Strategies to Use With Students With Intellectual Disabilities

Strategies to Use With Students With Intellectual Disabilities:

1. Repetition of Instruction

2. Provide a task list for simple everyday tasks with visuals attached. For better success place a time frame next to each task.

3. Use bold print and spacing between    instructions.

Hey, just give me some extra time...I can get it done!

Arts Based Method

Teaching Novel Themes Through the Arts Based Method

Every story has important themes which are life lessons for readers. Once students fully comprehend novel themes, they are instructed to choose one theme and represent it as art. 

They may draw, paint, sketch, use art apps and other technology/artistic tools, photograph(s), poem, song, power point, and so on.

All ideas are encouraged and most welcome.

One novel we read in grade eight is 

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau. 

One of the major themes of the story is greed, and how destructive it can be. 

Students must demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the theme and provide examples to validate that understanding. 

The incorporation of the arts based method allows the students to explore symbols and images from the novel and beyond to illustrate the theme. 

The teacher receives original productions and a wonderful opportunity to generate meaningful discussion concerning real life issues!

Some useful links to expand art into this particular project:

1.http://www.teachhub.com/12-ways-bring-arts-your-classroom

2.https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2013/05/17/arts-integration/

3.http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/01/13/how-integrating-arts-into-other-subjects-makes-learning-come-alive/

  

Culturally Responsive Poster

Diversity in the classroom can only happen when all who attempt to learn there recognize and value the knowledge that we all come from

culture...

Be Sensitive and Culturally Aware!

Alberta and Differentiated Instruction

The Province of Alberta and Differentiated Instruction

The Alberta School Board describes differentiated instruction as a philosophy and an approach to teaching in which teachers and school communities actively work to support the learning of all students. Building on the foundation that effective instruction must be responsive to students’ readiness, interests, and learning preferences. All three characteristics of the learner will, inevitably, allow educators and students to build new learning through connections to existing knowledge and preferred ways of working. The process depends on the ongoing use of assessment to gather information about where students are in their learning. Teachers use this information to vary the learning environment, instruction, assessment, and evaluation. Readiness refers to the student’s starting point for learning, relative to the concept being studied. Attention to students’ interests, by incorporating the use of learner profiles, enhances the relevancy of learning by linking new information to students’ experience and enthusiasm.

            The philosophy and approach are similar to the U.D.L. in that learning preferences are influenced by gender, culture, the classroom environment, learning styles, and multiple intelligences. The method strongly encourages educators to incorporate pretesting before they begin a unit, as it will be most useful in helping you plan assignments and projects for learner diversity.

            As it concerns the teaching of science, the literature explains how some students will require concrete and tangible examples that provide clear, guided support and that others can develop and apply skills in increasingly independent, abstract, and complex contexts. It may be helpful to consider students' needs along a continuum of support through to independence. The guide includes a self-evaluation for students that the teacher can use after a lesson or lab/project to ascertain learning and learning styles. More importantly, it will guide the teacher when moving on to the next unit. The self-evaluation and assessment sheet can be a helpful tool at the beginning of the school year, as well.

 " Every time you use a pretest to help you plan a learning activity, present information in multiple ways, or offer choice in the format for a final project, you are reflecting the key belief of differentiated instruction." (p.2). Science teachers are always looking for concrete information to guide them when creating projects and approaches to units. Differentiated instruction provides a wonderful opportunity to assist in the search for new approaches and new project ideas. There are many things to learn and take from this document for all teachers and across the curriculum.

Differentiated because it is okay to be different!

We all have a unique style of learning.

Collaborative School Culture

Collaboration

getting individuals, who may or may not have similar interests, to work together in an organized enterprise to a reach satisfying and appropriate solutions that benefit all who matter

In a school...it should have some of the following characteristics:

• classrooms are characterized by diversity, respect and a strong sense of belonging

• principal has a vision and a mission statement for the school and exhibits strong leadership and effective management

• teachers are divided into collaborative teams...this is working at my school...we communicate

• teachers are efficient, committed, and qualified

•  school based problems are solved together among all school staff ...we compromise for the greater good

• plan meaningful and useful professional activities

• analyse instructional strategies and classroom practices...we are open to constructive criticism

• discuss in a comfortable, accepting environment the needs, problems, and struggles of students, as well as those of the teachers and all staff.

