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How to help children with disabilities in the classroom
How to help children with disabilities in the classroom
History of educational inclusion essay
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MAIN BODY Today, many classrooms in America are “inclusion” classrooms which means, that students with and without disabilities can learn together in one classroom (Inclusive Classroom: Definition, Strategies & Environment). It is often argued in classroom settings in regards to is it beneficial or not. The answer to that is not black and white. There are many contributing factors that go into that answer, some of which include, the age and gender of the student, type of school the student attends, what type of disability the student has, how severe the disability is, and what the school has to offer. As to any partisan social issue, there are many pros and cons that are constantly argued. Many government leaders, school board members, school …show more content…
In the early 1800s people who had disabilities were sent to asylums and were treated horribly. The idea of adopting disabled individuals into schools was an idea that came about in the early 1900s. Then in the mid 1900s around 1950-1960, parents of disabled individuals began fighting for educational services to be available for their child. Not until “The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975” were children, regardless of disabilities, were able to receive a free public education in what is considered to be the “least restrictive environment.” In 1986, Madeleine Will, then-Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (under the U.S. Department of Education), thought of the idea of including mild to moderate disabled students to be part of a “pull out” program would be included in regular classrooms. By the time the mid 1990s rolled around, about 35% of disabled students were attending regular school classes (Historical Background). Since then, the ideas have expanded and pushed to make almost all of the classrooms be inclusion …show more content…
Although that these ideas of inclusion and full inclusion classrooms have not been completely executed yet, the fight for more inclusive classrooms continue. Published in the Harvard Education Newsletter, Jay Heubert (1994) suggest that with the right training, educators can do an excellent job providing aid to students with disabilities to succeed in regular classrooms. Herbert also stated a synopsis of ideas of benefits of inclusion classrooms. He states that the law supports the inclusive ideas, so he basically arguing that inclusion is part of the law. He also stated some research findings that students who are in special education programs typically stay in segregated programs and do not necessary get the individualized curriculum or program that they need. He made a comment on how these special education programs tend to be “watered down,” for example, on a multiple choice question in a regular classroom, students will be offered four choices but in a special education classroom there would only be two choices. If a child is in an inclusion classroom, they will be treated equally with other students in the classroom and will receive a better and more rigorous education. Heubert states that teachers in regular education classrooms are willing to teach special education students, and with the right training they
According to Stout (2001) the concept of inclusion can be differentiated into mainstreaming, inclusion and full inclusion each describing the amount of time special education students become part of a normal education classes. “Inclusion is a term which expresses the commitment to educate each child, to the maximum extent possible, in the school and classroom he or she would otherwise attend” (definitions section, para. 2). This commitment is based on the belief that special needs students would profit from the regular classroom environment (Noll, 2014, p. 225). According to Stout (2001) research based evidence supports this belief as “Recent meta-analyses confirm a small to moderate beneficial effect of inclusion education on the academic and social outcome of special needs students” (Research section, para. 3). There are many who also believe that inclusion is good for the overall class as it can teach empathy, and “teaches us to think about we rather than I” (Sapon-Shevin, 2008, p227). There are others however, who feel that “Contrary to some egalitarians, a good society honors those who through intelligent good will, artistic talent, athletic prowess, or plain honest hard work make our lives better” (Carpenter, 2008, p.235) and therefore believe that it is ok to think of “I” and not we.
During the 1920's, separate schools were established for the blind, deaf, and more severely retarded (Reddy, p5). However, students that were considered mildly disabled were educated in regular schools, just thought to be 'slow learners'. Soon educators started to develop separate classes for disabled students. The reasoning for taking them out of the normal classroom (exclusion) has not changed in the last eighty years. People today, who are still in favor of exclusion, have the same justification for their belief. It was thought that students...
