Final Thoughts

It's going to be a challenge to be an effective teacher in an inclusive classroom. However, it is an opportunity to grow and broaden my current thoughts, beliefs, and perspectives...

Differentiated Instrucation

Our world is continuously changing in regards to the norms, responsibilities, and values that individuals are expected to uphold. Our education system has had to constantly revamp instructional tactics and strategies in order to meet these essential aspects of society. Throughout history, there have been pendulum shifts between progressivism and traditionalism. Because of the different influences that globalization and technology has on society and children, knowledge is at the push of a button away from students and we are now shifting to progressivism.

To meet the needs of these neo-progressive students, teachers must modify the content, process, and product by understanding the students’ readiness, interests, and learning profiles. These elements of differentiated instruction were developed by Carol Tomlinson and this approach responds to the needs of all learners. For the 21st century learner, teachers must focus on ways to modify the curriculum, provide meaningful activities which students will find relevant, and supply opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge in their own way.Understanding the variables as to where students are coming from, there passions, and how they learn are imperative concepts when instructing today’s learners.

The diverse needs of the classroom require teachers to be aware of different strategies that are available. A teacher’s responsibility is to provide learning activities which will provide all students with the resources they need so that they become independent, accountable adults. This current shift to progressivism will demand teachers to develop and expand their instructional repertoires. All students will benefit from the differentiated instruction that teachers provide.

Thoughts on Shyness

The video "Shyness" that we watched in class the other day, introduced three students who were socially introverted. These three students were deemed by a psychiatrist to be social outsiders. This test, which was like a popularity test, asked students a number of questions. The students had to answer each question by saying which member of the class would fit the criteria. For example, children were asked who they liked to play with. After the sociometric test was administered, only three students in the class were not chosen at all. The results meant that these three children were not developing healthily.

The first child Jimmy, was emotionally unstable. He did not have any friends and was almost scared to interact with another human being. Anna was an unhappy child who was a typical shy child. At recess, it looked as though she wanted to play with the other children but she was too shy to participate. Robert was another child who no one picked in the sociometric test. He was perfectly happy being alone; the psychiatrist deemed that he was developing healthily. It was the psychiatrist and teacher's responsibility to help Jimmy and Anna become more social and interactive.

Each child, proposed by the psychiatrist, had their own environmental factors that caused them to be shy. Jimmy's mom was extremely overprotective. Therefore, when Jimmy was little, he did not have the opportunity to interact with other children during this sensitive time period. Anna's mother was very demanding which caused Anna to feel that she could never do anything right no matter how hard she tried. Even though her mother did love her, Anna did not feel loved. She then transferred these feelings of inadequacy over to other social situations. If her mother did not lover her, then how would other people love and accept her.

The teacher and psychiatrist in the film were able to help Jimmy and Anna develop social skills necessary to interact with other children and adults. They achieved this by focusing on each child's strength as opposed to dwelling on their inadequacies determined by society.

This term, I have begun to realize the importance and benefits of cooperative learning. In all of my previous courses, I have not have the chance to participate in various group projects. I feel that the experience this year has benefited me because of the diverse perspectives and ideas I have encountered. Working in these groups has provided me the opportunity to be aware of other's needs and communicate my own needs.

In class today we learned about the five components of cooperative learning. The first component we touched on was positive interdependence. This concept has been a key factor in the groups I have been working in so far; my individual success is dependent on the group's success. Positive face-to-face interactions in cooperative learning was presented to me the first day of the middle years program. The first teacher I had introduced herself to the whole class and she established a positive learning environment for the class. The third component, interpersonal and small group interactions, has been ongoing since day one. Every day we discuss with each other our personal experience and thoughts about topics in class. Individual accountability is a component that is strongly emphasized. An individual is responsible for the construction of their own learning and they can only do this by taking responsibility and accountability for their learning.

Critical reflection is the fifth component of cooperative learning. I have never known the importance that reflection has on a students learning. In many of my presentations and assignments, I must reflect on the experience and my learning. This has helped me analyze and create solutions to areas that I can improve on. It has also provided me the chance to reflect on some of my successes and thus has given me more confidence and motivation.

The positive experience that I have had so far in cooperative learning groups has given me the desire to effectively use cooperative learning groups in my future classroom.

