this young to be accepting of everyone regardless of differences this may someday be a better world. It is also remarkable how the children blossom during the year by being given the same opportunities as their classmates. It certainly gives them a better chance at being successful early in their life. Of course we always must keep the individual needs of each child in mind to keep it a success for all.
Please e-mail with any specific questions.
Robin

My questions are the following in reference to the inclusive classroom
1. What kind of training does the teacher have?
2.What kind of support will they recieve? Have the students been properly orientated and trained?
3. What would the criteria for entry be?
4. How many students per class? What are the expectations/outcome?

As a teacher I’m not a fan of inclusion even though as a parent of an LD child, I have my son in an inclusion environment. I teach in an independent school where we do not have IEPs but we do have many students with learning differences lumped in with students of pristine learning style. The mix often doesn’t work well for the kids who need something extra.

I find with inclusion, most of the time, that there’s a portion of the class whose learning needs are not being met. Unless I do all the right things, and go more than the extra mile… like finding three different books at three different reading levels and writng three different tests, inclusion simply isn’t fair to the kids with learning differences.

It also creates unteachable classrooms. In an inclusion environment, I will have as many different learning styles as there are kids in the classroom. ADD, ADHD, reading issues, writing issues, conceptual issues, and kids who have been mistakenly identified as having learning differences but really who are sad and depressed given challenging life situations.

Inclusion may be well intentioned by those who practice it but I have strong doubts as to how well it really works for the students.

I was the first teacher in my districy willing to “try” inclusion. It is a lot harder to do than self contained classrooms. I have been teaching since 1977 and have seen many changes.
Inclusion does NOT work for all children in the classroom. It IS, however very beneficial for role modeling age-appropriate behavior. My higher skilled DH/LD kids excel in the regular classroom with the right teacher. Their reading and math skills in particular grow faster than with the just small group instruction because they are forced to apply the skills that they are taught.

I work with grades 3,4,5 both LD and Developmentally Handicapped in a lower income small community that is a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. I have actuaaly been able to decrease my services because they are succeeding.

Lower skilled children are still a difficult situation due to not just because of minimal skills, but socialization issues as well.

There are three “Intervention teachers” in my building. We talked our principal into letting us share 2 rooms that do not have a wall. We will expand our “leveled services since we will be together (right now the primary teacher works at the other end of the building). I will service tutored and more self-sufficient kids, the other two teachers will be a “mid-range” and “self-contained”. We now have an autistic and an mh student with severe behavior issues)
I f I can answer any questions, just email me.

Cathy

Cathy: I just wanted to send you a cyber “pat on the back” for your hard work — “teaching outside the lines” is something not everyone can do, and you should be commended!
Best wishes, and I hope my son is lucky enough to get a teacher like you…

I have been an inclusion teacher for 4 years now. I have seen students once in special education classrooms flourish in regular classrooms. Students feel more accepted, less different, and in general, more ‘normal’. They have peers to model good behavior. For inclusion to be successful, there must be proper support, and cooperation of all teachers involved, which is difficult to always have. I have found that teachers are “won over” when they are taught how to work with my students, when I provide other perks such as working with additional low students, sharing workloads, marking papers, etc… It is a very difficult job to adapt curriculum to meet the needs of each individual student. To do a good job is extremely time consuming…but when I see the success of my students, it is all worth it. I do agree that not all children should be included. It is an individual decision that should be made for each student, depending on the student’s needs. If the student’s goals and objectives CAN be met in a regular classroom, with support, why not? :)

Inclusion means that the regular ed. and special ed. tachers are team teaching in the regular classroom. This typically does not happen. I have found that not many teachers are understanding and accepting of students who need extra time, etc. I. too am in grad school and I have heard so many differing opinions from teachers of all grades and subject areas. What I typically hear is that they do not feel inclusion is right. They are not willing to make accomodations, they are impatient, they find inclusion disruptive, etc. In my school teachers are fighting over who gets to have the inclusive classrooms and the aides (no one wants it). I just don’t understand how teachers feel they can “pick and choose” their students when we are all supposed to be in this field for the students!! I personally have seen students absolutely blossom, both socially and academically due to inclusion. And the best part is that “typical” students benefit the most from inclusion as they learn compassion, understanding, and caring!!! Hope this jhelps a little!

Hi Kristen…..
I have been a Special Education teacher for 14 years and have “experienced” both resource settings and inclusion (formerly mainstreaming) . I have taught in a collaborative setting at the H.S. level in Mathematics and English. I can truly say that it is both a very rewarding experience and one that is full of trial and error (and adjustment). In a self-contained environment you are the teacher and teach students based on their needs and your methods. In inclusion you are serving as the “methods” expert and not the “content” expert (unless you have a major in that content area too). It can be a disaster unless both teachers are willing to plan together and share “expertise” in content and method. In order for it to be successful, both teachers have to believe in it and support “the cause”. Not all special students are candidates and I feel that the beginning of a great experience starts in properly identifying those students who are most capable of being in a regular ed. setting and being responsible for reg. ed. curriculum. Most students really like this model due to many reasons. They are not attached to the special ed. setting or teacher as far as labeling goes and they feel better in terms of self-esteem. Behavior often seems improved due to the need to “fit in”. Teachers and students can be utilized in teaching in this model. It has to be supported by all involved: teachers, students, parents, administrators etc. in order for it to work. It is a lot of hard work when done correctly but the benefits are far too many to rule this out. It is good for all involved. Some great resources to consult are other special education teachers, Special Ed. Coordinators in various counties/school districts, CEC, GLRS, www.ldanatl.org. is a great on-line resource for LD- parent and profesional org. with state and local cahpters, The DLD (Division for Learning Disabilities) is a unit of prof. within the CEC. LD center at UGA. ,www.learning differences.com and many more. Click on any of the boxes on ldonline to connect to Nat’l Org. etc. I am compiling a resource guode for LD for a grad. class. How can I send a final copy to you?

Hope this helps…

Me

Hi Kristen,
We have an inclusion program where I work. We are a Headstart center and have inclass support teachers and speech therapists that work with our diagnosed 3 and 4 year olds. It works very well for children that are this age. The best part is when I enter the classroom for the first time, I generally cannot tell who is receiving services. Perhaps if we can start children this young to be accepting of everyone regardless of differences this may someday be a better world. It is also remarkable how the children blossom during the year by being given the same opportunities as their classmates. It certainly gives them a better chance at being successful early in their life. Of course we always must keep the individual needs of each child in mind to keep it a success for all.
Please e-mail with any specific questions.
Robin

My questions are the following in reference to the inclusive classroom
1. What kind of training does the teacher have?
2.What kind of support will they recieve? Have the students been properly orientated and trained?
3. What would the criteria for entry be?
4. How many students per class? What are the expectations/outcome?