What do we do with children with disabilities in the public school? Do we include them in the general education class with the “regular” learning population or do we separate them to learn in a special environment more suited to their needs? The problem is many people have argued what is most effective, full inclusion where students with all ranges of disabilities are included in regular education classes for the entire day, or partial inclusion where children spend part of their day in a regular education setting and the rest of the day in a special education or resource class for the opportunity to work in a smaller group setting on specific needs. The need for care for children with identified disabilities both physical and learning continues to grow and the controversy continues.
On January 1st, 1975 public law number 94-142 was The Education for All Handicapped Children Act. This law secured the fundamental ideals, rights and responsibilities to ascertain equal access to public education for all children who are crippled. What education has done in the years it has been around is that it simply makes life one sizably extensive, perplexed system of steps and processes. Our schools don’t accommodate the goal of a true education, but it makes it appear that they are. It would seem that the goal for a true education is for someone to absorb attention, but it is not always right to fill adolescent minds with careless facts or the ways of the world that is decided by a committee. The way that attention is gained for students is to give their own perception on things and have their own notion. From Report of the Massachusetts Board of Education, Horace Mann states that, “education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, – the balance wheel of the social machinery.” It explicates that the consequentiality of kinds of education, including political, moral, religious, perceptive, and physical are paramount to people and to education.
In order for inclusion to be implemented properly it is important that teachers, parents, and administrators to know the definition of inclusion. An inclusion program means that the student spends all or most of their school time in the general education classroom rather than a self-contained classroom. However, the students will still receive the support and interventions they would have received in a self-contained classroom. There are different types of inclusive classrooms where different types of teaching occur. There is co-teaching where there is both a general education teacher and a special education teacher that co teach. Both will work with students that have an individualized education plan (IEP) and the student will receive more support. In addition, an inclusive classroom can have a general education teacher but has the special education teacher as a resource or aid, which qualifies as a collaborative model of inclusion.
Inclusion in the classroom is a topic that I did not fully understand when I first became a special education teacher. Studying inclusion and all the aspect that it encompasses has enlighten me to the complexities of inclusion in the classroom. Inclusion has expanded to every facet of school activities outside the classroom. I am going on my fifth year of being a special education teacher and continuously find the need for additional education and training among the staff and administration. I feel having a comprehensive understanding has made me a better educator and advocate for children with disabilities.
Inclusion classrooms are rewarding to all children. Numerous school systems today implementing inclusion classrooms, or include students with disabilities into the general education classroom, because of the numerous benefits associated with inclusion. Even though inclusion may not be for all students with disabilities, there are countless benefits of inclusion to consider. In 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed to guarantee that children with disabilities be given the opportunity to receive a public education ("A Brief History of the Disability Rights Movement", n.d.,). In 1990, 1997, and 2004, reauthorizations of this Act were held, and the law came to be known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA mandates that not only should individuals with disabilities be offered a public education, they also have the right to learn in the least restricted environment. Therefore students with disabilities, both in public and in private schools, are to be educated to the maximum extent possible, and in classrooms together with students with no disabilities. Children with disabilities are most importantly children. Inclusion supplies opportunities for socializing and for friendships to grow. It offers a feeling of belonging and the appropriate encouragement of social, behavioral, and academic skills (Karagiannis, Stainback, and Stainback 28). Including children with disabilities in general education classes generates acceptance of diversity. It teaches children how to connect with others of different capabilities. Inclusion continues to be a debatable idea in education as it pertains to educational and social values, as well as to the sense of individual worth. There are supporters on ...
This presents the idea of "disability justice" and advocates for a comprehensive strategy to break down barriers in the areas of social interactions, architecture, transportation, and communication. It would be understood that there are no “physical environment” issues stated in this book, but there is talk about some of the education system and those physical issues. This ties in with issues within the education system that will be stated later in the essay, but, In “Path of Access”, it is stated, “I represented a significant but possible change, as it proposed the maintenance of separate classrooms for individuals with severe disabilities when appropriate (especially when such classrooms were housed in public schools). However, it moved to incorporate individuals with more mild disabilities into general education classrooms, moving toward what was referred to as "The Big Tent" of education”(Shyman, pg. 1). 13).
