I overheard a conversation yesterday while waiting for my cold cuts at Shoprite. That’s right you heard it: Shoprite. They lifted the Kevin Ban about a year ago. He’s even allowed in the cereal aisle!
Anyway, 2 girlfriends were talking about school and the one says, “Jenna has been in the inclusion class every year since kindergarten and it’s really got me upset. I think maybe there’s a problem and they’re just not communicating it to me. I mean, why else would they keep putting her in a classroom with two teachers year after year?”
Now this conversation had me very upset and I got to thinking, “I wonder if some of my readers feel this way. I bet they do! I must put an end to this way of thinking immediately!” So here goes:
You don’t know this because you’re not a teacher but at the end of the year, when all us teachers sit down to create class lists for September, the first classrooms we create are the inclusion classes. Half the class HAS to be in there because they are classified in some way but the other half is very precisely chosen according to a specific set of standards. In short, if your neuro-typical child is presently populated within an inclusion class, they were hand selected to be there, and you should be proud of her/him as a person and yourself as a parent.
When populating the “other half” of an inclusion class, we look for children who are at or slightly above grade level and require no additional academic or social/emotional support. We’re hunting for role models: children with superior social skills who can be counted upon to model appropriate behavior at all times. But even THAT’s not enough. In an inclusion class there’s a lot of group work and partnered work. Much more than you see in the gen ed classroom. The theory behind it is this: when a special needs child is exposed to his/her regularly developing peers in a controlled setting where cooperative work is encouraged, that child becomes more socially aware and socially appropriate. What inclusion teachers need are children who can work WITH special needs kids instead of doing the work FOR them. We’re looking for patience, kindness, understanding, independence and it’s HARD, damn hard. It’s hard to find and adult with all those qualities, so imagine trying to find them in an eight year old!
But we manage it. And when we find that perfect, everything we’ve been looking for in a child child, we tend to hang on for dear life as long as you allow us. That’s why your child gets placed in the inclusion class year after year. Not because they need extra help, they require NO extra help, and are enormous asset to the teachers and their classmates who may have special needs.
Inclusion is the greatest invention on EARTH. Once upon a time, if you had even the mildest learning disability like dyslexia, you were placed in a classroom at the end of the hall, hidden away like someone’s deep dark secret. The only exposure you had to children your age was at specials and lunch where you were ostracized because they all thought something was “wrong” with you. It was awful, and a lot of children with enormous potential wasted away in an environment that did not meet their academic or emotional needs. Nobody Wants To Be A Member Of This Club Including Us Club members have ONE thing in common: we thank God every day for inclusion and the little angles who are teaching our children to be more socially appropriate while teaching other children how to be more accepting. If your neuro-typical child has spent his/her entire academic career in the inclusion classroom, it’s not because there’s a problem, it’s because they are an angel sent straight from Heaven.
There’s a little girl who has been in class with Kevin 4 out of 6 years. I will call her Grizelda. Not the prettiest name on Earth but it means “endless patience” and is therefore fitting. About 3 years ago I was at the beach with her and her mother and all our kids seemed to be playing nicely. Then I heard the scream. Kevin has a particular scream he uses right before he starts to hit you, hard. I got up like lightning ready to save Grizelda from the impending fire storm, but what I saw stopped me dead in my tracks. Kevin WAS trying to hit Grizelda but she was blocking the blows with a move behaviorists call a “sweep.” It looks a lot like the “wax on wax off” move from the Karate Kid and prevents a child who’s trying to hit you from doing just that. With each sweep, Grizelda said, in an emotionless tone, “Kevin show me calm,” over and over again for about 2 minutes:
Sweep
Grizelda: Kevin show me calm.
Kevin: No! I hit you!!!!
Sweep
Grizelda: Kevin show me calm.
Kevin: No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sweep
Grizelda: Kevin show me calm
Kevin: Sawney
Grizelda: It’s OK. Show me calm
And in response to her direction, Kevin put his arms flat at his sides to show Grizelda the tantrum was over.
Grizelda: Good job buddy good job I’m so proud of you for making a good choice.
Kevin: I good boy?
Grizelda: You’re a very good boy.
I was amazed. I simply couldn’t believe what I was seeing. All the members of my family had been trained in restraint but how did this girl know exactly what to do in the face of such aggressive behavior? I called her over.
Me: Grizelda that was amazing. Who taught you to do all that?
Grizelda: I learned it by watching Ms. Simms.
Me: Kevin’s been having fits like this in class?!
Grizelda: No he has them in Apples to Apples. He does NOT like to lose.
Me: Apples to Apples?
Grizelda: Yeah. It’s actually social skills training but Kevin doesn’t know that so we call it Apples to Apples since that’s his favorite game. We know what to do when he freaks out. Ms. Simms calls it empowerment. Can I go play now?
Me: Sure.
Dear lady who was buying bologna yesterday at Shoprite around noon,
Bologna is extremely unhealthy and you should not be buying it. Also, your daughter may not be the smartest but she is superbly unique and you should be gushing with pride. If more children on this Earth were like your daughter, this world would be a gentler, more accepting place. People would care less about being the best and more about being the kindest. You’re a wonderful mother and your child is appreciated by teachers like me and mothers like me more than you will ever understand. Please, please, please keep your child in the inclusion class forever. We need her.
My son has been in the "inclusive" class a few times since kindergarten. He's in 5th now and is in that class again this year. He's always liked it. He likes to help and understands that he is being seated by someone that needs help. I actually like when he's in these classes BECAUSE of the 2 teachers. Even tho that 2nd one is in there for a certain group, they help everyone….a bonus teacher, in a way.
I'm a retired Special Education teacher who taught in an inclusion setting for the last half of my teaching career. I was as much a part of the "regular" education students' lives as those whom I was placed to assist. We actually co-taught and all students had the benefit of two teaching styles, and double the help. It was my happy place and a win-win for everyone!
Thank Beth. I had the privilege of teaching an inclusive classroom once. It was the year of my professional life.
Your poor readers ? I took offense to this story. We should feel sorry for kids that can read do not need help! And they have to be inclusion class.Wow this is terrible for all the parents who have kids who have to be in inclusion class. Inclusion is really hard for the kid that has been there because they need help. This story made me upset.
Jill I'm sorry but I'm not sure I understand. Can you clarify please. What did you find offensive?
Jill, I'm not sure what you found offensive. I think you read something into the essay that isn't there. In no way, shape or form was Rachel saying she "felt sorry" for the non-disabled peers in the Inclusion Class. In fact, she was saying the exact opposite—that they are amazing, awesome and worthy of respect and praise for their poise, maturity and compassion.
Thank you Gemma that's exactly what I was saying.
My son happens to be in the inclusion class because he has to be and has been since kindergarten. He is in 5th grade this year. I take offense to what you are implying. The tone you took in your response feels as though the inclusion class is a bad place to be. There is absolutely nothing negative or bad about being in that class. Just the opposite. There are two teachers which is a huge bonus and positive thing for the kids to have. The class size is smaller which again is a huge positive thing for the kids especially nowadays when class sizes can reach 30 kids. By being in this class it shows all kids compassion, patience and other learning skills that might not be observed in a regular class. I would be happy if my kid was put in the inclusion class if he didn't "need" to be there.
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Thank you Brian. I thank God for inclusion every day. Because of it my son now has social skills