Collaboration

Hey, now there's an idea...

Engaged Pedagogy

Engaged Pedagogy

When considering the idea of engaged pedagogy, it must begin by reflection and honesty. If we truly want to cultivate engagement, our classrooms must be authentic places of acceptance where knowledge can be challenged and questioned. It is a safe environment wherein students and teachers both feel empowered by the process of learning together and, perhaps more importantly, learning from one another!

Adaptations Explorations

Adding to Your Repertoire and Exploring Adaptations

Have You Ever Tried These:

A. Provide instructions in phonemic awareness

B. Help students learn from their struggles

C. Provide headset and digital stories to read along with for extra practice with words

D. Relate learning tasks to student strengths 

E. Help students DEAL with their struggles

Poverty gnaws, 

And scrapes away potential 

 

Empowerment...What to do?

1.  What do you need to help you learn?

2. Where would you feel most comfortable?

3. How can you let me know when things aren't so            good?

4. When do you need to be left alone? 

This is most definitely a work in progress...

Welcoming Difference Statement

After careful consideration and based on my personality...I am going hang a large mirror in my classroom and place it strategically so that when a student enters they will come 'face to face'with him/herself with a caption that reads...

You Are Here Because You Belong!

A Masterful Sketch of Rose's Special Place

My Special Happy Place is in

My Gazebo 

Mastery in the Classroom!


Ode to the Gazebo
Special place,

special time for all
spring, summer, and fall
Moments of happiness and fun
In the moonlight and the under the sun...
Kevin Neal

Inquiry Three:The Special Education Document...Some Thoughts

      To begin, it seems almost unacceptable that I have not read, or for that matter have seen a copy of this document in my career. Once again, I believe this speaks to the fact that regular classroom/subject teachers are usually not considered part of the special education program planning team. So I was somewhat surprised when I read the section concerning the classroom Teacher's Responsibility in the Statement of Principles section Education Act Sections 26-38. The text clearly states that the classroom teacher is part of program planning. I implement the program and I am responsible for the assessment, but I have never been part of the actual planning. The program planning team has helped me tremendously over the years, indeed where would any of us be, as regular classroom teachers, without their constant support and guidance. Additionally, the document Section 2.3 Program Planning, requires the input of the teacher/s directly involved in teaching the student. Since section Two includes the areas which concerns me the most, I will examine some issues of importance here.

            The document also states that the special education student has the right to a quality education taught by licensed qualified teachers. Having a teacher's license and being qualified to teach special education are two very different things, surely.  If, as I am, teaching students with special needs then does that necessarily mean that I am qualified? This is the paradox of pedagogy...a teacher teaches students but what does she teach and is she qualified to teach in that particular setting?

            Special education students also have the right to an inclusive education in so far as it is possible and plausible for them to be placed "within grade level and subject area possible." So while the definition of inclusive education is succinct and commendable it is still somewhat exclusionary. I believe we still have a long way to go before we arrive at true inclusion. P.E.I. has surpassed the province of Nova Scotia in this area, according to Vianne Timmons (2006).

             On a positive note, I found the section of the literature which made reference to the six graduated learning essentials very encouraging . Students with special needs are expected to work toward the attainment of these essentials, as well as all students. It is very similar to Roger Slee's (2001) content organizing questions... philosophy of inclusive education. It should be mandatory for the graduated learning essentials to  be reviewed and discussed at the first staff meeting of the year. It reminds all of us of the big picture. While it can be argued that teachers are doing these things, anyway...a little common sense wouldn't hurt.

