The Inclusive Class

Here is a recent post I wrote for Ollibean . I was thinking about Henry Frost, a boy who is being told by the school district in his community that he can not attend the school across the street from his house.  Inclusive schools need to become a reality for all students across the nation regardless of abilities, socio-economic background and geographic location. Unfortunately, many school districts do not see the inclusive classroom as the Least Restrictive Environment and an appropriate placement for children with special needs. Thus, what one child has free and appropriate access to, another one doesn’t. And then inclusion, which has been proven by experts to be the gold standard of special education, becomes an ideal situation…if you can get it. The lack of universal practice of inclusive education in our school system creates an overall discord in our social value system and risks the overall future success of our students.  While one school teaches ...

The Inclusive Class Podcast recently interviewed Lachrista Greco , M.A., a feminist writer and advocate. Lachrista talked to us about her experiences as a student in special education. With her permission, here is a reprint of an article she also wrote about growing up as a student in special education.  I was in Special Ed all through elementary and middle school, and all I learned was how to eat pizza -- lots and lots of pizza.  In third grade, I was diagnosed with two learning disabilities: dyscalculia (the common math one), and language processing (I have trouble recalling information or retrieving words to express something). This diagnosis was absolutely horrifying to my third-grade-curly-haired self. From the way it was presented to me, I knew it was something negative; something no one wanted. Immediately, I was placed in Special Ed, because that’s what people do with you when they can’t figure you out. It was fun for a while. I got to leave certain classes e...

Here is an updated list of 10 Websites That Will Help Your Child With Homework!  Some of these sites are designed to support the concepts of Common Core.  In addition, I have included not only sites that offer homework assistance but sites that have information and tools to help students complete their work. These sites of useful for students of all abilities and ages.  1. LearnZillion - this is a fantastic resource for students who need help understanding the new Common Core concepts. Short, video lessons reinforce learning from various curriculum areas.  2. Khan Academy - Learn almost anything on Khan Academy's website! Videos help explain and reinforce curriculum topics from math, science, art history as well as test prep. 3.   BJ Pinchbeck's Homework Helper - This is a curated website of dozens of online resources to help students, parents and teachers with homework.  It is geared for students of all ages. 3.  T...

Preparing for a new school year brings up all kinds of emotions for parents. Hope (for new beginnings), joy (that your child is getting older), sadness (that your child is getting older), anxiety (in anticipation of this year's teacher) and sometimes dread (will it be the same as last year?). Maybe it was because I had such an unusually busy summer this year, but I did not think about my children going back to school until last Tuesday. And, school was set to begin the following day. This school year, I was completely unprepared for the first day of school (both mentally and material-wise) and unfortunately I did not take the time to prepare my kids either. Whether it's a missing supply or a forgotten lunch, we are still catching-up to that first day back. In addition, as I put my daughter to bed tonight, she let me know that everyday since school started, she has been feeling stressed about being at her new school (she started middle school this year).  It has been a comp...

Why would we want inclusive education? Why wouldn’t we want it? Why wouldn't we want to ensure that every child had the same opportunity to be a child? To play with peers, eat lunch together, learn together, attend the same field trip, and hear the same stories? Why would we separate, segregate and alienate children from one another while at the same time teach them to look after the world around them, respect differences and take a stand at injustice.  Ironically, in many schools, injustice happens right before our children's very eyes. Why would we want that? The successful inclusion of children with disabilities and special needs in our school system relies on the belief that all children have equal access to a quality education. Inclusive education isn't a program, a place or a classroom. It is a way of understanding and living in the real world. Because, in fact, this is a world that has people of all different sizes, shapes, colors and abilities. Inclusive educ...

1.  Sit the kid with special needs away from the graduating class. 2.  Present the graduating class with their certificates. Do not include the kid with special needs. 3.  Have the graduating class remain on stage as a group for a photo. Do not include the kid with special needs. 4.  Finally announce that there is a "special" student graduating this year as well. 5.  Explain to the audience that this "special kid" is in a "special class". 6.  Tell the audience that this kid has "special skills" and list a few non-descript accomplishments. 7.  Ask the kid to walk up to the podium, all by himself, to recieve his promotion certificate. 8.  Then ask the kid to stand all by himself, in the center of the stage, and hold up his certificate. 9.  Tell the mother of this "special boy" that she can come up to the stage to take her son's photo. 10. Have the audience politely clap, while wondering a...

How can we help our children or students who seem to be perpetually losing things, ten running late and seem completely disorganized? Do we reprimand them for being lazy? Do we keep them in at recess because they forgot to do their homework? Do we let our frustration and angst get the better of us and completely give up on helping them with anything at all?

