Changing Perspectives

I feel as though most people that I have recently talked to about inclusion have very strong opinions. Most of those opinions have been against inclusion. As a brand new educator that has seen a lot of successes through inclusion models, I have felt very disheartened.

I feel like there needs to be a change of perspective if we want to be successful. As educators, we signed up to be life-long learners; we should be seeking for new ways to reach our kiddos and to close gaps. I understand that change can be scary; it's unknown. We don't necessarily feel ready to jump in and try something new. We fear that we won't be servicing our kids the way we need to be. We may have a sense of pride about our degrees that we have earned and we may not want to work in someone else's classroom. 

I also think that we have this misconception that 'Model A' of Inclusion WILL WORK FOR ALL ENVIRONMENTS. Wrong-O. We must remember that inclusion itself looks differently in every classroom for every child depending on the needs of the students, the educational philosophies of all teachers involved, the conflicts of schedules, and the relationship of the inclusion team. 

We must learn to be flexible. We must be open to taking risks if we want to be successful and we must be aware that it's not going to work out perfectly on day one, week one, or even year one. It's a working progress. Inclusion is something that will constantly be changing and it is A LOT OF WORK. But, I am telling you from my experiences; it can be so worth it. I have students that were pulled out of science for Resource Services last year that are getting amazing grades in Science. I have students that are participating and engaging in general education classrooms and gaining confidence of their academic ABILITIES rather than their disabilities. Some days are hard... some days I have to step back and rethink my schedule/supports within the general education classroom. Some days I have to pull out or provide small group supports within the general education classroom.

But isn't that we have grown so accustomed to as SPED teachers?..; that things are always changing and that we are supposed to focus on the LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT. I am so excited to continue learning about and implementing inclusion. What has your experience been with inclusion?

-Caroline