             In Section 2.5 Appropriate Assessment is outlined. The document claims that every effort is put forth to make the interpretation of  both formal and informal assessment free of bias and further, bias-free assessment is particularly important when schools are using assessments to make changes in the program or in the implementation of supports. It is folly to suggest that one can make a bias-free interpretation. Interpretation presupposes bias on some level. There is no escaping bias.

           The arrangement and language of this lengthy document are concise, for the most part, and reader friendly. Teachers and parents of special needs students would benefit greatly from an annual review on this document essentially because it can encourage greater understanding of procedure and practice, as well as more informed collaboration all of which are most beneficial to the student.

Food for Thought

Inquiry Two:Part Two Reflections and Critique...Let me weigh in here now....

What is inclusion?

Inclusion is the delivery of a comprehensive, appropriate, and/or challenging education to all learners, regardless of ability, culture, race, sex, religion, and economics. It is based on the principles of fairness, dignity, and human rights. Its success depends upon a collaborative process whereby all those involved are open, caring, and responsible professionals.

            The delivery of instruction in our classrooms is a monumental role. It is a daunting task as you all know in that the dynamics and diversity are so very different from one year to the next. There is no fear of complacency because your lesson planning and classroom set-up changes almost on a daily basis. I am certain most of us feel that we never have enough time and/or resources to reach every child the way we would like to. 

Honestly now, what does your classroom look like?

The Poets of 8-C

            I am a teacher who does not like congestion in the classroom. I like to open things up and give students as much space as possible. I actually removed the two computers from my room and placed them in the work room with two other computers. Now we have a computer room where we (the teacher who shares the work room with me) can send one group in at a time to complete a series of outcomes as prepared, for just that time in that room. It is located between our classes with glass windows. It is a great set-up. We can rotate groups to complete the technology part of their instruction/assignments.

            During my literature circle unit the students sat in groups of five and were spread out through-out the classroom. Creating a movie poster was part of the  project and this set-up allowed them work at their desks and/ or on the floor. There was plenty of room for paper and craft supplies. I would play music and visit each group to assess and make suggestions. Most of the year the students sat in rows, sometimes with a partner and sometimes not depending on the nature of the instruction.

            Obviously, the major learning outcomes come from the reading/viewing and writing/representing categories of assessment for the majority of my units. I do not necessarily pair weak students with strong ones, but I try to pair what I refer to as learning personalities. Sometimes it is better to form groups and pairs when you know these particular students have things in common, regardless of ability. For example, forming groups of students who read science-fiction. If you can begin with some kind of commonality, it will inevitably begin discussion among the group so there is less tension when writing and reading tasks are to be completed. Students who need more instruction or time to complete tasks will ask others in the group for help. Higher achieving students are smart enough to know that the other students know something that they don't, as well. Sometimes the best learning takes place when one student knows how to help another. It is empowerment.

            In October the students wrote short stories with a Halloween theme. I blacked out the windows and had the students read their stories from the back of the classroom in the dark under a green light(for effect). This removed some of the fear of public speaking as no one was staring.

So I try to change my room around depending on the theme or project. Yes, I did have assigned seating but students had plenty of opportunity to move around. Movement is important. During the longer periods, I would have the students stop and stand and do some breathing and stress relieving exercises.

What about collaboration? It truly is something when teachers actually care and share.

            During this past  year, I was a member of a team of three, grade eight teachers, sharing common subject areas. We met regularly and kept notes (minutes.) We shared lessons and resources, especially material that we found successful with our Learning Disabled and I.P.P. students. We also discussed our challenges as we attempted to implement our lessons, as well as finding better solutions for our behaviour problems/issues. The collaborative nature of these meetings  helped us to identify where we were successful and where we were struggling, not only with the program (lessons/instruction) but also with individual students. We also had very good communication with our other grade eight team. We shared six classrooms in the same area of the school. We were in the hallways before students entered the building, between class changes, and at the end of the day. The close proximity of our classrooms and, of course, each other and our willingness to share our ideas, lessons, and challenges fits the collaborative model reflected in my definition of inclusion, essentially because we were working together to solve problems and implement mutually agreed upon solutions to prevent and address learning and behavioural difficulties, and to coordinate instructional programs for all students.

