Week 6 Assignment Essay

For inclusion to be effective as intended, the first change that must be made with beginning teachers is their understanding of what inclusion is. As Koonce (2014) states “inclusion is about creating a society in which all children and their families feel welcomed and valued” (p. 191). I believe that most of the teacher preparation focuses on the special education element in inclusion, looking to instruct only on how to accommodate students with disabilities instead of developing skills that allow teachers to successfully handle the entire issue. I believe that technology is a vital aspect to this piece as well. Training new teachers to effectively use different types of technology that allows for students with disabilities to become more comfortable in a general education classroom is a crucial step. I support Flippo, Inge and Barcus (1995) when they state that “through the use of assistive technology (AT) devices, many students can decrease their isolation from a special class and become an important part of a regular classroom, which is considered the least restrictive environment (LRE)” (p. 2). I have found through my experiences that creating an environment which allows for a LRE is very challenging at times, however if accomplished is very effective for all involved. I believe the single greatest issue facing veteran teachers and inclusion centers on a teachers ability to “change” and adapt. While this notion concerning veteran teachers is not new is even more important when dealing with inclusion. As Koonce (2014) states, “Teacher attitude becomes a crucial component in the success or failure of placements of disabled students in regular classrooms” (p. 198). I also believe that differentiation in service and training is crucial for veteran teachers who for the most part graduated with very little if any coursework on this issue. This professional development must be certain to focus on lesson development that takes into account all learning styles in the classroom. Being able to design instruction that meets the needs of all students in the classroom is probably the single biggest obstacle facing any teacher working with inclusion. The other training I would recommend is anything that helps teachers understand diversity. At the core of inclusion is the idea that people are unique and have different needs. Koonce (2014) states, “in the absence of diversity, it is hard to learn to be comfortable with difference” (p. 191). I believe that answering the question about whether a school can adequately accommodate the needs of a severely challenged student is a bit “tricky” All schools should work to accommodate the needs of all students, exhausting every resource available to do so. I have seen some instances that while we were providing adequate services, it became very clear that we were not the best solution. I believe in placing students in situations that allow for them to be successful. To this end, I have recommended at least four times that a student be removed from our school setting and placed in center based programs that provided better services for each student. In most cases, these decisions were made after a child study team had met and properly documented what was believed to be best for the student. These “center” based programs had better resources and were trained to work with each of these students. As Koonce (2014) states that, “collective bargaining has helped school employees win basic workplace dignity as well as decent pay, pensions, and health benefits” (p. 208). I believe that this sums up the benefits of unions, however it does not reflect the years of work and sacrifice made by many to achieve these benefits. When I first became a teacher, many of these benefits were a very pleasant surprise to me. I entered education as basically an afterthought due to my desire to go to law school. Over the past 25 plus years, I have witnessed the attack of the public school

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