Through out the year, I have reflected on my day to day experience to better my teaching. Now, I am reflecting more on my year as a whole and I have noticed some things that leave me feeling a little unsettled.
To provide some background, my first class was an inclusion model, 2nd grade general education classroom in Vermont. I had 17(ish) 2nd graders and I would say one fourth to one third of them had IEPs. There were a variety of disabilities and needs in this classroom and I had two students with one-to-one aides. I also had a classroom aide. The school had a strong behavior support system that included a classroom students would temporarily go to when they needed to and staff that aided with behavior issues in the entire school.
In my current position, I am in a self-contained special education classroom in California. At the peek of the year I had 9 students. I have a variety of disabilities and three classroom aides. None of my students have a one-to-one aide. We have no additional behavior support system outside of being sent to the principal's office.
Both districts are fairly small (compared to big city districts) and both have a transient population. Both schools practiced PBIS. In Vermont they use Responsive Classroom.
Out of these two situations, it would seem like my current one would be more ideal, less students per adult. However, I feel that the self-contained model is less than ideal for a number of reasons.
In my current position, I am noticing something that I will call "othering". My students are labeled as different, as separate. They are treated differently by their peers. Other students know that they have a disability because they are in my class. Teachers have told me "oh I have a student for you" because they have a student who is low or a slow learner.
In my first classroom, I had everyone together. My whole class participated in morning meeting and they were ALL included, even those with what would be considered a severe disability. They were ALL part of my general education classroom and school community. For those with visible disabilities, students would go out of their way to make sure they felt accepted and knew they had friends. For those without visible disabilities, they were just seen as they are; they were just seen as kids.
In my current situation, it was not by design or malice that this "othering" has occurred. But we are separate and so we are viewed as separate. As a teacher, I am isolated on my own little island. My students are on the island with me. We have a nice island and among ourselves we belong. However, in the scope of the larger school community not everyone is accepting.
When it came time for other students to be GATE (gifted and talented) tested, some were concerned that they would have to go to a "special class like, ______."
One day when I was out at recess, a student brought me a flower and said "Thank you for taking care of our foreign exchange students." I replied "I didn't know we had any foreign exchange students." The little girl said, "Oh, I mean kids like ______. Kids with disabilities..... *made face* anyway just have a good day." Then she ran off.
Others just ignore some of my students when they want to play or tell them to go away.
Others will get aggressive towards my students and then blame them when they can no longer control their bodies and hit them back; getting my student in trouble for fun.
I have seen my students cry or start to show signs of depression because they are seen as different from their peers.
I know not all of the students mean anything bad with their "othering," like the little girl who gave me flowers. However, this culture is not positive for the students.
General education students will be more understanding and special education students will feel more accepted if we change the culture to be one where all students spend more time together. When we change the culture from one of exclusion to one of inclusion, everyone benefits.
Students who model the behaviors of others would benefit from getting more time to see what positive models look like. If they mimic behaviors of others, shouldn't they get the chance to see the behaviors we want them to mimic?
I know there are many reasons why my students are in a separate situation, from funding to the way the different states structure things. I know that with the way things are, my ideal won't happen because that would require that almost all of my students have a one-to-one aide.
I know there are no perfect solutions or answers.
But after this year, I am even more of a believer that all students would benefit from a base or homeroom in a general education classroom. In order to make that happen, more staff might be required but it will be more positive for all students.
I know that student who need specialized academic instruction will sometimes need to be provided that instruction in a separate setting. Personally, I don't think separate for all instruction is the best way to do it. When students are separate this much, they forget or never learn how to react and interact with their non-disabled peers. Too much focus has been put on academics and many students also need their social and emotional needs met.
To feel included, to be included; that is a beautiful thing. That is what many of my current students are missing and what my previous students had.
Overall, my district is great and actually does do a lot to include my students. They are invited to all the school events and grade level field trips. I know not all other local districts go that far.
I want to be clear that I feel this is more of a statewide cultural issue than a local one. Talking to teachers from other schools and districts, I know my feelings are not isolated ones.
If they can do what is best by students in a small state like Vermont, why can't we do it in a large state like California?
Kids are kids no matter what state they are in. We need to be promoting positivity and modeling inclusion if we want our country to have those values when our students are older.
