implementing inclusion

Pam
I know that inclusion seems to be one of the prevailing “buzz” words usually buzzing around by some so called experts who have never tried to practice what they preach. These same people who think this is successful wouldn’t be able to recognize whether students are learning or just sitting quietly. If inclusion worked there would be no need for any form of alternative programs, special ed, remedial reading, speech or EBD. Students cannot be expected to be included in material is far above their level. Just as an average 4th grader would not be able to comprehend Higher Algebra and Trig simply by sitting in the High school class.

Well, I know how I reacted as a new teacher thirty years ago, and about how most teachers react still — we scream and tear our hair and curse in the teachers’ lounge. You have to have a grading scheme which is perfectly fair and can be justified to angry parents and their lawyers, and now you have to also have a different grading scheme for kids who haven’t got a chance of passing the regular system, and you have to justify this. You have to treat the kid with IQ rated officially at 85 and who has been in the regular ed stream differently from the kid whose IQ measured officially at 79 and who has previously been in a separate classroom, even though it’s obvious that the two kids are fundamentally in the same situation.. You have a curriculum that would be difficult to teach properly in the time allotted under the best of conditions, and you’ve been trying to figure out how to also review the three previous years of work that the students haven’t mastered, and now you are told to develop a parallel curriculum for the “inclusion” students. You’re struggling to teach four years of work in one year to kids who are so far behind because the idea of work has been foreign to the classroom, and now you have to take half the class to teach a separate lesson and go and write the assignments in the kids’ books for them (or else the parents haul you up into the office and threaten lawyers — see previous discussions in this group.) Most teachers end up doing very little for the “inclusion” students, not out of ill will, but out of lack of time and the necessity to teach as much as possible to the most students possible. Most teachers feel bad about this but if you want to keep on with the job at all, you get hardened to it. Others of us get asked to leave the system.

Hi Pam, Inclusion really doesn’t work for those students that have very low reading/comprehension/writing scores with poor auditory memory. These students shouldn’t be put in the inclusive classes. Your school still has to recognize all of the cavalcade of services for special students. They can’t just arbitrarily put all special ed students in inclusive classes. The IEP still drives placement. A ninth grader reading at a fourth grade level should not be put in a regular classroom unless he or she is an auditory learner. My daughter, when she was in high school (11th grade), read at a fourth grade level but was totally mainstreamed. The difference why she was successful was because she has very strong auditory memory and had all of her textbooks on tape. She also did all of her homework, unlike most students but particularly sped students. Inclusion is hard if you have parents in denial of their children’s abilities. Since I am a parent of a special ed daughter, I understand their feelings. I teach two self-contained 11th grade English classes and I am remediating their deficiencies and hopefully they can go into inclusive classes next year. At least they will receive a diploma, unlike our sophomores and freshmen who have to pass the SOLs in order to graduate. I am tutoring a few sophomores who won’t pass the SOLs and so I am gearing my tutoring toward them taking the GED test. What a terrible state of affairs.

Hi, Pam. I am having a positive inclusion experience with three of my math students. My 2nd grader stays in the regular classroom for the math lessons and I go into the classroom to monitor his participation. The students are just learning addition and the teacher is teaching the students to add by counting on. I monitor his ability to participate, provide encouragement and support, help him get started on the assignment, help him participate in games, and monitor him doing partner activities. The teacher provides me with a copy of her weekly lesson plans and I have a copy of her math book. I can find the lesson for the day, check the assignment to see if I need to make modifications, and I take the child’s point sheet with me when I go to the classroom. I document what the lesson was and how it went for the student. Since he is on my roster for math services, I determine which assignments are graded, we use the same grading system, and I still do progress monitoring. He is doing great with very few, if any modifications. I help all the students as needed, and it is fun. For my two 3rd graders, I go into the classroom and do the same types of support activities with those students. One student needs assistance writing, and more visuals, but I sit by him at his desk and monitor his participation. The other student I assist sits behind us so it is very easy to monitor both of them. I also help all the students in that classroom with guided participation and with behavior. One student has been able to do all the regular class assignments, the other one has had minor modifications made to the regular assignment. The parents are very happy to see their child’s progress and the students enjoy being with their regular class peers. I have weekly meetings with the teachers to discuss how things are going. We are committed to making this work for all of us. I think the success of inclusion is committment and a willingness to make it work for the benefit of the child. I also have a very supportive K-5 staff with whom I work. It has been fun and I’m looking forward to working with the other teachers.

