I thought this was a break-through day in class, so to speak. I really liked reading the 'Commitments' document as a class and then getting into a discussion about it. My previous blogs have probably been comparable to a broken record (only in a digital text medium) in their mentions of the very theoretical nature of our course. What a nice relief it was to be presented with a particular situation, and furthermore be given the opportunity to share thoughts and feelings about it. It was a great illustration of how there is no actual right or wrong answers when looking at inclusive education.
I felt very reminded that as we look forward at all of the situations we may be faced with, we are all human as we deal with it. I recognized in the study that Mrs. Thompson was trying to practice so much of what we have been learning this term: student-centred this n' that, inclusive education, goal setting and consequences, treating students as adults and citizens in their own classroom. I also recognized how quickly it unravelled on her, namely her mild tolerance for put-downs directed at Shawn whether he was in the room or not, and how in her determination to 'fix' Shawn she never held anyone else in the class accountable for their actions. It was, simply put, an illustration of a real-world situation that most teachers will be faced with at one (or many more) time or another, and there is no clear-cut path to an end result where everyone is satisfied.
I'm starting to feel a little bit stifled (in my writing) now, so I will conclude by saying that a common concern at this point shared by myself and many others in the cohort is that we are here going through the motions, and feeling like our learning will only truly begin when we are in practicum and eventually in our actual jobs. Today in EDPY things felt a lot more real and applicable, and that's awesome!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
The Inclusion Exclusion Paradox
In class this afternoon I was just starting to really think about what the 'inclusive' in 'inclusive education' really even means when Ce-Lynne finally popped the bubble and argued against IE. I was thinking about how we seem so focused on including that 1 student that we tend to neglect thinking about the other 29.
In our adamant quest to include all by taking measures to include one, we just might be detrimentally affecting said other 29 students. Very interesting!
Here is a very honest thought from me: I find it mentally excruciating to study the theory of inclusive education because it is such a case by case field! Even on the back of Ce-Lynne's arguments opposing IE were 5 other people with their own stories about individuals and their abilities to learn alongside their peers at school. 2 people in class, theoretically, could have been talking about the same person and had two differing views on how that individual should be advanced through the education system.
My last entry spoke of my support for IE in that it can potentially deliver a much needed sense of belonging to a special needs student, but maybe a lot of these special needs students don't belong, full time, in a classroom with 30 students who all have a greater capacity for learning than that one special needs student. By placing him in that classroom are we being inclusive to one student at the expense of 29 others? I suspect that there are cases in which the answer to that question is yes, and others no.
I believe that if I am consistent in one facet of this course, it is in my view that IE is a concept that should be moulded around each individual student, but there is no answer or protocol that can be applied across the board - not when the inclusion of one student is at the expense of the rest of the class. Is that fair? I suppose that depends on what each individual's ideal definition of 'fair' is.
In our adamant quest to include all by taking measures to include one, we just might be detrimentally affecting said other 29 students. Very interesting!
Here is a very honest thought from me: I find it mentally excruciating to study the theory of inclusive education because it is such a case by case field! Even on the back of Ce-Lynne's arguments opposing IE were 5 other people with their own stories about individuals and their abilities to learn alongside their peers at school. 2 people in class, theoretically, could have been talking about the same person and had two differing views on how that individual should be advanced through the education system.
My last entry spoke of my support for IE in that it can potentially deliver a much needed sense of belonging to a special needs student, but maybe a lot of these special needs students don't belong, full time, in a classroom with 30 students who all have a greater capacity for learning than that one special needs student. By placing him in that classroom are we being inclusive to one student at the expense of 29 others? I suspect that there are cases in which the answer to that question is yes, and others no.
I believe that if I am consistent in one facet of this course, it is in my view that IE is a concept that should be moulded around each individual student, but there is no answer or protocol that can be applied across the board - not when the inclusion of one student is at the expense of the rest of the class. Is that fair? I suppose that depends on what each individual's ideal definition of 'fair' is.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
But at the End of it All...