Following the case of Plessy v. Ferguson, with the Supreme Court deciding that separate but equal facilities were acceptable, students with disabilities were rejected from public education. For example, in Massachusetts in 1893, a child with disabilities was removed from school because “he was so weak in mind as to not derive any marked benefit from instruction and further, that he is troublesome to other children…” (as cited in Watson v. City of Cambridge, 1893). Twenty years later, there was not much improvement. In 1919, a student with normal intelligence, but had an orthopedic impairment was also excluded because of the following:
Over the past 60 years, the legal landscape in the United States has undergone a fundamental transformation with respect to the rights of people with disabilities, a shift toward independence and full participation and away from pervasive institutionalization and exclusion (Nehaus, Smith, & Burgdorf). In the early development of the United States the main focus for people was survival, those with disabilities were seen as diseased, weak, useless and unable to contribute. As a result, they were often ostracized, locked away and sometimes experimented on in hopes of finding a cure. It wasn’t until well into the 20th century that people with Intellectual disabilities in the United States were afforded some basic human rights.
Inclusion in classrooms is defined as combining students with disabilities and students without disabilities together in an educational environment. It provides all students with a better sense of belonging. They will enable friendships and evolve feelings of being a member of a diverse community (Bronson, 1999). Inclusion benefits students without disabilities by developing a sense of helping others and respecting other diverse people. By this, the students will build up an appreciation that everyone has unique yet wonderful abilities and personalities (Bronson, 1999). This will enhance their communication skills later in life. Inclusive classrooms provide students with disabilities a better education on the same level as their peers. Since all students would be in the same educational environment, they would follow the same curriculum and not separate ones based on their disability. The main element to a successful inclusive classroom, is the teachers effort to plan the curriculum to fit all students needs. Teachers must make sure that they are making the material challenging enough for students without special needs and understandable to students with special needs. Inclusive classrooms are beneficial to students with and without special needs.
Inclusion of all students in classrooms has been an ongoing issue for the past twenty-five years (Noll, 2013). The controversy is should special education students be placed in an inclusion setting or should they be placed in a special education classroom? If the answer is yes to all special education students being placed in inclusion, then how should the inclusion model look? Every students is to receive a free an appropriate education. According to the Individual Education Act (IDEA), all students should be placed in the Least Restrictive Learning Environment (Noll, 2013).
There is an unfortunate significant discrepancy between the number of persons with developmental disabilities and the work force in the United States. Persons with developmental disabilities are those that have difficulties in certain areas of life. These areas include language, mobility, learning, self-help, and independent living. . Intellectual disabilities can range from highly functioning, moderately functioning and low functioning. Those with high or moderately functioning disabilities have the capability to become assets to the communities around them however; many with intellectual disabilities are not given the adequate resources or equal opportunities. This research paper will examine the injustice the U.S. education
Whether born from ignorance, fear, misunderstanding, or hate, society’s attitudes limit people from experiencing and appreciating the full potential a person with a disability can achieve. This treatment is unfair, unnecessary, and against the law (Purdie). Discrimination against people with disabilities is one of the greatest social injustices in the country today. Essential changes are needed in society’s basic outlook in order for people with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to succeed in life. To begin with, full inclusion in the education system for people with disabilities should be the first of many steps that are needed to correct the social injustices that people with disabilities currently face.
Prior to Introduction to Inclusive Education, I viewed people with disabilities from the separation perspective. They were the obvious group of individuals, the people motioning down the street with canes, walking with obedient guide dogs, parking within the blue lines, sitting in the reserved seats at the front of the bus, staring in the designated section to see the sign language interpretation, and the people who simply didn’t blend in with the rest. People with disabilities were different and incapable to perform like others; or if they could perform, they needed assistance at all times. I held this viewpoint, not because I wanted to, but because society played a critical role in my outlook.