The Inclusive Class

If you have been listening to The Inclusive Class Radio Show , then you have heard our expert guests repeat over and over again that inclusion is not a place, it's a way of perceiving, behaving and interacting with one another. The inclusive classroom best demonstrates that message as it begins with the belief that all children belong. Each child can demonstrate and achieve success, in various ways, according to their abilities, strengths and areas for growth. Language, as our guest Kathie Snow pointed out today, it a vital component of inclusion and an inclusive classroom. In the inclusive classroom, the teacher not only sets up physical opportunities for all students to look included, but the teacher makes students feel included through his/her choice of words and phrases. For example: Instead of    Group A and Group B ,  say,  Group A and Group 1 Instead of   This student can't.., say,   This student is learning to.. Instead of ...

Dr. Christopher Kaufman, a licensed psychologist, spoke with us the morning on The Inclusive Class Radio Show about Executive Functioning skills. Those are the skills that we have to keep ourselves organized, transition from one task to another, and control our impulses.  For some children (and adults!), however, executive functioning skills are underdeveloped or absent altogether. It is important for parents and teachers to be aware of the warning signs that a child's executive functioning skills are problematic, in order to avoid labeling the child as lazy, absentminded, disorganized or have behavior problems. As Dr. Kaufman mentioned, some warning signs include: 1. Inability to plan and strategize 2. Difficulty attending to the task and completing it 3. Unable to follow through on a sequence of steps 4. Difficulty controlling impulses outside the norm of expected behavior ie. hitting other children on the playground Between the parent, teacher and even the student, und...

During a recent interview with Dr. Howard Margolis, he outlined some EXCELLENT tips for parents on ways to support successful inclusion of their children: 1. Volunteer at your child's school or make time to attend school events. Get to know the school staff. 2. Look for effective teachers at your child's school. Effective teachers have structure in their classroom, are enthusiastic, motivate learners, are compassionate and engage their students in relevant activities. 3. Arrange for your child to be with an effective teacher by writing it into the child's IEP. This can be done by describing in the IEP the nature of the classroom that your child works best in. 4. Listen to what your child says about school. If your child "hates" school, there is a problem. Investigate what the problem is. 5. Request that the school give workshops to parents on how to help their children read, write or support other areas of academic and/or social development. 6. L...

This post will be the first in a series dedicated to writing about inclusion in action . I have spent a considerable amount of time talking, tweeting and researching what inclusion truly is. It's now time to put what I know and what I practice down on paper so that teachers and parents can have a greater understanding of what and how an inclusive classroom works. This information is based on 15 years of teaching in an inclusive education system at the elementary level. 1. Before the Bell - I usually arrive an hour before the school bell rings and prepare for the day. My lessons get prepped, the daily visual schedule is on the board and I touch base with the paraprofessional who works in my room to discuss the day's activities. While experience has given me the knowledge to accomodate and modify lessons for my special needs students, I want to make sure they are appropriate and meaningful. 2. Good Morning! - I open my classroom door to a line of children with smiling ...

My Inclusive Classroom The door to my Kindergarten classroom in urban, multicultural and economically diverse Burnaby, British Columbia Canada opens on the Tuesday after Labor Day in September. The children in my classroom come from a school community with 24% of families with an annual income of under $30 000. Housing in this community consists of both rental and homeowner properties. The neighborhood consists of two-parent, single parent and blended families with most parents working. Many of the children who attend this school are in daycare or left on their own before and after school. Within this community there is a diverse multicultural population, where the home language for 34% of students is not English. Approximately 26% of the students in this school receive English as a Second Language support. My learners are VERY diverse. In this class, depending on the needs of the year, there might be: children with ADHD, Hard of Hearing, Selective Mutism, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, ...

Inclusion, as special education experts agree, is the ideal way of educating students with special needs.  Students with special needs are placed in general education classrooms along side their same-age peers, despite physical or academic ability levels.  Often, however, inclusive education is a term that is misused and misunderstood by parents, teachers and staff.  Here is a list of top ten ways to tell if your child’s school is truly inclusive: School Community   - the school community (staff, PTA, parents) is friendly, encourages parent-school communication, welcomes volunteers, and celebrates student learning through bulletin boards, newsletters and school-wide events. School Design   - the building has ramps, large doorways, paved walkways, drinking fountains, sinks, storage spaces and coat hooks that a child with special needs can use. School Spaces   - the lunchroom, library, playground, bathrooms, and gymnasium (or Multipurpose Room) can ...

The Team Approach This past week I went to my son's Back to School Night and despite the tired, musty, out-of-date classrooms, I found his teachers to be quite the opposite! They were enthusiastic about their jobs; use current technology to teach students and repeatedly encouraged parents to stay in touch. In the end, their message was very clear -- teachers, students and parents must work together to ensure the student’s educational success. I noted that this “team” approach towards education not only works in the regular education setting, but in special education as well. While teachers and schools are becoming more skilled at collaborating to provide positive educational experiences for special needs children, parents also need to become actively involved in the education process. In particular, parents should participate in the decisions and classroom placements of their child. Together, the team can work towards finding an optimal learning environment for the student...