My colleagues, and I have mixed feelings about inclusion. We feel it has some value for certain special students, but it can be a very negative experience for other special students, along with teachers and regular students.
Lakota High School has used inclusion for the past three years. I admit three years is not a long time to see the full value of a program, but here are some of our observations.
- It can be a very positive experience for intergrating the special student into the regular classroom.
- Special ed students behave different (better) in a regular class because they don't want to stand out.
- They enjoy being part of the crowd, rather than being separated from them.
- We have had more success with the LD (sometimes SBH) student being included, rather than the DH student.
- Not all teachers are receiptive to inclusion, therefore you must select the classroom where the student will have the best chance for success.
- It is fun for the special ed teacher to go into a regular classroom and work with the regular classroom teacher and students.
- The included student is challenged to live up to the same standards as the regular. (Higher expectations result in higher achievement)
- One major problem is time. We don't have the time to colaborate with the regular teacher. Without this time inclusion is hit and miss. The special teacher becomes nothing more than an expensive teacher's aide.
- As with most things in education, inclusion can be treated as a fad. Schools where inclusion is a blanket program, every student is put into the regular classroom for all of their classes, is not giving the least restrictive alternative to their students. The program becomes more important than the student.
- Student can become too dependent on the teacher to copy notes, get assignments, study for tests, etc. In short the exact thing inclusion is trying to promote (independence in the regular class), is being smothered with good intentions. We create a welfare student.
- Some regular teachers have expressed, they have had to water down their subject in order to reach all the students. Instead of bringing the special students up to the regular level, the teachers have had to bring the regular level down. I might add, I think it is good to challenge the regular teacher to find new, concrete, global, hands on ways of teaching their subject material. I don't think we should make every student suffer with an inferior education just to accomdate one or two.
Education Home Page
Please send them and we will post them for others to read.