            We regularly updated our school's website to communicate our programs, assessment, and student-teacher expectations with parents and guardians. Parents were/are always encouraged to contact the teacher with questions or concerns. It has been my personal experience that it is usually the parents of children with learning difficulties who establish communication early in the school year and continue to keep on top of school work and likewise progress.

            Our greatest challenge was/is improving collaboration with our school's Program Planning Team, and finding appropriate resources to deliver a comprehensive program to all learners. Time and resources are the two major issues/struggles we all have as educators.

            Other concerns involved a small number of chronically absent students due to truancy and school refusal because of one or more mental health issues. We truly did work together...bonus!

What about the assigned readings? What affect did they have on me?

More Rants and Revelations: Can you handle it?

Disability: Origins and Implications of Meaning

            One of the major themes was the historical development of the word disability. It is a term that has been socially and culturally constructed in a very negative way. Essentially because it presupposes that there is a normal standard by which all of us are measured as able. The question we should be asking is who decides what is and what is not normal? It seems to me that in Western society, at least, being different means you are not normal and are therefore disabled, or defective in some way. The term disability is also the progeny of the medical community. We have been programmed and socialized to think of disability as it is presented in the medical model and that the person afflicted as such needs medical attention and corrective intervention.

Despite our global communication and access to information and education we are, in general, very limited in many ways in our acceptance of differences. We are a culture obsessed with looks and corrective surgery, dieting, and external self-improvement; impossible standards of beauty and lifestyle by which most of us feel pressure.

            The person who is different is the one that needs the fixing. For some, there is no amount of surgery or intervention that will constitute what is socially and culturally accepted as normal and so will be forever marginalized.

            Petra Kuppers' (2009)  presentation of disability and living with disability is extremely provocative. Kuppers explains that one of the central struggles or barriers in Disability Studies concerns the models of disabilities and more importantly the meaning of the word disability as it is understood socially and culturally, and within the medical model. She explains that disability as a social category is extrinsic[ as a barrier to access/movement] to a specific person and the medical model of disability is intrinsic [the body is defective and requires correction]. In her presentation of disability as a rhizomatic model the extrinsic and the intrinsic mesh together as do the body and mind, the essential components of understanding and acceptance. Connecting in this way allows you to see beyond the disability and places us in the presence of the mutually shared experience of being human.

Socially Just Pedagogy: Inclusion and Teacher Education

            Inclusion as educational philosophy offers the disabled and the marginalized a way in. A chance to be accepted and celebrated. Empirically, we know that what you are exposed to, you accept as normal or normalcy. Having all children in the same space(classroom), regardless of ability, race, colour, sex, economics, and so on [there are just so many labels...], cultivates real acceptance and tolerance. Children are taught that they belong here. All children/learners need some sort of accommodation to help them realize their full potential, so accommodation or adaptation is no longer a major issue. We are doing it...it is the law!

            The attitudes of teachers and the approach to teacher education, as presented by Anthony Thompson (2010) and Dan Goodley( 2007), exemplify where real change can happen. Thompson's self-reflective case study is the proverbial 'proof in the pudding.'  I have been teaching for almost twenty-five years and so I have been instructed in learning disabilities from the viewpoint of the medical model and have been socialized to think of disability as an issue or an obstacle to deal with. When you are exposed to other viewpoints, philosophies, and attitudes and are open to change, as an intelligent person/educator you will make better choices and adopt healthier attitudes. You are more understanding because you understand more. Goodly insists  that socially just pedagogies must call for sensitivity to politics and culture. The move toward socially just pedagogy requires honest reflection of current practices and attitudes especially as it concerns children with learning disabilities since it so firmly embedded in our political institutions and those with disabilities are often excluded from the discourses of critical pedagogy. How can you affect change if you are not part of the discussion?