Reflection on Maclean's Article

I read an article in Maclean's Magazine entitled "Are We Raising Our Boys to be Underachieving Men?". The article explained that the percentage of males who drop out of high school is 10.3 percent and the number of females who drop out is 6.6 percent. Reasons for the higher drop out rate was that boys get lower grades, study less, and are more likely to repeat a grade than girls. After reading the article, I wondered what sort of solutions our economy and society should implement in order to reduce the high school drop out rates of boys.

The article also mentioned that some of the jobs in North America that are expected to expand in the next few years are the jobs that woman traditional fulfill. Forty-three percent of woman and only twenty-five percent of men are likely to graduate from university. With these stats, many males with disabilities will find it even more difficult to find work or go to university. Individuals with disabilities might feel discouraged when they see these statistics.

In the next few years, it will be a challenge to reduce the high school drop out rates and increase the percentage of university graduation rates. Students with disabilities will face an even greater challenge because of the many societal and economic barriers that they already encounter every day.

The workshop that we did in class today was very useful and clarified the aspects of long term goals and objectives. Understanding the different areas of focus for SMART goals is a great starting point for developing goals. All of these types are foci are important to include in IPP's for students with disabilities.

Self-skills and creating goals that will enhance students efficacy are crucial to have. When students feel confident in their abilities, they are more likely to be successful in other areas of life. Pro-social and communication skills are also great areas to focus on when creating goals with students. It is a teacher's responsibility to express to students the importance of interacting in society in and outside the classroom. These type of goals will prepare students for social situations and encounters. The focus of academic and work habit skills are also critical to address. Setting up students for success will improve their motivation and efficacy.

In order for students to have success, teachers should ensure that their goals are clear and not vague. Students will be able to see progress when the goals and objectives are clear and specific. This will then provide more motivation for students to reach the final benchmark. When I am working on an assignment and I see progress and improvement, I am more motivated to reach the final goal. This is why it is so important to have clear goals and different areas of focus for students with disabilities.

Moments

The other day, I had the opportunity to transfer what I have been learning in class into practice. I was playing volleyball last week with a group of my friends. Halfway through the game, an individual came and wanted to play with us. As is human nature, I judged the individual to be a little bit different and that he possibly might have a learning disability. Everyone on the court had this thought and tried not to pay attention to the individual.

After a few minutes, I went over to the individual, who was now sitting on the bench with a volleyball in his hand. I asked him if he wanted to be on one of the teams and sub into the game. Right away he seemed excited about playing and joined one of the teams. The players on his team were trying to get him involved in the play; however, I could tell they were getting frustrated because his skill level was not the same as the group. He was trying his best but he was always getting into his teammates way when they were playing the ball.

Although it did take patience for the rest of us to include him, the individual was extremely happy that he was able to participate. By the end, he made the game more enjoyable for the rest of us because of his enthusiasm on the court. It is moments like these that remind us of how important inclusion is. We have to make sure we do not have the mentality that students with disabilities are in our way of success. Sometimes, we might be in their way because of our misconceptions and selfishness.

"On Passing By"

This weekend I read a poem entitled "On Passing By" which was written by my grandmother about forty years ago. The poem was about a homeless woman who was huddled in a doorway and was trying to keep warm. My grandmother noticed the woman while she was driving long ago. As I read the poem, I began to wonder what sort of barriers the woman had encountered in her lifetime. I wondered if she had any support to help her climb out of the rut that she was in.

After the poem, I thought about how the barriers a student with learning disabilities lives with everyday. One way we can minimize these barriers is by providing appropriate accommodations for students in the classroom. Environmental, instructional, and assessment accommodations are effective solutions for students with disabilities. Rearranging the classroom structure, giving students a copy of the notes, and permitting students to have a longer time period to write exams are examples of accommodations which can increase students success. As a result, students will increase their self efficacy and the barriers they face everyday will diminish.

If the woman in the poem was given accommodations or help in any kind of way, maybe she could have surmounted past her struggles. Maybe no one could provide the needed support for the woman; however, we have to try.

Grow the Grass

"When elephants fight, it's the grass that gets trampled". This African proverb, which was mentioned in the Beyond F.A.T. City video, is an eye opening statement concerning students with disabilities. It is crucial that everyone who is involved in the IPP process, take their seat at the table and bring their positive input. Every specialist, teacher, and parent is there to offer their knowledge and support; every angle must be taken into consideration in order for the child to fully benefit from the IPP process. Although these angles will be different, each must be valued and respected.

