Importance Of Inclusion In The Classroom

Students maximize their learning when the teacher provides an effective learning environment for all students. As educators, we understand that students learn best when they are placed in a classroom where they feel welcomed, valued, and secured. For this reason, I do not believe that an inclusive classroom in the best placement for every student because students have different disabilities that do not require for them to be separated from the general classroom. If the student has a disability that might endanger others from learning, it is recommended for the student to be placed in an inclusive classroom after certain procedures are followed (Friend & Bursuck (2002). For this reason, it is not always recommended that inclusion is the best

According to Friend and Bursuck (2002), parents are key participants in all decision making related to their child’s suspected or documented disability. Professionals and parents must understand that instruction sometimes must occur in a separate setting in order to meet the need of the student. In order for a student to be referred to special education, certain procedures need to be followed. For instance, teachers have to provide data of assessment, different type of interventions and information about the strength’s and needs in all areas of concern Friend &n Bursuck (2002). In order for a student to be placed in a inclusive classroom, parents, teachers, diagnostician and other staff have to discuss all the benefit from the program and the reason the student needs to be placed in such program. As an educator, I have the responsibility to communicate with families and other stakeholder about all the benefits of including special education to students with disabilities and how this program will meet the need of the student. The decision that they make has to be relevant to the student’s

For instance, last year I had a student with special needs in my regular classroom and he would never focus or participate in a lesson because he wanted to be standing and disrupting other students while I was lecturing. In addition, he would interrupt the class constantly and would use vulgar language all the time. I did some interventions with him, but all failed. According to Friend and Bursuck (2009), the responsibility of an educator before creating or establishing and IEP is to try different simple interventions, monitor his performance, moving the student’s seat next to teacher’s desk and incorporate teaching strategies that help the student actively participate in lesson. Another intervention was that I would talk to him about the classroom rules and the importance of obeying those rules, but he would also refuse to listen. At the end of the first six weeks, he was pulled out of my classroom and placed in the resource room. On the other hand, I also had students with special needs that really influenced a learning environment in my classroom. These students with disabilities would participate one hundred percent interchanging ideas with other students and would work collaboratively with no problem. I have experienced that when students with disabilities are placed in a regular classroom, they get to experience interaction with other