Exclusion in Australia: About Dominance

            Roger Slee(2001) presents a harsh critique on Australia's education system and points out the obvious exclusion of certain groups because of the political and cultural dynamic within the country whereby there are many identifiable groups/cultures but some, albeit one, has dominance over the others and as a result there is a state of inequality existing in the schools and in the institutions who teach the teachers who are in those schools, which sustains the systemic racism. He too insists that there must be changes in attitudes based on the recognition of the inequality in the current state of affairs. Most countries of the Commonwealth are guilty of this political landscape. It truly is a humanitarian issue and Slee explains how the country can change this situation by embracing the concept and philosophy of inclusive education based on four major content organizing questions which are relevant to all learners regardless race, culture, or socio-economic background. These content area questions should be called smart questions and could be the entire table of contents of the principles and practices handbook given to every teacher in Nova Scotia.  

Adopting Inclusion in P.E.I.:The Little Province that Could 

            
Vianne Timmons's presentation of  P.E.I.'s education system serves as a standard for other school systems who want to include everyone and more importantly, how to make it work.  It cannot just exist in the school system, it is a way of thinking, living, teaching, working, and communicating within the school community and beyond. It would seem that the adoption of true inclusion would be more apt to take place in the more affluent areas of Canada, where new philosophies, materials, venues, and children abound. But here we an example of a small area strapped for resources shouldering a great responsibility through inclusive schooling. It was/is obviously an issue of necessity but the notion that have-not provinces as having lower standards of education is unfounded. The greatest obstacle was getting a general consensus on the

idea /philosophy of inclusive schooling and then making a plan to put it into practice. And they are doing it. It is not a masterpiece yet, but a work in progress.

           

Inclusion and Disability:Summary and Overview Inquiry Two: Part One

Inclusion as an approach to or as a philosophy of education is a multi-faceted entity. The debate and controversy which surrounds inclusion is part of this complexity. Simply defined inclusion is the delivery of a comprehensive, appropriate, and/or challenging education to all learners, regardless of ability, culture, race, religion, sex, and economics. It is based on the principles of fairness, dignity, and human rights. Its success depends upon a collaborative process whereby all those involved are open, caring, and responsible professionals. Notwithstanding the simplicity of the definition, it is still quite a monumental struggle see this description realized. The literature examined, as part of this inquiry, has illuminated five major themes which I present, initially, as barriers/obstacles to the realization of true inclusion. Consequently, however,

the literature offers concrete and academic solutions to remove these barriers/obstacles, moving toward a greater understanding and acceptance for true inclusion.

1. Anthony Thompson(2010): Towards Socially Just Teacher Education

            Thompson examines the barrier of teacher education. Historically, teacher education pedagogy as it concerns disability was presented formally from a purely medical model, "...when most students entered the inclusive conversation beginning from a particular exceptionality, label, or diagnosis(such as an intellectual disability) they tended to do so exclusively from an individualized medical model view of disability" (p. 99 ).  Thompson sets out to compare traditional individualized views of disability (medical model) with the following three alternative understandings:

1. Disability studies in education perspective DSE...argue that disability is socially constructed
2. First Nation view of disability...there is no disability just a child who needs nurturing

3.      Neurodiversity (Autism pride/autism-as culture movement) is a concept whereby neurological differences are to be recognized and respected as any other human variation. These differences can include those labelled with autism.

            By renewing the teacher education program with the above and utilizing a self-reflective case study, Thompson was able to effectively initiate a change in student-teacher attitudes before going into the classrooms of Regina. He reports that most of the teacher candidates could now identify disability as oppressive and socially constructed and were moving toward a social justice agenda which will..."reinforce pedagogies of community that account for differences as opposed to a pedagogies of difference that (later) attempt to foster community" (p. 113 ).