First I'd just like to note that we just had an entire week between class #2 and class #3 in Inclusive Education. My goodness, how time flies.
Most of the time was spent listening to Nellis talk about the shift from IPPs to IEPTs, which primarily represents a shift from codes and labels to what I perceive to be a much more student-centred approach. I don't feel like I know enough (yet) to blog in depth about this, but what I do find very interesting is a noticeable pattern which seems to have developed in the class itself. Maybe it's more of a trend than a pattern.
A lot of people in the class seem to be pretty freaked out by inclusive education! After hearing so much about IPPs and their successors, IEPTs, the greatest learning for me occurred when Ian sounded off about how these IEPTs will be used and who is responsible for using them. It's a valid concern from him, but it was Jason's response that I'd like to recognize: that this is a process and we are only chewing on one piece of the pie here.
Everything we talk about in the classroom is theoretical at the time being. It is when we get into our practicums and eventually our jobs that we will really learn the ins and outs of IE - we're not going to have it all figured out on our way out the door in November.
I also think that we as students are frightened by IE because we tend to forget that IE has components other than physically and mentally disabled students; everyone else in the class, for example.
We will learn a lot about IE from you this term, Nellis. More than we may ever realize. But we'll never truly know about IE until we get out into the field and experience it, and even then it will be an ever-changing field in which we will be constantly changing our methods to adapt to. We will be teachers to an ever-changing flow of students, and I'm certain there will always be new approaches and strategies surfacing to help each individual reach their full potential.
So to my fellow students I plead you do not fret! Inclusive Education is changing but it isn't new. Do your readings, reflect on what you've learned, and then go out there and live it just as hundreds of thousands of teachers before you have done.
Most of the time was spent listening to Nellis talk about the shift from IPPs to IEPTs, which primarily represents a shift from codes and labels to what I perceive to be a much more student-centred approach. I don't feel like I know enough (yet) to blog in depth about this, but what I do find very interesting is a noticeable pattern which seems to have developed in the class itself. Maybe it's more of a trend than a pattern.
A lot of people in the class seem to be pretty freaked out by inclusive education! After hearing so much about IPPs and their successors, IEPTs, the greatest learning for me occurred when Ian sounded off about how these IEPTs will be used and who is responsible for using them. It's a valid concern from him, but it was Jason's response that I'd like to recognize: that this is a process and we are only chewing on one piece of the pie here.
Everything we talk about in the classroom is theoretical at the time being. It is when we get into our practicums and eventually our jobs that we will really learn the ins and outs of IE - we're not going to have it all figured out on our way out the door in November.
I also think that we as students are frightened by IE because we tend to forget that IE has components other than physically and mentally disabled students; everyone else in the class, for example.
We will learn a lot about IE from you this term, Nellis. More than we may ever realize. But we'll never truly know about IE until we get out into the field and experience it, and even then it will be an ever-changing field in which we will be constantly changing our methods to adapt to. We will be teachers to an ever-changing flow of students, and I'm certain there will always be new approaches and strategies surfacing to help each individual reach their full potential.
So to my fellow students I plead you do not fret! Inclusive Education is changing but it isn't new. Do your readings, reflect on what you've learned, and then go out there and live it just as hundreds of thousands of teachers before you have done.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Second Class?
The title of this entry is just a pun. I'm not actually setting out to explore the (perils) of associating IE with second class.
Our second class was pretty interesting though! A standout point for me was the result of the study of men out of Harvard which stated how important it is to individuals to feel a sense of belonging. I don't think anybody can dispute a claim or a result such as that.
Skip ahead to after our break and we watch the documentary 'A Mind of Your Own.' This was a great introduction to inclusive education because we got to 'meet' 4 different middle years students who all had learning disabilities. Each was profiled to give us an idea of their struggles, trials, proccesses, and ultimately their successes.
