First Class!

So - this is my very first blog entry for my Inclusive Education class, how exciting!
We have only had two classes so far, but I think it is going to be a very interesting class, probably with several debates on a daily basis as well! I can already tell that I am going to enjoy this class, and it is going to be very beneficial to my future teaching career because I will be able to implement an inclusive environment much more comfortably in my classroom.

During Tuesday's class we discussed several topics, some of which included disabilities and who is responsible for them, as well as attitudes and beliefs about disabilities. We learned that technically everyone is responsible for kids who are living with disabilities. This point makes sense because everyone and everything is so interconnected within the education system that it really is everyone's responsibility to make sure that the student is being as successful as possible. But, the question is... are we all doing the best we can? Are the students actually receiving all the assistance they need?

See the problem that is happening right now is that teachers are still not 110% percent comfortable with this whole "Inclusive Education Thing", and don't know how to go about incorporating it in their classrooms, or even making these kids with disabilities feel welcome. Personally, I feel the idea of inclusive education is great because it's making kids learn the importance of equality and preventing discrimination in our upcoming society. However, as a new teacher in less than two years, I begin to feel a little apprehensive about it because not only will I be dealing with everything already on my plate, which includes learning how to be a great teacher - I also need to learn how to work in an inclusive classroom and make these kids feel welcome! I will have to ensure that I'm using a differentiated learning approach in my classroom so that all my kids are benefiting... and the whole thing just starts to a stress a new teacher out - even though it is technically the right thing to do. Okay, but here is another way of looking at it - have we ever asked the kids what they want? If you look at the statistics and talk to these kids, it is quite clear that the majority of them are doing better in these segregated schools because they are receiving the support and one on one assistance they need!

Well, this concludes my first post, because I was planning to discuss what we have learned in our class so far, but I instead decided to create a little debate! Oh well! Another one is coming right away, where I will actually force myself to talk about the material we are covering in our Inclusive Education Class!