The most powerful aspect related to a child's success with learning disabilities is that the parents are involved in the process. Parents, without a doubt, know the child the best. They know the child's every strength, weakness, and desire. Teachers must use this information to create the most effective plan for a student. Also, a parent must respect the effort that the rest of the participants are putting forward and realize that growth will not be made if they are a lone wolf.

It has been said that it takes an entire village to raise a child. I agree with this statement. Everyone individual involved in the IPP process is contributing their knowledge so that the child has the best opportunity for success. Cohesion and trust among the support services is vital to a child's growth and success. We must plant the seeds, nourish and water the soil, and provide warmth for grass to grow. We all have to work together for a child to grow and succeed to their fullest potential.

Adolescent

After we watched another part of the Beyond F.A.T. City video, I began to reflect on my own adolescent experience in school. Richard Lavoie proposed three reasons why adolescence is the worst time to have a disability and I related each reason with my own junior high experience.

The first reason is that adolescence is the only years where you are expected to do everything well. As I thought about these years, I felt fortunate that I had a had a positive adolescent experience. I was involved in many sports, had friends, and did fairly well in school. During these years, I remember asking myself frequently, "why do certain individuals never play sports or why they would never do their homework?". This type of behaviour did not make sense to me and sometimes I thought they were just lazy. Now I think to myself, maybe they weren't fortunate enough to have a safe, caring home environment and could not focus on schoolwork; maybe their families didn't have money for them to participate in sports; maybe they had either a social, physical or psychological disability that they hid. There are a plethora of answers to my egocentric questions of a few years ago.

Secondly, adolescence is the only time when being different is automatically bad. If you did not have the right clothes or appearance, you were often ridiculed and/or excluded from the group. I remember buying the brands of clothing that everyone else was wearing and ensuring that I did not wear the same article of clothing two days in a row. For me, it wasn't difficult for me to melt into the group. For some people, they do not have the tools are resources to fit in and feel accepted.

The last reason why adolescence is the worst time to have a disability is because there is a recognition of permanence at this time - what you see is what you get. Even those of us who do not live with a disability and have a well rounded life struggle with our self concept. There are high expectations that are placed on adolescents by parents, teachers, peers and the media. If we fail to reach these expectations, we feel inadequate, worthless, our self concept is hindered. It is extremely difficult to reach these expectations if you have more barriers caused by a disability.

My main conclusion from my reflection is that adolescence is challenging even if you do not have a disability. It's hard to imagine what each day is like in the life of an adolescent who possesses a disability.

We Don't Know

In the video "Beyond F.A.T. City", the statement that was the most striking to me was that we don't know what it feels like to live with a learning disability. This is an obvious statement; but, many times we forget about this detail because we do not have to face a learning disability everyday. Assuming that we know what a student feels like is one of the worst mistakes we can make as educators. What we can do is be compassionate towards the student and show that we want them to succeed despite their learning disability.

Another statement that was enlightening today was - fair doesn't mean the same... fair depends on the needs of each person. I have always thought that fair does mean that everyone gets the same amount of time and energy. This belief is now shifting to the fact that fairness depends on the needs of each student. Fairness should not be judged relative to the needs of someone else.

These two statements are crucial when it comes to relating two students with disabilities. Although we can attempt to walk in another person's shoes, it is impossible to understand the frustration, anxiety, and tension that individuals with a disability live with. As educators, we can let these students know that they have support and don't have to walk these difficult roads alone.

"A Mind of Your Own"

Last class, we watched a video entitled "A Mind of Your Own". Up until this point of the course, I had been feeling very overwhelmed about the responsibilities that teachers undertake when establishing an inclusive classroom. The film gave me hope and made me feel like I would be capable of this challenge in my future classroom. Each student that was featured in the film provided me with some insight into their perspective of what it is like to live with a learning disability.

In the film, one student equated his learning disability to a big rock that he had to climb over. He would stutter in class because he was nervous and the other students would always tease him. His grandmother started helping him read at a higher level and he played chess, which he was exceptional at. This gave him the confidence that he needed in order to decrease the size of the rock that he had to climb over.

