Inclusive Education

There are obviously many ups and downs to inclusive education, and since we've began the course I've been trying to figure out my own opinion on the subject.  This early on in the course I believe it is still difficult for me to come up with a solid opinion about it, but I have began to develop a preliminary position about whether inclusive education is the best option or not.

In a positive light inclusive education can offer many things to both the students with disabilities as well as to the students who are in the classroom with them.  It shows the other students in the class that kids with disabilities are generally no different than them, and that they should, and can include them in all things they do.  It also helps them to become familiar with people who have disabilities so when they encounter them in everyday life, and in society later on in their life, they will not feel uncomfortable with them and will be completely open to socializing or working with them.  It also shows the students with the disabilities that they are like the other kids in the class, and that they can become involved in regular activities with them.  It helps them to learn how to interact with other people and how to gain many socializing skills that will be necessary in their future.

The negative side to inclusive education revolves mainly around the assistance that all children in the classroom may miss out on.  In a classroom that is inclusive the teacher has to divide their time between all of the students, with and without disabilities, which could be very hard for them.  It also could steal time from students who need help if the teacher is trying to assist students with drastically different abilities all at once.  The students who have disabilities may not get all of the assistance they need in an inclusive classroom because the teacher will simply not have enough time to spend with them while also teaching and helping the rest of the class as well. 

In my opinion, I think it really all boils down to the amount of assistance the students with disabilities are going to recieve.  Inclusive education is completely acceptable, if it is possible to have one teacher aid in the classroom for atleast every two students with a disability.  In my own experience, students with disabilities can learn in the regular classroom if they have someone there to provide one-on-one assistance with their learning.  If this is not possible, I believe inclusive education has a high risk of failure.  The teacher will not be able to allot enough time to the students with a disability while still sufficiently teaching and assisting the rest of the class, so that everyone in the classroom gets the best education possible.  There needs to be someone who is assigned the job of assisting the students with disabilities, whether it be a teacher in a special education classroom, or it be a teacher aid sitting with the student with a disability in the regular classroom.