2. Dan Goodley(2007): Towards Socially Just Pedagogies/ Exploring Deleuzoguattarian

            Goodley insists that socially just pedagogies must call for sensitivity to politics and culture. The lack of which presents another barrier to true inclusion. This is one of the key challenges in relation to working pedagogically with disabled people. He points out the obvious exemption of disabled people from Henry Giroux's work(appeal), and how disabled learners are excluded from the discourses of critical pedagogy. To understand why this is, an "analysis of disability requires us to expand the scope of democratic institutions"(p. 320). When we examine our political and social institutions we can see how we can get to a place where social justice is truly synonymous with caring, ..."there is reciprocity in the educational relationship, ordinariness, extra ordinariness, intuition, and personal shared understandings between agents of pedagogy"

(p. 329).   

            Goodley addresses the necessity of supporting disabled people through exercising and promoting an understanding of socially just pedagogies, as well as reconceptualising 

the concepts, assumptions, and practices of pedagogy. He examines disabilities studies and the work of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari (BwO [Bodies without Organs] and rhizomes) To paraphrase, if we can take away the parts of the body that allow resistance...'able and impaired bodies, and minds alike, are no longer lacking entities but BwO and open to creative pedagogy' (p. 327).

            He concludes by reminding us that we must have a comprehensive understanding of the language and the discourse of those in power in order to affect realistic change, therefore presenting theories of resistance as intelligent alternatives to the limitations to the medical model of disability, and hence establishing socially just pedagogy.

3. Roger Slee(2001): Driven to the Margins/Hope for Australia's Schools

            Slee begins his examination of the barriers to inclusion by quoting the work of Touraine who asserts that there can be..." no democracy unless we recognize the diversity of cultures and the relations of domination that exist between them" (p. 386).  Australia, like so many other nations... "fails to recognize disablement as cultural interplay characterized by unequal social relations" (p. 386). So to affect change you must examine the issue of cultural recognition in education, explore the relations of domination in the school system, and push for political changes which attempt to reform the marginalization of the disabled where inclusive schooling provides an education for all regardless of culture, race, and socio-economic status because they are no less capable of educational participation and success than any other group. The installation of four content organizing  questions is what the author wants to see reflected in the curriculum as it is sensible and just for all learners and offers true empowerment through a truly inclusive education:

1. Who am I and where am I going? [Life pathways an social futures].

2. How do I make sense of and communicate with the world? [Multiliteracies and communications media].

3. What are my rights and responsibilities in communities, cultures and economies? [Active citizenship].

4. How do I describe, analyse and shape the world around me? [Environments and technologies].

4. Viannne Timmons: Having all Partners on Side/P.E.I. ...the little province that could.

            "For inclusive practices to take hold and become the norm, a concerted effort from multiple stakeholders is required. A shared philosophy is critical to the implementation of inclusive practices" (p.469). One of the greatest barriers to effective change is the procurement of a general consensus of all those who have a vested interested in that change. A coherent philosophy of inclusion is one that is embraced when teaching, working, and communicating within a society characterized by diversity. Most interestingly, the province of Ontario is far behind P.E.I. in its commitment to true inclusion. Perhaps it is because of P.E.I.'s geographical size that the so called stakeholders decided to come on board in order to make inclusive education a respectable reality.    

            Timmons agrees with Mittler's definition of inclusion in that..." it is a term that is variously interpreted, and has different meanings for different people. Inclusion is based on a value system that welcomes and celebrates diversity arising from gender, nationality, race, language of origin, social background, level of educational achievement or disability" (p. 471).  In order to have a school system that truly reflects the above, the province has made the following provisions:

• maintaining the number of teachers
• keeping small community schools open
• Student Services is responsible for supporting programs for students with special needs
• The UPEI offers a Diploma in Inclusive education as a core part of the curriculum. All education students/teachers must take this course
• the curriculum is designed to introduce teachers to the concepts of inclusive education with a focus on attitude and philosophy and how the teacher can differentiate the curriculum
• the majority of teachers are graduates of UPEI
• teaching and learning is needs based rather than disability focussed

            PEI has adopted inclusive practice as the standard approach to education of children with special needs, there are still challenges but having all partners on side and providing support are essential to the success of connecting inclusive policies to practice.

