Final Inclusion Paper

Final Inclusion Paper Katelyn Lorick ECI 416-601 November 4, 2012 North Carolina State University

Final Inclusion Paper My initial thoughts on inclusion were very straightforward. After learning about inclusion, I thought that students with exceptionalities should be included as much as possible, but full inclusion may not be the best choice for students with or without

exceptionalities. Students with exceptionalities should and do have the right to a free and public education, but including them in a general education classroom may not benefit them as much as having person and one-on-one instruction from a special education teacher. I originally stated in my initial inclusion paper that I have worked in a classroom with students with exceptionalities. I believe that this influenced my views on inclusion. In my middle school, the classroom I visited weekly included several students with high incidence disabilities. These students were never, to my knowledge, included in any other classroom. I truly believe that students with exceptionalities can benefit from being around students that are in general education classrooms, and students without disabilities can benefit from working with students with disabilities. My views have not changed much, as I still feel as if there should be limited inclusion, but not full inclusion. My initial thoughts on students with exceptionalities were that if they were fully included in the general education classroom, they might be bullied or made fun of because they are different than the other students. I was also concerned about the thought that full inclusion might disrupt the flow of the classroom. Both of these things are and will most likely continue to be worries of mine, but I think that I have learned many ways to handle situations that may occur in the classroom. I have also learned many specific things about students with exceptionalities. One of the first things we learned was about person first language. This was very helpful to me because not only did I not know there was such a thing, but I also learned

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that specific or outdated terminology could be extremely offensive. I originally felt like I would feel mildly uncomfortable around students with exceptionalities. However, I became exceedingly comfortable after learning how to address them, how to approach them, and how to, Be yourself. Treat a person with a disability as you would any one who does not have a disability (Russell, 2008, pg. 42). Just reading the article, Teaching Exceptional Students, immediately made me feel more at ease with interactions between students and myself with exceptionalities, because I had now educated myself on the topic. Another tool that helped me a lot was watching the video, How Difficult could this be?. This video really showed me that students with learning disabilities have an extremely hard time in a general education classroom. The situation in which Richard Lavoie threw questions at these adults, most of who were involved in education, without giving them time to answer, or to even think about the question shows how difficult it is for students with learning disabilities to function in class. I thought it was very interesting that the workshop was called F.A.T. City, seemingly a humorous title, but it stands for three things that students with learning disabilities have to deal with daily: frustration, anxiety, and tension. Although I do not have a learning disability, I tend to have some problems with anxiety. I stress out about minor things, and get flustered in class when I am put on the spot. This is why this video hit home for me. I dont know exactly how it feels to have a learning disability, but I connected with the audience in this video because I feel rushed and stressed just like they felt. However, they knew it was not real, so they tended to laugh it off. Students with learning disabilities are not allowed to just laugh it off. Since this is an old video, I can only assume that awareness of learning

Final Inclusion Paper disabilities has been improved. Even so, I can also only assume that there are more

students being diagnosed with learning disabilities than there used to be. The audience in this video, or students rather, clearly had no idea that this is how students with disabilities felt daily. Learning how to assist students with disabilities from articles or textbooks is helpful, but actually experiencing what it is like to be in their shoes only makes it more real. Patience is of the upmost importance when working with students with disabilities. Learning about what characteristics of students with learning disabilities was very helpful as well. The article on Teaching Students with Learning Disabilities or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder helped me to get a mental picture of what students with learning disabilities might be like. Giving students the appropriately sized workloads may help them pace themselves, without being overwhelmed by the amount of work. It is helpful to have background knowledge on this topic because I feel as if teachers were not aware of these disabilities, they would not know how to help these students. Although some students begin to receive assistance at a young age, I am very pleased to know that if one of my middle school students was not diagnosed with a learning disability in grade school, I may be able to help them figure out what problems they are having. I would hate to see a student struggle through school, without a teacher noticing or being able to identify that there might be a problem. It seems unfair for a student to not receive the assistance that they require because of an unaware teacher. This article also suggests tips on how to help students with disabilities. Before I started taking this course, I honestly thought that there was nothing I could do to help students with disabilities. It is inspirational and empowering to know that I can make a difference in these students lives, even if I am just their teacher for one subject.

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Learning about bullying was also extremely helpful and I feel as if it has prepared me to be a teacher. Bullying is obviously something that is a problem in schools today. Anyone can be bullied, but it seems likely that students with disabilities will become the target of much of the bullying. In the reading A Whole-School Approach to Bullying: Special Considerations for Children with Exceptionalities, it was interesting to learn about the different targets for bullies, the actual bullies, and the bystanders. Raising awareness about this topic is crucial to helping cease this problem. Learning the facts on bullying, and the reasons for students with special needs possibly being a target will allow me to know what to watch out for in my classroom. If the students cannot protect themselves, I feel it is my responsibility to do so. What I Will Use as a Teacher A particularly important classroom intervention that I will use is creating a positive classroom climate. I hope to create an atmosphere in my classroom in which my students will always know that there are no stupid questions, and everyone is supportive of one another. I feel as though a classroom that has a positive climate will create a classroom of positive students. Praise for correct answers, providing feedback to students in a positive way when they answer incorrectly, and keeping a close eye on my students will hopefully be ways in which I can begin to create a positive classroom climate. A strategy that I hope to use is creating a set of classroom rules that my students must abide by. It is important for my students to know what is allowed, what is not allowed, and what is expected of them. If they know that I have high expectations for them, this will hopefully encourage them to try their hardest. However, if the expectations are set too high, I fear that some students will not believe that they can

