Well hello again! Okay, so I promise that this time, and for the rest of my posts, I am going to actually accomplish something and discuss the class material from my Inclusive Education Class.
So as I briefly mentioned on my previous post, everyone is considered to be responsible for helping kids with disabilities because everything and everyone is so interconnected in the education system, that something like this is simply unavoidable! This I definitely believe... it's just a matter of getting everyone to actually come together and benefit these children. Inclusive Education has been something that has been in the back of people's minds for quite a while now because it really is the right thing to do. In class we discussed the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education which was created by UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1994, which actually provides some good reasoning behind this whole fight for inclusive education! I definitely agree with several of the points in this statement. For one, inclusive education will reduce discrimination not only in our classrooms, but in our societies as well and create communities that are all around more welcoming. This I think is one of the most important reasons, because this past summer I have realized how unwelcoming our society really is after traveling to Kenya and interacting with the people there. This statement also suggests that inclusive education provides an "effective and efficient education to the majority of students", which is definitely important, because all students have a right to receive a good education, according to the Canadian Charter of Rights. So why are we denying our students of that?... The statement also says that it is cost effective, which is great and everything, but probably the only point that I struggle with because I don't really understand why the education of our children, our future leaders has to be "Cost Effective"! Anyways, I could get into another long rant about that, but I won't because I will probably begin to contradict myself!... So, Moving on!
We also discussed some attitudes and beliefs that exist about disabilities which was something that I found to be very interesting because it basically places teachers on a "Bipolar Continuum" and has teachers on one end with a pathognomonic perspective, and on the other end with a interventionist perspective. Essentially the pathognomonic perspective is one that surrounds the idea of labeling the students or the pathology of the student. These teachers believe that their disability is a disease that is an internal stable trait within the child, and that the child and this "disease" are inseparable. These teacher's usually want nothing to do with the child, and feel that "fixing the child" is someone's responsibility aside from their own. Then you have the interventionist perspective which is definitely the more caring side of the continuum and one that I plan to hold as a teacher. These teachers believe that it is their responsibility to remove barriers and provide accommodations for the student so that they can help the student achieve. This perspective looks at the idea of the child's disability being created in part by their social conditions. I definitely agree with this because, in my experience, kids with disabilities have better moments than others. This means that their condition worsens or improves depending on their surrounding environment. In remember being in grade 5 and there was an autistic boy in my class. When I would see him at school with his EA, his condition seemed very very severe, he was constantly acting out in class, so I assumed he was like that at home as well. But then I remember seeing him with his family outside of school one day, and he was a completely different person, so much so that it didn't even feel like the same boy! That is when I learned that a person's environment is definitely influential on the type of person you are... and I think this definitely applies to this perspective. Another belief system that is often talked about when discussing disabilities is the idea of 'Nativist vs. Nurturist' or more commonly referred to as 'Nature vs. Nurture'. This looks at the idea of an individual being born with a specific ability that is genetically predetermined, and there is nothing you can do to change this. As you can see this belief is closely related to the pathognomonic perspective. Where as the nuturist belief looks at an individual developing abilities based on his/her environment, which is closely related with the interventionist perspective. I think this whole debate on 'Nature vs. Nurture' is quite interesting because many people feel very strongly about their particular belief, and it in turn shapes the kind of lifestyle they live when in a position that requires them to be a leader. I think it is quite evident that a person's beliefs definitely influences how they teach their students. However, it is also important to note that people don't really know how they are going to truly behave or what they are going to truly believe until they are put into the situation first hand. So, I guess we will wait and see!!
We ended our class with a discussion about inclusive education as a whole, and it became clear to me that I am not the only person who is nervous about implementing inclusion in the classroom. I think it is a scary thing for new teachers to comprehend - and it relaxed me to know that I'm not the only one having these doubts. So, I know that as my studies continue, I will begin to feel more and more confident... but for now, I just have to be a "sponge" and soak up all the information that I can!
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