Who besides me feels that inclusion is a fine social policy but a horrible educational practice?

Question

Functional skills are neglected in the regular classroom and I do not believe that even self esteem will be improved in the long run.

Answer 1

i so agree with you and struggle with it each and every day (not just in the classroom but also with my own ADHD son at home)!

one problem is we have too many "socially correct" politicians with no classroom experience making such decisions for our students.

another is: we are pushing all kids to the max in education. too much time is wasted staying on a "pacing schedule" and not teaching for mastery (which takes more time, practice, various teaching strategies to include"concrete-to-abstract" learning and reaching all of the learning styles of our students. this leaves most of all students behind:the special education and the regular education students, too.

all this is going to do is increase frustration amongst learners, increase drop out rates, and increase the social decline of our society in the long run.

Answer 2

I think that many schools do not have the resources to make this work the way it is intended. For example, at the school where I teach a typical inclusion class might include 35+ students...15 of which are special ed. or have special needs. Most times this class will have one general ed teacher as well as a special ed. teacher or an assisstant. Now while school administrators may feel good about knowing that contemporary educational practices are taking place in the school, the truth is that it makes no sense to have so many special education students in such large classes. These students do not end up getting the support they need and many times they either end up getting lost in the shuffle or the more advanced students are stuck in a class that moves at too slow of a pace. A teacher in this situation is really set up for a challenge that asks an awful lot.

Answer 3

I agree. The schools are so busy making all students feel as if they are winners when they're not that they neglect to teach them to perform to a point where they do become winners. To a certain point, the same goes for athletics.