Inclusive Education:
The Perspective of One Regular Educator
I had been in my new school less than an hour when the 'special needs' teacher introduced himself. He then proceeded to tell me that I would have two students with special needs in my class. I was terrified!! The only time I had been around anyone with special needs was during one class in college over ten years ago.
Questions kept whirling in my head. How was I supposed to cope with the needs of these two little girls and the other twenty students? Will I be able to teach them? Will I be getting any help? Will I be trained to meet their needs? Am I crazy? Are those in charge crazy?
What started out as an absolutely terrifying day turned into a blessing. I feel very fortunate to be involved with inclusive education. I believe it has made me a much better teacher, not only to my students with special needs, but to all my students during the last four years.
I am able to meet the academic needs of my students. My students with special needs have worked on embedded skills, cooperative learning activities, as well as language arts, math, and the sciences. One student, who had many physical disabilities, we have since discovered had average intelligence. My nondisabled students have been given numerous opportunities for extra practice in all areas of learning. The children enjoy the extra adults in the class who come in and out to help meet the needs of the children with disabilities. I have also enjoyed the help of another teacher and aides in my class.
All of my students have learned many different ways of communication. The students who weren't able to talk with words have enriched the learning of the 'typical' students. All my students have learned to use a communication board, eye and facial signals, sign language and Braille. The children want to learn to "talk" to each other. There have been many occasions when a nondisabled student has been able to figure out what the special needs student is trying to say when an adult hasn't. It has also helped all my students communicate more clearly with each other.
Overall, the behavior of all my students has improved. They are a much kinder group of students than those students who have not been involved in inclusive education. The nondisabled students involved with inclusion feel the need to set good role models and not get into so much trouble. Helping students with special needs, in turn, helps 'typical' students with their academics, and also reminds them not to take for granted the gifts that they have. By helping each other, students develop better self-concepts.
My students and I have been discussing the differences between the sexes and the races during the early part of the history of America. They can't even begin to understand why a country would discriminate against women and African-Americans. We also discussed that not long ago, children with special needs would be in a different school or class. They are very vigilant about the rights of the students with special needs in our school. By learning how to live with and among students with disabilities, nondisabled students learn how to accept others, how to make friends, and how to help others when it is difficult. The real world is not made up of perfect people.
I feel very privileged in being involved in the shaping of a new generation, a generation who tolerates difference and change, who is less afraid, and who is more caring toward people with differences. I believe that inclusive education is the way to be.
Debbie Morris, Fourth Grade Teacher