Teachers love a great resource! Especially a resource that is free and at their fingertips - literally.  That's why I put together a list of 10 outstanding websites that teachers can use in the inclusive classroom (or any classroom, for that matter!).  It was difficult to narrow the list down to 10, given all the websites that are available on the internet! However each site listed was chosen for content that I feel is unique or more substantial than what others had to offer.  And, finally, these sites are in no particular order. They are all excellent and will provide teachers (and parents) with the resources to provide the best possible education for learners in the inclusive classroom. 1.  BCTF - Teaching to Diversity  - this website has both American and Canadian content. It offers resources that cover all aspects of the inclusive classroom. The resources vary from articles to checklists to worksheets. It also covers children who are gifted or ha...

The Inclusive Class Podcast  is hosted by Nicole Eredics & Terri Mauro on Fridays at 9 AM EST on Blog Talk Radio .  Nicole is parent, special education advocate, and an elementary educator who has spent over 15 years teaching in an inclusive classroom setting. Through her experience, she has solutions and strategies for supporting the inclusion of special needs children in the classroom. Look for more resources and information here on her website,   www.theinclusiveclass.com ! Nicole also has a page on Facebook called The Inclusive Class and you can follow her on Twitter @Inclusive_Class . Terri Mauro is a parent and one of the most recognized experts on special education and special needs parenting on the net. She is the author of 50 Ways to Support Your Child’s Special Education and The Everything Parent’s Guide to Sensory Integration Disorder.  She is also the About.com guide to Parenting Children with Special Needs on the net...

When I first started teaching more than 15 years ago, I used to spend my entire summer vacation preparing my inclusive classroom for the new school year. A hefty amount of time and money would be spent creating an effective classroom program that would welcome the variety of learners that were coming my way.  Like most teachers however, the more experienced I became, the more efficient I was at getting prepared for September. Now, instead of 8 weeks preparing for new classes, I have it down to 2! The point is, that it does take preparation and planning to effectively teach in an inclusive classroom. And, as I have also learned over time, that the preparation not only rests in the hands of the teachers but the parents as well. Here is an overview of the role of teachers and parents in preparing a student with special needs for the inclusive classroom. (Actually, I do this for ALL my students!) Teachers: 1. Gather Student files and Individual Education Plans. 2. Mee...

Inclusive Education, as defined and described by education experts, is a philosophy. It is not a program, nor does it happen in isolation. It can't happen in one classroom and not the other. The successful inclusion of special needs students requires the shared value system, resources and collaboration of the state/province, school district, home, school and classroom.  Because the nature of inclusion requires so many components to it's implementation and success, it is often discussed by breaking it down into its topics and sub-topics. For example, we talk about co-teaching, differentiated learning, home-school communication, and IEPs. It is easy for people who are familiar with inclusion to know how all these pieces fit together to form an inclusive environment. However, for others, it still a mystery...a puzzle. How can a teacher with 30 students differentiate learning? Who is a co-teacher? Why does the entire school need to support inclusion? At the suggestion of my ...

Ideally, the inclusion of children with special needs should happen at all levels of school life both in the classroom and out. However, given the demands of the curriculum, the experience of the teacher and the philosophy of the school, meaningful inclusive opportunities may not exist in the classroom. If a child with special needs is faced with this situation, there are other areas of the school community where  inclusive opportunities can exist. Keep in mind however, that it may be up to the family to present these ideas to the school staff, as many schools are still learning ways in which inclusion can (and should) happen.  Here are some suggestions for opportunities for you child to be included in school life: 1. Lunchtime Clubs - chess, art, reading, and computer clubs are just some examples of the types of clubs schools offer during lunch or after school.  2. School Plays and Productions - there are many roles and jobs for students to take in school productio...

By Guest blogger, Mari Nosal 1) I Caught You Raffle For behavior management I use a “catch them when they are good” system. During the day give the children a ticket for various positive behaviors that are noted. Have them write their name on the ticket and put it in the box. At the end of the week, pull out a determined amount of tickets from the box. They then can earn small tokens like a pencil, homework slip, chart, book, etc. this is a great positive reinforcement technique. By recognizing positive behavior, negative behavior does not get reinforced. With a tangible object to look forward to at the end of the week, the majority of the children love to join this “game”. A math lesson on percentages is a secondary outcome of this game. The odds of having one’s name drawn in the raffle according to how many tickets are earned during the week can be calculated. Middle level elementary age students and older can keep graphs from week to week to chart the correlation betwee...