Pam,

I have worked in self-contained, resource, and inclusive classrooms, and I believe that there should be a place for each of these in our current educational system. This idea that all students should be put into the “regular” classroom without consideration as to what the goals and objectives of the classroom should be is insane. I have seen students sit for 1 1/2 daily doing work in a folder because the traveling LD teacher cannot get to the school until the afternoon. Since reading is in the morning, and the 20 minutes of LD instruction in the afternoon focuses on homework tutoring, these students are frustrated and learning very little. The regular classroom teacher sees herself as just providing a place for the LD student to complete the LD seat work. How productive is this??? On the other hand, I have been in classrooms where the LD teacher and the content teacher work together teaching lessons. Sometime the LD teacher leads the lesson and the regular teacher assists; other times, the situation is reversed. Many styles of co-teaching are used, and students are successful. My only concern with these inclusive classrooms is that the students are still grouped homogenously with many low achieving students together. Some of the students I see privately have exceptional ability, and to group them with low ability students is unfair. These “gifted” students can take difficult courses as long as accommodations are made for them. I have also worked with students who have attended private schools for students with learning disabilities and/or attention deficits. Although the full inclusion folks would say that these schools are detrimental to the self esteem and socialization of students, I have found the majority of these students to be well adjusted and achievement oriented. They feel safe in the school because they are surrounded by others who learn differently as well; their teachers are trained to provide intensive instruction tailored to their needs, and the expectations of the schools are higher than those we set for special needs students in many inclusive classrooms in public schools. WHAT WORKS BEST FOR THE STUDENT SHOULD BE OUR PRIME CONCERN, AND SINCE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ARE INDIVIDUALS, EACH CASE MUST BE CONSIDERED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS. Look at the goals and objectives on the IEP, and determine where these can best be met—regular classroom, resource room, or self-contained classroom.

That loud thunderous noise you just heard was my applause. =) I couldn’t agree with you more, Chris, and I can think of nothing to add to what you have said.

Yours truly,
Kathy G.

Chris wrote:> > Pam,> > I have worked in self-contained, resource, and inclusive> classrooms, and I believe that there should be a place for> each of these in our current educational system. This idea> that all students should be put into the “regular” classroom> without consideration as to what the goals and objectives of> the classroom should be is insane. I have seen students sit> for 1 1/2 daily doing work in a folder because the traveling> LD teacher cannot get to the school until the afternoon. > Since reading is in the morning, and the 20 minutes of LD> instruction in the afternoon focuses on homework tutoring,> these students are frustrated and learning very little. The> regular classroom teacher sees herself as just providing a> place for the LD student to complete the LD seat work. How> productive is this??? On the other hand, I have been in> classrooms where the LD teacher and the content teacher work> together teaching lessons. Sometime the LD teacher leads the> lesson and the regular teacher assists; other times, the> situation is reversed. Many styles of co-teaching are used,> and students are successful. My only concern with these> inclusive classrooms is that the students are still grouped> homogenously with many low achieving students together. Some> of the students I see privately have exceptional ability, and> to group them with low ability students is unfair. These> “gifted” students can take difficult courses as long as> accommodations are made for them. I have also worked with> students who have attended private schools for students with> learning disabilities and/or attention deficits. Although> the full inclusion folks would say that these schools are> detrimental to the self esteem and socialization of students,> I have found the majority of these students to be well> adjusted and achievement oriented. They feel safe in the> school because they are surrounded by others who learn> differently as well; their teachers are trained to provide> intensive instruction tailored to their needs, and the> expectations of the schools are higher than those we set for> special needs students in many inclusive classrooms in public> schools. WHAT WORKS BEST FOR THE STUDENT SHOULD BE OUR PRIME> CONCERN, AND SINCE WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ARE INDIVIDUALS, EACH> CASE MUST BE CONSIDERED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS. Look at the> goals and objectives on the IEP, and determine where these> can best be met—regular classroom, resource room, or> self-contained classroom.