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The Detractors of Full Inclusion

Full inclusion into the classroom for special needs children is not a new development in the world of education. This is where kids who have special learning needs due to a physical, mental, or behavioral handicap are infused into the same classrooms where children without such limitations are educated. There is an instructor that is present at all times for these kids, also known as a special education teacher who is responsible for giving them an individualized education program or an IEP. This is so that the kids can learn the same subjects at the same time as other kids but have it modified to fit their special needs.

The thought behind the full inclusion is that kids will feel less alienated and socially awkward if included with the general population of students participating in the same daily activities. However this is not supported by everyone in the education system. Full inclusion certainly has its detractors.

For instance there are a number of people who believe that full inclusion hurts the learning of special needs children. The argument is that kids with special needs should be pulled out of the classroom to be taught individually. Having kids who learn at a slower pace cannot be expected to keep up in a traditional classroom setting. Even with IEP’s being used a kid still needs special, individual attention.

The other argument is that full inclusion doesn’t eliminate a kid’s social awkwardness. A special needs student in a general population classroom will have his differences and limited capacity for learning on display for other students to see. Some also believe that because these special needs students know they need extra help and special attention it makes them feel more awkward and more timid in asking for help or making the effort to learn at all. Full inclusion, some believe, can be a bigger obstacle for a student who already has a difficult time learning. With so many school districts deciding to go with full inclusion this appears to be a hot button issue that should continue for years to come.

Full Inclusion in the Classroom

There are more than a few developments that are happening in this country in regard to treating special needs children in the school setting. Education is constantly changing and so is the role of children with learning disabilities in the normal classroom. One of the growing practices in treating and servicing special needs children is that of full inclusion of these children into the regular classroom.

Full inclusion in classrooms is where kids with mental disabilities such as Autism and Downs Syndrome operate within the same classrooms as those kids who are of normal functioning intelligence levels. This is a departure from older methods of handling special needs children. In the past kids were placed in classrooms with children with similar challenges. In many school districts kids are being put into the same classrooms where special needs teachers are placed in the same setting with regular teachers.

There are many in favor of full inclusion. They see it as a golden opportunity for kids to learn amongst others their own age. One of the big challenges special needs children face is that they feel different when they are at school. In the past being shuffled into a special classroom being away from their peers often made them feel socially awkward and in many cases allowed kids to treat them awkwardly and occasionally be mean to the kids.

By placing kids in a classroom where they are allowed to participate in normal school activities and be a part of the everyday environment these kids often feel better about their place among their peers and the hope is that it allows for the other children to feel good and comfortable amongst them as well.

The presence of a second, and specifically trained teacher, helps in making sure that while the special needs children are involved in normal school activities that they are still on track academically. This is done by creating an Individualized Education Plan where the same subjects are studied by modified to meet the needs of children with learning disabilities.

The Detractors of Full Inclusion

Full Inclusion in the Classroom

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