The place I am observing is a privately owned daycare center. I have been discussing the topic of inclusion with the director and teaching staff. I have to admit I was a bit surprised by the feedback I received. Most of the teachers have the opinion that inclusion is not good in most cases. I agree some children with severe disabilities will not benefit from inclusion at all. But, the main issue many of the teachers gave me was that inclusion requires too much extra time, effort , and planning. They also mentioned the lack of special education training.I also received one comment that the "disabled" child may be disruptive to the class either through behavior or because of the physical differences.This was sad to hear because no matter what the differences, they are still children with wants and needs. I was also upset that as teachers no one mentioned the positive aspects of inclusion in an early childhood classroom.
I feel as an advocate I need to reinforce the positives of having a child with special needs included in the classroom. I could suggest trainings and workshops pertaining to learning about learning disabilities and teaching strategies. I believe the more knowledge one has on a subject or topic the more comfortable they will be. I always read books, magazines, and do research on unfamiliar topics so I can feel properly informed. I would suggest some books I have read on learning disabilities, autism, and teaching strategies .
My observation site does not have any advocacy programs in place. But, they do support Muscular Dystrophy Association and St. Jude's Research Hospital by inviting the students to participate in the yearly events. This is the only time the teachers discuss children with special needs and their differences and similarities . A special one week curriculum is sent from the children's charities to the school.
I would hope through advocacy I can bring awareness to the positive aspects of inclusion in early childhood settings.I believe all children need to have the opportunity to learn,make friends, gain confidence, and have a positive school experience. They need to know that they have strengths no matter how big or small.
Cindy, I'm sorry to say that many teachers don't want to do anything extra when it comes to their jobs. I can understand that some children shouldn't be placed in Gen-ed classes but those who don't have that much trouble can benefit dearly in a inclusion class. If the class can have a Gen-ed and a Sped teacher in their together, they can work together to help the disabled child succeed.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad to me that in this day and age there are teachers that still look at children with special needs as a problem. This is the prime reason why we still need a public school system where all children are welcomed. Private schools and institutions can pick and choose their kids and turn away whoever they wish. It is truly sad because shielding general education children from special education children is counterproductive for both sets of kids. Where else in our society can we simply say, you cannot be here because you are different, or you need special attention, or you take to much energy to care for? I agree with the teachers' statements regarding special needs children in inclusion as needing more effort, more planning, and more time from teachers. It is great that they realize what it takes, it would be nice if they had the heart do do the work.
ReplyDeleteWe really need to include the special needs kids into society.They need to experience the "real" world.The special ed, regular ed, and families all need to work together for the best of the child.
ReplyDeleteI think that sometimes a privately owned day care might not have money to provide for the needs of child with a disability. As a community based pre-k teacher I have had the opportunity to visit other day care centers. One program I go to twice a week has a child who is three and completely non verbal. The teachers are very good to him and the owner provides him with a one on one aid, but the aid does not have any education or strategies to help this child. The inclusive pre k program he attends for 2 ½ hrs a day does not communicate or share anything with the day care staff at all. The child’s parent has signed a release for sharing of information but gets no responses from the special education teacher.I think this is sad and also unprofessional. The child is the most important and the day care staff is willing to work with him but get information to help this child. The single dad is not able to really anything to the day care he really struggles to just work and drop the child off at day care each day. So I can understand the day care staff feeling like they would not know what to do if they had a child with a disability. I see both side of the inclusive environment for a special needs child. I think there are many factors to consider, I think inclusion can work. It can take a little more money sometimes, educating the staff and the desire to make it work as well by communication and working together by all professionals. One last thing I would like to say is that inclusions give helps other children to develop empathy, understanding and tolerance for differences other.
ReplyDeleteCindy-
ReplyDeleteIt is really sad to hear that this center does not have even one positive view on inclusion in the classroom. I must say, I work at a center and while we do not currently have any children with special needs, I know for a fact that we are not apposed to it. I think it is great on many levels both for the child with special needs along with the other children as well. Since we do not have any children with special needs there was this program in which adults and teenagers with special needs came to our center and participated in activites as well as played games with our school age children. I thought this was great because it showed the children the positive outcomes of us all working together. The children in my class felt proud that they were able to help others and enjoyed playing games and showing our guests all around their classroom. Thanks for sharing your blog!
Cindy, way to go for advocating for children with special needs and inclusion programs. It sounds like those teachers were just trying to make excuses. Honestly, there is hardly any difference between an inclusion classroom and a regular ed classroom. I actually found it much easier to teach in an inclusion room that was designed to accommodate for children with special needs over my regular ed class. This is because in the inclusion 1) we had extra support staff, and 2) we had lots of special ed resources and support materials. Since moving to a regular ed class I have still had at least two children with special needs that were either a) undiagnosed, or b) they attended a special ed prek in the morning and ours in the afternoon. I have no extra help, no resources or materials to accommodate them, etc. It is lot harder to accommodate without the proper resources than it is to have a classroom equipped for dealing with children with special needs.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely relate to the teachers stating that inclusion can be a challenge. However, their are benefits for inclusive classrooms. For instance, parents/guardians may feel their child with a disability is in a "regular" classroom setting, friendships develop, and/or children learn from their peers. In my opinion, I think that all professional educators need to focus on the child's best interest.
ReplyDeleteMy apology. Within the second sentence, it should read "there" oppose to "their".
DeleteInclusion works when it is done correctly. It is not done so that special ed. teachers are not part of the educational process of the child it is a collaborative effort but it certainly does take time on both teachers parts. Sometimes districts spread the sped. teacher so thin they cannot do everything asked of them in regards to inclusion. At times too, some kids should not be included because their needs would be better served in a self-contained setting.
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