5. Petra Kuppers(2009): Towards a Rhizomatic Model of Disability`

            Kuppers explains that one of the central struggles or barriers in Disability Studies concerns the models of disabilities and more importantly the meaning of the word disability as it is understood socially and culturally, and within the medical model. She explains that disability as a social category is extrinsic to a specific person. For instance, if a person in a wheelchair encounters a stairwell she is disabled and can choose to embrace the label as a sign of shared oppression. Additionally, the medical model of disability is intrinsic. Here the body is understood as faulty and in need of being cured, managed, and rehabilitated.  She proposes the a rhizomatic model of disability, already a model, slanted, quotationed, rather than a mode of experience. "This is a model in which the extrinsic and intrinsic mix and merge, as they do in my own physical and psychical being when I am in pain, and cannot walk the stairs..."(p. 226) Even though she cannot find the words to describe the intensity of the  pain, she finds comfort through the shared experience of her pain with others who are also in pain. She refers to this as sympatico: a higher plane of mutual understanding exempt from spoken words. It is a rhizomatic moment. It is a moment so full of beauty and understanding words would diminish the experience.

            The rhizome and its principle characteristics, as described by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, is unique because it connects any point to any other point, unlike trees or their roots. The rhizome and its traits are not necessarily linked to traits of the same nature; it brings into play very different regimes of signs, and even non-sign states. ( Deleuze & Guattari, 1987, p. 21)

            In conclusion it is easy to see how dissenters of inclusion would find the rhizomatic model of disability a challenge to understand and acknowledge. It requires an open mind and acceptance and is this not the very essence of inclusion? " The rhizomatic model of disability is radically singular, flexing its membranes to touch words (disabled, pain), experiences (pain, joy) and other concrete objects in the world(stairs, pills, people, the ground, a table around which we are sharing our libations"(p. 226).

Summary/Overview of Reading and Critical Reflections on Inclusion

Greetings to all who read here,

Please see the attached summary and overview of the assigned readings. I apologize for the change in format but it is necessary for me to present the material as summary first and then I will offer my reflections and critique, pondering the questions our instructor has asked us to consider.

I don't know about anyone else but I am so nervous about this online blogging.

Now doesn't that just say it all...ha ha!

Please read my summary/overview and be kind. Then get ready for it "Rose's Rants and Revelations"

I am having trouble uploading my personal files to my to my blog...it just keeps spinning...so I will be highlighting and pasting.

Sorry for the inconvenience but your time and patience is important to us! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6ag1bIabg0

More

to

come

New Blogger on Board...Please be Kind

Greetings to all who read here,

I am trying to navigate my way through this technology and I am feeling uncertain and exposed. 
When I am in my classroom, I am never at a loss for words, just ask any of my students.
Knowing that what I post here is "out there" is a little unnerving, so trying to get to a place where what I type/post as true representation of my style/voice may take some time...but not too long, I am certain.

• So....What is Inclusion ? 
• What should an inclusive classroom look like? 
• What should an inclusive classroom consist of? 
• What knowledge and skills should the teacher have?

If I were to survey all who read here, we would perhaps have similar philosophies, attitudes, and opinions on the above inquiries. But just like the diversity in our classrooms, I am certain there would be differences and areas where we would disagree. Indeed this is very helpful for healthy dialogue, fostering interest and fresher perspective. Perhaps it is an exercise in futility to try and standardize 'a' definition of inclusion, or the inclusive classroom as it simply does not exist, as every classroom is so very different.

Therefore, I use this blog to post my perspectives, attitudes, experiences, observations, and criticism and look forward to your response and judgement, as I/we try to understand what I/we mean when I/we use the term inclusion and, more importantly, the implications of what is understood.