At the 2014 Illinois Inclusion conference, keynote speaker Cheryl Jorgensen addressed the participants explaining how inclusion is "More than Just Being "In": Full Membership & Participation in Inclusive Classrooms". She spoke of how even though many children may be 'In' the regular classroom, they still aren't full members or participants.
They ride separate buses, work on a different curriculum, and have 'special' extra-curricular activities. They are 'pulled out' of the classrooms for 'special instruction' or therapy, they are the only person who has an adult sitting next to them all day, or perhaps they don't have a way to communicate with anyone in the class. Is that really 'inclusion'? I don't think so. At times, even the teachers don't really feel they are a member of their class and refer to them as 'your students' during discussions with the teacher with the special ed background.
Jorgensen had a great term that she used to describe this phenomenon....it was like the kids are an "Island in the Mainstream", which she credited to Douglas Bilken from Syracuse University.
Think of what you know about an island. It's land surrounded by water. Water that is rushing by, doing what water does. The island is not part of the water and the water isn't part of the island. There the island sits, in the middle of all that water, but it can't go where the water goes, it can't do what the water does.
The island that may be in the 'mainstream' still isn't really a part of the stream and the flow that is happening all around them. The island isn't part of the water and the water just goes on about it's flow, going around the island and, when necessary, brushing up against its shores and touching its edges when the wind blows a certain way, but for the most part, it just flows past the island. But the island never gets to be fully part of the water either, it sits there in the middle, alone, with no one to share experiences, and everything just flowing past.
That's what happens when inclusion isn't really inclusion.
Jorgensen told a few stories of children who had a variety of communication and developmental needs which were not being addressed, as well as gifts and talents which were not being fostered (or even really identified). With just a few changes to their environment, the children's ability to participate during the school day increased pretty dramatically. This was enlightening yet a bit disheartening. It was wonderful to see how much of a difference some simple changes were able to make in the lives of these children. At the same time, it was heartbreaking to think that it has taken so long for someone to think of implementing these changes. I couldn't help but being reminded of pictures I have seen of children with Down syndrome who were institutionalized from birth because no one thought they were capable of learning anything. How their squalid conditions and lack of stimulation actually attributed to many of their developmental and behavioral issues. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that schools today are like those institutions in any way! It's just that society underestimated those children back then, and it's sad that we still have educational institutions which aren't always giving them the credit that it due to them!
I'm not saying there aren't some great teachers, professionals, administrators and others involved in working with kids with Down syndrome, there are. Unfortunately, it is much more common for me to hear that at as young as three years old, our children are already being put on their own 'Island in the Mainstream'. WHY?
The inspiring part of her presentation was her list of 'How Do You Know Inclusion When You See It?" (The emphasis is mine.)
- Included right from the start
- Electives
- Heterogeneous (diverse) General Education Classes
- Eye to eye with your friends
- Giving & getting a helping hand
- Seeing Disability as just another kind of diversity
- Extracurricular activities
- Participating in what everybody else is doing
- Presuming competence to learn academics
- Accessibility of all learning materials
- Capitalizing on talents and interests
- Being willing to try another way
- Seeing all kinds of beauty - all students are just perfect
- Having a way to communicate about everything.....ALL the time
- Participating in graduation at age 18
- Going on to college....
- ...or work....
- ...and love.
I loved her list of the benefits of Inclusion
- Higher expectations
- Better performance on reading and math tests
- Fewer days missed from school
- Fewer problem behavior referrals
- Value-added benefits to the general education classroom
- Students who receive their educational program with same age peers without disabilities have greater access to the general curriculum
- Opportunity to develop social relationships
- Promotes the value of diverse community for all students
- Best preparation for adult life
and she had research to back it up.....
- The National Center on Inclusive Education at
- http://iod.unh.edu/PriorityAreas/inclusive-education/ncie-resources/research-publications.aspx - “Outcomes and Insights from Researchers on Inclusive Education: For Families and Teachers” and “Rationale For and Research on Inclusive Education: For Professionals and Researchers”
- TASH at http://tash.org/advocacy-issues/inclusive-education/ -“Frequently Asked Questions About Inclusive Education” and“Dispelling the Myths of Inclusive Education”
- SWIFT SCHOOLS – funded by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs - http://www.swiftschools.org/
We will be posting more thoughts on inclusion and information from the Illinois Includes conference in the future.
What do YOU think? Let's hear from you in our comments below!
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