Inclusion Excludes a Whole Hell of a Lot

For those of you not familiar with "Inclusion" in the educational sense, it is the grouping of children with 'special needs' into the everyday classroom environment so they can have exposure to the same learning initiatives their able-bodied peers do....as well as just plain having exposure to their able-bodied peers.

A report just released on New Brunswick's inclusion program found that NB was doing a fair job in grouping kids of all abilities but "had a long way to go". One article in particular on this subject quotes various children that are the target of this program, as saying they wouldn't want to be segregated from their peers dispute the fact that they find it hard to fit in. They go on to say that it can be lonely for them because they don't have the chance to intermingle with the kids in their classes outside of the classroom environment.

I have two things that I believe are inherently wrong with the program as is. For one, as the husband of an elementary school teacher, I get to hear the real story behind the classroom environment all the time. My wife not only has to teach 20 or so children at the conventional pace, but must adjust to make sure that those are falling behind get the extra help they need, and those that are not challenged do not get overly bored. In addition, she must help take care of an autistic child and learn to teach to him/her, administer insulin shots to the diabetic child, and constantly re-arrange her classroom to accommodate a boy in a wheelchair and ventilator. TA's have to be requested formally by the teachers and are only paid minimum wage. All this brings me to my first beef. 'Special needs' students are not being "included" in classrooms that are designed to meet their special needs. This is absolutely ridiculous, and unfair to absolutely everyone involved in the situation.

Secondly, the inclusion of the children in question should permeate our society and not just be forced on everyone in the school environment. The kids feel lonely because they don't mix well with the other students. Well that has a lot to do with no one knowing what the hell is going on. The kids who have a 'special needs' student in their classroom should be educated about what is going on before hand...both at school and at home, instead of just wondering what is different about the kid that has to sit by him/herself at the back of the classroom with the adult helper, and deciding to shy away from him/her.

If all else fails, maybe the NB government could at least stop spending hundreds of thousands of $s on reports that tell us they not running programs incorrectly, and just spend it on improving them. Fuck, I need some Doritos....!