1) Portfolio Rationale

Portfolio Rationale

By Michael Fabian

This is a website for me to archive and keep any information that I find relevant from the Additional Qualification Course Special Education Part 2. 

Statement on Inclusion in the Classroom

Inclusion to me begins with myself as an individual. I need to understand my own bias and rethink how I treat other people in my day-to-day life. I cannot expect to be an efficient and successful educator if I am not practicing acceptance and inclusion in my own life. Inclusion in the classroom means allowing each student the opportunity to participate and feel like a part of a larger community regardless of exceptionalities, or other variations that are not related to special education. As an educator I need to foster an environment that promotes respect amongst everyone in the classroom and respect for all types of difference. I want my students to re-evaluate the concept of “Normal” or the “Norm” and understand that in our communities and in our society today there are many different types of people with all different backgrounds, strengths, and weaknesses (this includes people with exceptionalities). Furthermore, each and every one of these people has the potential to contribute. Our differences don’t have to set us apart but can make us stronger and we need to encourage and support our peers in their areas of weakness.

Inclusion in the real world has proved to be an elusive goal for a number of reasons. The human element seems to be the most likely reason for theories not working in practice. We cannot use a textbook strategy for someone with a specific exceptionality and expect that it will work flawlessly because there are a myriad of other factors contributing to the success and failure of inclusion in the classroom. What works in some cases may not work all the time.  Along with the human element are funding and implementation of funds from the board for resources and personnel.  This varies from board to board. Likewise, training of these personnel and our educators and teachers is another variation that contributes to the elusiveness of inclusion in the classroom. 

Being prepared and taking the initiative are the best way for us, as educators, to ensure the successful inclusion of all students in our classrooms. This can be challenging because of the many different other responsibilities that the teacher has, personal and professional. However, from observation, those teachers who are prepared and take an active interest in the strategies for inclusion seem to be the ones who have the most success. Large classrooms (in terms of number of students), lack of support staff, problems with the student’s home-life and issues with familial support can be challenges to the success of inclusion in the classroom, however, these challenges need to be surmounted. This can be done with extra training, support from more experienced teachers, action research, and effective communication. By implementing methods and strategies to include all students to the best of our abilities we will promote a more educational and fruitful school experience for all of our students and for ourselves.