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?
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| 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
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.
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