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.
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