I feel that I am gearing up for a crash course in IE which is going to preach that we as teachers are ultimately to be responsible for each student experiencing success, but I believe at this point that this is so much more easily said than done. I noticed that each of the students in the video had a great deal of help outside of their regular classroom. What about the students in our looming real worlds who don't have this luxury? I'll certainly look forward to learning more about that.
But I am not trying to poke holes in the validity of the video - I thought it was very realistic and achievable in that everyone played a part in the success of the student: the teacher, the administration, the guardian, and the student himself. With all of these people working together toward a common goal of having that student in a classroom with his or her classmates, the goal was achieved. The student was able to work through his disabilities while at the same time feeling that they belong amongst their peers.
Here's to hoping real life in the field is comparable to 'A Mind of Your Own!'
Our second class was pretty interesting though! A standout point for me was the result of the study of men out of Harvard which stated how important it is to individuals to feel a sense of belonging. I don't think anybody can dispute a claim or a result such as that.
Skip ahead to after our break and we watch the documentary 'A Mind of Your Own.' This was a great introduction to inclusive education because we got to 'meet' 4 different middle years students who all had learning disabilities. Each was profiled to give us an idea of their struggles, trials, proccesses, and ultimately their successes.
I feel that I am gearing up for a crash course in IE which is going to preach that we as teachers are ultimately to be responsible for each student experiencing success, but I believe at this point that this is so much more easily said than done. I noticed that each of the students in the video had a great deal of help outside of their regular classroom. What about the students in our looming real worlds who don't have this luxury? I'll certainly look forward to learning more about that.
But I am not trying to poke holes in the validity of the video - I thought it was very realistic and achievable in that everyone played a part in the success of the student: the teacher, the administration, the guardian, and the student himself. With all of these people working together toward a common goal of having that student in a classroom with his or her classmates, the goal was achieved. The student was able to work through his disabilities while at the same time feeling that they belong amongst their peers.
Here's to hoping real life in the field is comparable to 'A Mind of Your Own!'
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
A Starting Point
Hi Rob.
The term 'inclusive education' just got blown wide open for me in the last couple of days. I'm trying to think back, just to last week, so that I can remember what I might have defined IE as. To be blunt, I believed that IE was just a general term which meant that I may or may not end up with a wheelchair bound student in my class.
But it's so much BIGGER than that. It is such an enormous concept. Gargantuan. Mammoth. Be-freaking-hemoth.
After a couple of classes, including one of Brent's, I see that IE is an underlying concept in nearly all things education. Need I state that one cannot spell 'inclusive education' without education?
In our first class with Brent we fantasized about what our classroom would be like (the one we learn in or the one we teach in) if the sky were the limit, so to speak. After a class wide brainstorm, Brent squashed most of our ideas because they were all either unsafe or not inclusive (in some cases they were interchangeable).
The term 'inclusive education' just got blown wide open for me in the last couple of days. I'm trying to think back, just to last week, so that I can remember what I might have defined IE as. To be blunt, I believed that IE was just a general term which meant that I may or may not end up with a wheelchair bound student in my class.
But it's so much BIGGER than that. It is such an enormous concept. Gargantuan. Mammoth. Be-freaking-hemoth.
After a couple of classes, including one of Brent's, I see that IE is an underlying concept in nearly all things education. Need I state that one cannot spell 'inclusive education' without education?
In our first class with Brent we fantasized about what our classroom would be like (the one we learn in or the one we teach in) if the sky were the limit, so to speak. After a class wide brainstorm, Brent squashed most of our ideas because they were all either unsafe or not inclusive (in some cases they were interchangeable).
- No hockey posters - not very inclusive of the kid(s) who dislikes hockey
- No Plants - some students eat plants and this plant might be poisonous
- No stereo - how would you ever find a way to play something that everyone agreed upon?
It was stifling and depressing to say the least. But there's hope yet! This was just a quick example that drove home the point for me that inclusive education is not just about teachers being burdened (er, challenged) with vastly disabled students, but it is about everyone, and I might say that the latter is far more daunting than the former.
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