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The importance of diversity in the classroom
The importance of diversity in the classroom
Teaching diverse students in the classroom
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Recommended: The importance of diversity in the classroom
Deciding whether disabled children should be mainstreamed in traditional classrooms with nondisabled children or to be segregated in special needs classrooms is an issue ponder about since the Individuals with Disabilities Act has been passed in 1975. Mainstreaming disabled children is seen as a way to enhance disabled children's abilities such as life skills and it helps nondisabled children to learn about diversity. It also usually improves their social skills which helps them later on in life. All things considered, mainstreaming disabled children should be the ideal choice of education for disabled children instead of being in segregated special needs classrooms.
Education reforms occur in public schools as a result of the number of students with disabilities gaining more than 6 million in the last 24 years, project to assist disabled
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Acquiring a least restrictive environment allows disabled children to exceed their abilities in general classrooms with assistance if needed. For example, a cohesive approach such as in groups allows disabled students to benefit with not just the assistance from an aide but as well as the teacher and nondisabled peers. Another reason why mainstreaming disabled children is an ideal option for their education is because it promotes diversity in the classroom which helps prevent nondisabled children from being bias towards disabled children. Mainstreaming disabled children is an excellent way of not just helping disabled children but also nondisabled children. For example, mainstreaming disabled children allows nondisabled students to participate with disabled children in classrooms and to perceive disabled children in a friendly way. which informs them to accept each
These children were now being seen as a group in which society had obligations to provide “normalisation” (Bowe, 2007, p.45) and would lead to a revolutionary law being introduced in America. The Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed in 1975, of which Australia became a signatory. (AIHW, 2004). This Act mandated “that all school-age children with disabilities must receive a free appropriate public education” (Bowe, 2007, p. 101) “in the least restrictive environment” (Bowe, 2007, p. 5). For the first time in a century, Australia no longer segregated these children into an isolated “special facility” (Allen & Cowdery, 2012, p. 8). State governments established special education units within mainstream schools (AIHW, 2004). This is referred to as Integrated education and is described by Talay-Ongan & Cooke (2005), as an environment “where children with similar disabilities in special classes share the normal school environment, and utilise some classes (e.g., art or physical education) or the playground that all children enjoy.” In 1992, the Disability Discrimination Act was introduced in Australia which specifically covered the topic of Education and in 2005 a set of supplementary standards was passed which specifies the support schools are required to provide to students with a
It is required that the student be placed in the setting most like that of typical peers in which they can succeed when provided with needed supports and services (Friend, 2014). In other words, children with disabilities are to be educated with children who are not disabled to the maximum extent appropriate. Removal may only occur when education in regular classes, with the use of supplementary aids and services, cannot be achieved satisfactorily (Yell, 2006).
Least Restrictive Environment is the principle that to the greatest extent, as pssible and appropriate, students with and without disabilities should be educated in the same setting. This law was passed with 5 key principles. These principles include that placement decisions should have considered general education placement with additional services, in the child’s best interest and individualized, the teachers are aware of the student’s disability and IEP, the services should vary and several should be available, and finally documentation is impotant, especially including rationale for decision making.
Students with disabilities have several delivery models that are made available to them. These students that have been identified as having a disability are to be given an equal opportunity to be the recipients of a fair and public education just as their non-disabled classmates. It is a legal requirement that the students are placed in an LRE (Least Restrictive Environment). The needs of the students and the resources available to them play an important factor in the placement of those individuals who has been identified as disabled. The following information was derived through classroom
Imagine you are young teenage girl in the high school setting. You look the same as everyone else. Nothing on the outside appears to be abnormal. You want to be included and do everything else the other students are doing. However, you have this learning disability no one knows about except for you, your parents, the exceptional educator, and now your general education teachers. It’s not easy being different wanting to do everything the other students are doing. Well, this is why mainstreaming and inclusion are important for these students. They want to be successful like everyone else. They want to fit in. They want to go to the general education classes with everyone else. Leading up to this is why Individual Education Plans are important for these students to have a chance at normality.
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.
The idea behind least restrictive environment is that all students should have the opportunity to learn, if possible, in a mainstream classroom. If learning in a mainstream classroom is not possible, students who have special education needs must be put in an environment that is the least restrictive. However, there exists a lack of clarity when it comes to the specific language presented in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which has led to school districts having various different interpretations regarding least restrictive environment (Alquraini, 2013). This week I sat down with Shirley Cummings, Special Education Coordinator for the Aqua Fria Union School District, and we
The true purpose of school is to prepare children for their future in becoming lifelong learners and global citizens. For children with special needs, special education services prepare and provide support for them in dealing with the challenges they face daily. Laws such as Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has enforced schools to provide education to all children and reinforces the purpose of the school, which is to provide children the Least Restrictive Environment to help them develop to their optimal potential. There are myriad of concerns regarding inclusion’s effect on typical developing students, yet a research done by Bui, Quirk, Almazan, and Valenti shows that “[p]resence of students with disabilities results in greater number of typical students making reading and math progress compared to non-inclusive general education classes” (p. 3). Therefore, inclusion not only benefits children with disabilities, but it also benefits typical developing student’s academic skills and allows them to learn acceptance and respect for students with disabilities.
Disabled children in the United States have been becoming more active throughout the years. They are showing interest in joining regular learning classrooms, rather than special education classes. Of course, there are many different types of disabilities, but if all disabled children become more active and interact with other children it will benefit the disabled child and his or her peers. It will teach them how to interact and learn from each other. District school boards should mainstream all disabled children into regular classrooms and activities.
The majority of students with disabilities should be in an inclusive setting. These students are generally placed based on the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE). Furthermore, the majority of these students are able to keep up academically with their peers, even
Inclusion 'mainstreams' physically, mentally, and multiply disabled children into regular classrooms. In the fifties and sixties, disabled children were not allowed in regular classrooms. In 1975 Congress passed the Education of all Handicapped Students Act, now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA mandates that all children, regardless of disability, had the right to free, appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. Different states have different variations of the law. Some allow special needs students to be in a regular education classroom all day and for every subject, and others allow special education students to be in a regular education classroom for some subjects and in a separate classroom for the rest. There are many different views on inclusive education. In this paper I will address some of the positive and negative views on inclusion and ways to prepare educators for inclusive education.
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.
Those who support an inclusion model for all students take the stand that students with disabilities should be placed in and inclusion setting with the idea that all special education students will benefit from an inclusion setting with their general education peers. An inclusion setting will provide academic growth and social growth. The placement of special education students in a general education classroom would also benefit students to respect and accept those students who are different. Students should be placed in an inclusion setting whenever possible (Noll, 2013).
Today, there is a greater focus on education for children with disabilities. Because schools cannot deny an education to children with disabilities, more disabled children receive an education and are not put into institutions. Despite the fact that many disabled children go to school, only 10% of these students are at or above proficient level in reading and math, and more than half of children with disabilities in the eighth grade lack basic reading and math skills. Improvements have been made in educating children with disabilities since the IDEA was passed, but further improvements will hopefully be made in the future to increase the education of disabled children
One should also heighten the protections and rights of the disabled children in their further education to make them ready for adulthood. Putting all of this together, the package of these reforms is to give young people with the special education needs a platform for them to succeed.