Final Inclusion Paper fulfill my expectations. One of my rules will definitely be work to the best of your ability. There is not doubt that students will have different abilities in the classroom. I want my students to know that as long as they are trying their hardest, they are doing a great job. Another rule I wish to instill is to treat each other the way you would like to be treated. I feel as though this is a rule that will immediately make the students think

about their actions. I hope with this rule they will stop and think, Would I want someone to do this to me? It will allow them to self-monitor themselves without the teacher intervening. In my classroom, I also wish to create positive, personal relationships with each one of my students. In the reading, Improving the Way We Think About Students With Emotional and/or Behavioral Disorders, I learned that establishing a relationship with the students can surely benefit them. As for students with emotional and behavioral disorders, this will be especially important. I hope to be a role model to my students to show them the correct way to act, rather than just telling them. I wish for my students to feel that they are a vital part of my classroom, and I feel as though establishing a relationship with them is the best way to help them. The teacher of a child with an emotional and/or behavioral concern has the task of building trust with that student (Regan, 2009, pg. 63). I hope to pose as a confidante to my students while also building their respect. Creating a positive classroom climate consists of building relationships. Organizing my classroom is something that I have learned a lot about. I think that learning is best when there is collaboration. Placing the desks in my classroom in groups seems to be the best way to encourage collaborative learning. I want to put my desks in groups, while mixing up the abilities in the classroom. Since I hope to teach language

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arts, I feel as though there will be a lot of reading within my classroom. A strategy I wish to use is grouping my students by mixing good readers with readers that struggle. Although this might be a long stretch to think that middle school students will work together and help each other, I hope that by creating a positive classroom climate, that my students will indeed help each other with things they do not understand. This can certainly assist students with exceptionalities because they will feel included and accepted by being with a group with students without exceptionalities, and they will hopefully receive assistance from their fellow students. I will also use technology in the sense of letting the students read along with a device that is reading the text out loud. I think that this could be helpful because it will allow students to concentrate on figuring out the words in the book, without applying pressure. Final Thoughts on Inclusion Before I began taking this course, I was extremely oblivious to all of the strategies that a teacher can use to help students with exceptionalities. I also began this class thinking that there was no such thing as inclusion. I thought that students with exceptionalities were put in a separate classroom with special education teachers. After learning about inclusion and full inclusion, I decided that full inclusion was perhaps not the best strategy, but limited inclusion might be. I still believe that partial inclusion can be a great way to allow students in general education to interact with students with exceptionalities. After learning about the exceptionalities themselves, I feel as if I have a much tighter grasp on how I will deal with exceptionalities in my classroom. I believe that if a student with exceptionalities shows the ability to do well in a general classroom, there is no reason they should not be included. However, if a student

Final Inclusion Paper with exceptionalities displays that they might cause distractions for the other students or they might cause strain on the teachers, this may not be the best fit. The real importance

is that the student is able to improve their academic and social skills. I think that students with exceptionalities should be included as much as possible, without causing distress to anyone. It is important for the teacher and parents to create an appropriate IEP to assist the students with high incidence disabilities. This step is crucial for the students to do well. Not only can inclusion benefit the student with the exceptionality, I think that it can also benefit the general education students. Inclusion creates a space where students are exposed to students that are not just like them, in hopes of them being aware and tolerant of people that are not like them not only in the classroom, but also in real life experiences. I am confident that I have learned valuable things in this class to assist me in my teaching career. Learning about the different exceptionalities has prepared me. However, the one worry I still have is how the students in my classroom will react to possibly having students with exceptionalities in my classroom. In order to have a positive classroom climate it is very important that my students are tolerant of each other and helpful to one another. Regardless of the students, I know that the most important part of my job is assisting my students in whatever way I can, building their knowledge of language arts, and preparing them for the next grade. I wish to mold young minds into successful members of society, while helping each one of my students work to the best of their ability, and do their very best work, exceptionality or not.

Final Inclusion Paper Works Cited Conroy, M. A., Sutherland, K. S., Snyder, A. L., & Marsh, S. (2008). Classwide Interventions. Teaching Exceptional Children, 40(6), 24-30. Heinrichs, R. R. (2003). A Whole-School Approach to Bullying: Special Considerations for Children with Exceptionalities. Intervention In School & Clinic, 38(4), 195. Regan, K. S. (2009). Improving the Way We Think About Students With Emotional and/or Behavioral Disorders. Teaching Exceptional Children, 41(5), 60-65. Rosen, P. (Producer & Director). (1989). How Difficult Can This Be?F.A.T. City: A Learning Disabilities Workshop [Motion picture]. (Available from R. Lavoie, Eagle Hill School OUTREACH, 45 Glenville Road, Greenwich, CT 06831)

Retrieved from http://media.nclive.org.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/play_video.php?vid=339 Russell, C. L. (2008). How Are Your Person First Skills?. Teaching Exceptional Children,40(5), 40-43. Vaughn, S. Teacher students with learning disabilities or attention deficit hyperactive disorder. In Teaching students who are exceptional, diverse, and at risk in the general education classroom (pp. 64-93). Retrieved from https://reserves.lib.ncsu.edu/reservesViewer.php?reserve=244974