What Is Inclusion Essay

Defining Inclusion Module 2 Task 2a Inclusion, what does it really mean? Why is it used in the classroom today? How is it used? In this paper, I will discuss my understanding of inclusion, what it might look like in my classroom, and give a few of the positives and negatives that I consider important to know. An important fact to note is that inclusion is rooted in the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” (IDEA) where the student with disabilities are to be educated in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Although this Act does not specifically address inclusion, it falls under LRE. To start off let us look at my understanding of inclusion. For me, there are three main aspects of inclusion: access, participation

I believe that participation involves everyone in the student’s education life, the student, parents, teachers, therapists, community, and other students. The term that most people think of when they are presented a list of this type, is collaboration. I feel that every student should benefit from this, not just the special education student. Participation requires every person to have buy in, into this education process. Every student should have access to every part of the general education experience to include extra curricular activities. According to Bryant, Bryant, and Smith, collaboration is the key of an inclusive school to meet the needs every student in different settings and activities (Bryant, Bryant, & Smith, 2017, p. 176). When everyone participates or collaborates the school can meet the needs of every

In the iris module, “What is inclusion?” Mrs. Lawrence learns what my vision for my classroom is, inclusion is an approach to education based on the premise that all students (e.g., typically developing students, students with disabilities, English learners, students from culturally diverse backgrounds) should be accepted and valued for their unique abilities and included as integral members of the school (What Is Inclusion?, 2016) This vision is important but for it to be reality, I realize that my classroom must be in a school were inclusion, and collaboration is an important facet of the school life. I also have to realize that there are negatives and positives to the full inclusion that I would likely see in my classroom. The first, which falls into both categories is for a school to use full inclusion they may be required to have addition staff to meet the needs of the students in the general education classroom. This can be a positive because more staff can mean more one-to-one time for instruction. On the other hand, the cost of having additional staff can be a negative in the budget crunched school districts. According to Ryan and Cooper, this type of teaching approach can hurt teachers and students. Parents of children without disabilities worry about standards being lowered. Some special educators are