6.11.2008

More Reasons for Including Special Needs Kids in Regular Classrooms

Inclusion can benefit all the children in a class -- not just the special needs students -- as this provocatively titled but ultimately thoughtful article points out:

Including special-needs children in class: Is it worth it?

The article illustrates how inclusion isn't just about dropping special needs kids in a class and expecting classmates to develop empathy automatically. If that was the case, we wouldn't have had the Alex Barton ostracization fiasco.

Inclusion requires extra work from both parents and teachers. It requires mindfulness and diligence. And can result in the kind of children we all wish we had, the kind who choose a special needs classmate as their homecoming queen.

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5 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:39 AM

    I just have to tell you about a small but sweet thing this morning... my oldest kid had her 5th grade promotion ceremony. Each child had his or her name read and came up to receive a 'diploma'. The kid who got the biggest, most sustained applause from the other kids was an AS kid in her class. -Anita R.

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  2. *snif* Thanks for sharing that wonderful moment!

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  3. I can test that a few kids in Moon class have been very caring and loving toward him. His very good friend S's mom wrote me an email about how lucky they feel that their daughter has Moon as friend.
    *snif*

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  4. Inclusion requires extra work from both parents and teachers.

    My mum's a SpEd teacher and uses me as the person to complain at about her job. It constantly amazes and horrifies me how many teachers expect the parents and the SpEd teacher to do everything.

    I admit, I come from a teeny town with very few educational resources, but jeez. D:

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  5. Nire, you must have a lot to say about the vicarious perspective of a SpEd teacher, and I'd love to hear about it.

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Respectful disagreement encouraged.