The Department of Education defines inclusive language as, “ language that is free from words, phrases or tones that reflect prejudiced, stereotyped or discriminatory views of particular people or groups. It is also language that doesn 't deliberately or inadvertently exclude people from being seen as part of a group.” Inclusive language in the classroom must consist of accepting terminology for all situations including students with special needs, students who are emergent bilinguals, and students from diverse cultures.
Inclusive language regarding with students with special needs has had a huge spark in recent years. It is very common to hear people using person first language regarding students with special needs. By using person- first
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For example, instead of saying, ‘that special needs kid, Johnny’ it would be more inclusive to say, ‘ Johnny who has special needs’. Especially with more classes vering to inclusion settings, it is important to see the students first and their disabilities second. “Though the definition of the word varies, inclusion, as used by educators, generally means making a child with a disability a full part of the class” (Belkin, 42). To make every child comfortable whether they have disabilities or not, teachers need to have inclusive language and tactics. In the article about a New York inclusion kindergarten class, a five year old with cerebral palsy was placed in a regular education room. This made the child, Thomas, feel included and his parents were adamant about Thomas having a similar experience as all the other children. One example of inclusive language was when the father of Thomas, Richard Ellenson, came into his child’s classroom to talk about Thomas and answer questions about his disability. “Ellenson agreed, but said he did not want to be the only parent to talk about his child. ‘ If the message is that …show more content…
“The United States has the most diverse group of students in its history, and all the basic trends indicate the diversity will become even greater” (Orfield, 18). It is important to have inclusive language in the class to make each child feel comfortable. If teachers are not careful with the language in their classroom, they can lose the respect of their students. In addition to the lack of respect for the teacher, the student will not learn because he or she does not care about the teacher or what they are teaching. The most effective teachers are ones who care about each and every student’s cultural background. Teachers can then have an inclusive classroom that incorporates every student’s culture. “It is as important to avoid relating to students on the basis of incorrect stereotypes as it is to avoid being insensitive to the influence of students’ ethnic characteristics have on their attitudes and behavior”(Grossman, 72). To ensure inclusive language with all students teachers must know the cultural background of each child. Each child has a different upbringing and culture. When teachers focus on stereotypes of their students they are not seeing what the student can bring to the classroom, teachers are dwelling on what the students lack. Though the stereotypes may be true to child, there is no way of knowing for sure, which is why it is important to know each student
Lisa Delpit’s book, “The Skin We Speak”, talked about language and culture, and how it relates to the classroom. How we speak gives people hits as to where we are from and what culture we are a part of. Unfortunately there are also negative stereotypes that come with certain language variations. There is an “unfounded belief that the language of low income groups in rural or urban industrial areas is somehow structurally “impoverished” or “simpler” than Standard English” (Delpit 71). The United States is made of people from various cultures and speak many different variations of languages. As teachers we must be aware of some of the prejudices we may have about language and culture.
The purpose of this study is to figure out which ways experienced teachers work best with culturally and linguistically diverse students. This study illustrates which strategies experienced teachers have found to work best. The diversity in school in the United States has increased each year. This means that there are an increasing amount of students who are learning English, English language learners (ELLs). This article comes from the perspective that each child should be taught to their specific needs. All students deserve a fair chance to learn. Fair means that every student is treated differently, not equally. Every student learns differently. In order to give every student a fair chance at learning, you must teach them according to their needs. An experienced teacher, Tiffany, describes her experiences working with culturally and linguistically diverse students. This study watches her methods and discusses what works based on data analysis of the success of her students.
Choate, Joyce S. (1997). Successful Inclusive Teaching- Proven Ways to Detect and Correct Special Needs. Massachusetts: Allyn& Bacon.
Smith, T. (2012). Teaching students with special needs in inclusive settings. 1st ed. New Delhi, India: PHI Learning Private Ltd.
Educators can have strong feelings on the subject because having special needs students in a regular classroom can have a large impact on the classroom community. Those who believe in inclusive classrooms realize that, to be successful, it requires allot of classroom management and differentiated instruction, but feel the benefits are worth the work involved. Those who do not believe in inclusion feel that it leads to “l...
Legally, Inclusion is defined by Public Law 94-142 from 1975. This law, known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or IDEA, does not contain the term “inclusion”, however, it describes the term “Least Restrictive Environment” which means that a handicapped child must be placed in a classroom that can meet their needs but is as close to a regular classroom as possible (Villa p. 4). IDEA states that:
According to Spring (2016), inclusion is the integration of children with disabilities into regular classrooms. Full Inclusion refers to the inclusion of all children with disabilities. (p. 134) Inclusion is challenging in many ways for teachers and students alike. It can also be frustrating.