Another student explained that her learning disability was like a chest full of drawers. Information would go in to the drawers and was organized; however, when it was time to retrieve the information, it would be rearranged differently and was confusing. To overcome her disability, this student also worked on the talent that she possessed - opera singing.

The last student that was featured in the film compared his learning disability with ten television sets that were all on at the same time; he wasn't able to filter out the noises and concentrate. He was diagnosed with having ADHD and the Ritalin that he was prescribed was somewhat effective in helping him concentrate. His woodworking and writing abilities also assisted him in overcoming his disability because he was able to focus on his strength and not be submerged in his failures.

There were two very important insights that I extracted from the film. First of all, each student sincerely does want to learn... maybe even more so than students who society would judge as not having a disability. Secondly, when teaching students with learning disabilities, it is imperative that we utilize their strengths to facilitate them in overcoming their disabilities.

Service Delivery Models

Which of the service delivery models is the most effective for teaching students with disabilities?

Each model has its own pros and cons that must be taken into consideration. Special education classes occur in a structured environment and have teachers who are working in their area of expertise. To some people this may seem like the best answer because the teacher would be able to spend more time with each student individually. However, a student does not have the chance to interact and learn with their non-disabled classmates. They also may experience a stigma that is either invoked by their peers or fabricated from their insecurities and past experiences; but this stigma is just as real and debilitating for the student. It is hard to judge whether this stigma is worth the risk when we place students in special education classes.

Another service delivery model is the resource room model. One advantage of the resource room is that students with disabilities interact more with peers that are not disabled. This may lead to their peers being more cognizant about different disabilities and more willing to provide a helping hand. There are also drawbacks to this model. The resource room teacher and the regular classroom teacher may not have the time or energy to provide a positive shift between classrooms. This may cause routines to be disrupted for all of the students and teachers.

Lastly, the third model is the inclusive classroom. In theory, this may be the most appealing model because no one is consciously secluded. The inclusive classroom is the entire community working together to remove the barriers for students with disabilities. Everyone that is involved will benefit in an inclusive classroom. This service delivery model appears to be the best; but is it feasible? Teachers may feel overwhelmed and unqualified to have the responsibility of teaching many students with a variety of disabilities.

I am still unsure of which model is the most reliable and effective. I think that all three can be used effectively if they are presented in the most positive way. The stigmatism can be avoided, the routines can be upheld, and the teachers can gain the qualifications to teach a diverse classroom. Regardless of which model is used, we must ensure that every student feels like they belong and are valued in the classroom and society.

Initial Ideas About Inclusive Education

My Personal Experience

In my grade school educational experience, I was not exposed to the concept of inclusive education. I grew up in a small town where I was with the same core group of students from kindergarten to grade 12. There were some students who needed extra help with reading, math or had other common barriers. However, from my naive perspective, there were never any severe disabilities that significantly held students back from learning. Now that I am more aware of the idea of inclusive education, I understand that these barriers can be challenging to overcome and cannot be disregarded.

Disability: Whose Responsibility

Ensuring that a student learns despite encountering a learning barrier is everyone’s responsibility. It is human nature to attribute successes to our own internal characteristics and to attribute failures to external factors; therefore, some individuals will be unwilling to take responsibility if a child is not learning. When a student with a disability is concerned, then everyone must take accountability. We must change what we can control to help a student be successful in the classroom.

Movements for Inclusive Education

I agree with the steps that have already been taken to implement inclusive education effectively in the classroom. For example, the Salamanca Statement created by UNESCO provides a foundation that all countries can draw upon when creating their own inclusive education programs. Canada has taken its own necessary steps to increase the awareness and acceptance of inclusive education. The fact that all Canadians have the right to a higher education is evidence that our country values every citizen regardless of their disabilities or inadequacies. It is reassuring to know that we are becoming more empathetic towards individuals who have disabilities and taking action to minimize the barriers they face.

Attitude and Beliefs

My preexisting belief about disabilities has leaned towards a nativist view that it is an internal trait. However, in the past few years I have come to understand the important role of the environment in a child's development. Enriched environments can increase the child's capability to learn despite their barriers. Conversely, negative environments can magnify a child's disability. Our job as educators is to provide a safe and positive learning environment for all students.

I am looking forward to expanding on my knowledge about inclusive education, challenging or reinforcing my current beliefs, and becoming an effective advocate for inclusive education because of this course.