These lessons are important in the classroom for several reasons. First off, we as teachers need to find ways to make sure that students from all ethnic backgrounds are included in classroom discussions and that they have the ability to apply themselves to the material taught in the classroom. However, teachers also need to realize that these practices need to be implemented so that stereotypes among the different cultures do not
The inclusion movement started when the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed in 1975. The act guaranteed all children, regardless of disability, the right to a “free and appropriate public education” in the “least restrictive environment,” making inclusion a civil rights issue. In 1990 it was replaced with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). According to NICHCY, “IDEA defines a ‘child with a disability’ as a ‘child... with an intellectual disability, hearing impairments (including deafness), speech or language impairments, visual impairments (including blindness), serious emotional disturbance..., orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities; AND, who... [because of the condition] needs special education and related services.’” (2011) According to Western Canadian Research Centre on Inclusive Research inclusion is based o...
Inclusion is the main issue within the inclusive learning environment, if a child doesn’t feel included within their environment then their learning will be effected by this. The Oxford English Dictionary defines inclusion as “the action or state of including or of being included within a group or structure” (Oxford English Dictionary 2011: Inclusion) This means that every child should feel involved and included, no matter of there different learning abilities or levels. This can mean children who have special educational needs, such as dyslexia, physical disability or metal disability. Inclusion should provide opportunities for all children, no matter of their age, race, gender, disability, religion, ability or their background, to be involved within their learning environment. Each child should feel like they belong and feel like they are...
Inclusion in classrooms is defined as combining students with disabilities and students without disabilities together in an educational environment. It provides all students with a better sense of belonging. They will enable friendships and evolve feelings of being a member of a diverse community (Bronson, 1999). Inclusion benefits students without disabilities by developing a sense of helping others and respecting other diverse people. By this, the students will build up an appreciation that everyone has unique yet wonderful abilities and personalities (Bronson, 1999). This will enhance their communication skills later in life. Inclusive classrooms provide students with disabilities a better education on the same level as their peers. Since all students would be in the same educational environment, they would follow the same curriculum and not separate ones based on their disability. The main element to a successful inclusive classroom, is the teachers effort to plan the curriculum to fit all students needs. Teachers must make sure that they are making the material challenging enough for students without special needs and understandable to students with special needs. Inclusive classrooms are beneficial to students with and without special needs.
Diversity in classrooms can open student’s minds to all the world has to offer. At times diversity and understanding of culture, deviant experiences and perspectives can be difficult to fulfill, but with appropriate strategies and resources, it can lead students to gain a high level of respect for those unlike them, preferably from a judgmental and prejudiced view. Diversity has a broad range of spectrums. Students from all across the continent; students from political refugees, indigenous Americans, and immigrants bring their cultural and linguistic skills to American classrooms. Students not only bring their cultural and linguistic skills, but they bring their ethnicity, talents, and skills.
One of the most controversial issues facing educators today is the topic of educating students with disabilities, specifically through the concept of inclusion. Inclusion is defined as having every student be a part of the classroom all working together no matter if the child has a learning disability or not (Farmer) (Inclusion: Where We’ve Been.., 2005, para. 5). The mentally retarded population has both a low IQ and the inability to perform everyday functions. Activities such as eating, dressing, walking, and in some cases, talking can be hopeless for a child with mental retardation.
In first being able to define inclusive education, it is necessary to understand the diversity of the student population. Disability comes in my varying forms and can be physical, sensory, intellectual, mental health and emotional, developmental, and non-visible (e.g. asthma). If disability was the only agent to consider in the diversity scenario things would be easier for teachers but there are a number of other classifications of students to consider: Gifted or talented; English as a second language (ESL); Indigenous students; and many other classifications which fall under the societal/family/personal heading (Ashman & Elkin, 2012).
The concepts included in providing a more diverse, multicultural education are requiring teachers to review their own issues and prejudices while expanding their knowledge of the many cultures that make up the classroom. These efforts help the educator recognize the various individual and cultural differences of each student, as well as gain an understanding on how these differences impact the learning process. The purpose of this paper is to reflect upon individual and cultural difference research and why diverse students struggle to succeed in school. Furthermore, I will share some instructional approaches I could implement in the classroom to accommodate diverse students. Finally, I will discuss the responsibility of educators in addressing the issue of how our o...