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Courtney Wills

Reflection Paper #1

September 10, 2012

Congratulations! It is the first day of school, but wait there is no ramp, and you are

in a wheelchair. How are you going to get in the building? While this is a dramatic example

of how the world would be without inclusion, it paints the portrait of someone being

discriminated, which is what the world was like before. Nowadays, the schools are moving

towards the idea of inclusion and creating classrooms, and buildings, that are accessible to

EVERYONE. I am sure you are thinking, why were buildings not in the first place? Why

were students with physical and mental disabilities tucked away in the basement of

schools, where access to curriculum, learning, and playing were only allowed with other

students who had physical and mental handicaps? The answer to all these questions is, we

do not know.

The idea of inclusion is a simple concept, but with many subparts. Inclusion includes

everyone. The DEC/NAEYC wrote a joint position statement on inclusion, and how

inclusion was going to be defined. The definition of inclusion from the DEC/NAEYC aligns

with my own. I believe that everyone should have the same access to education, and that, if

students need individual help, they should receive that help. Students are to never be

underestimated, and the education we provide for them should be challenging, relevant,

and necessary. The DEC/NAEYCs (2009) statement says, development and learning to

reach their full potential (p. 2). No student should be denied an education that would allow

for him/her to be the best they can, and be successful. In addition, families of students with

disabilities should not feel abandoned and without help. According to DEC/NAEYC (2009),

and their families include a sense of belonging and membership (p. 2). A family in a

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school district, along with their child, should feel a sense of community within that school,

no matter their childs abilities. A family should receive the services they need, in order to

create a successful educational life for their child. The idea of inclusion is a step towards

schools being community centers, and less of a hated necessity in life.

Along with my beliefs about inclusion, are my beliefs about the benefits and

challenges of inclusion to both children with disabilities and those without, and how I can

serve both effectively as a teacher. A challenge that will present itself is working with

families. Working with families is one of the most difficult tasks we as teachers are faced

with. Inclusion puts children with disabilities, and children without, in the same classroom

and I believe that parents of both children will doubt how much their child is learning in

this type of classroom. According to a study done by Morharreban and Bruns (2009), one

of our most interesting realizations was that the children adapted very readily to their new

classmates and situation; the adults, however, did not (p. 408). Students with disabilities

learning alongside students without disabilities is a fairly new idea, and some parents will

see this as a hindrance on their childs learningfrom both sides. As a teacher, it will be my

job to make the experience a positive one. I will have to have meetings with parents to

explain how the learning environment is going to work. I will have to do as much research

as possible about incorporating students with disabilities into the classroom, but more

importantly, I will be part of a team of teachers working together. I am going to have to

keep the line of communication open for all parties, so that any concerns are addressed in a

professional manner. My classroom will need to be stimulating for all children, and create

an atmosphere of communitywhere every child is accepted and guaranteed the

education he/she deserves.

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While I believe working with families will be a challenge as a teacher and is a

challenge with inclusion, I believe that the students themselves are the benefit. A student

with a disability should have the same learning opportunities as a child without. The

students learning together, creating a classroom community is the successful part of

inclusion. Students need to learn to be tolerant of others who are not like them, and

inclusion allows for that. I will allow students to work in assigned groups, create activities

everybody can do together, and model for my students the behavior I expect to see them

exhibit in the classroom. In addition, I will generate a welcoming atmosphere in the

classroom, so that my students feel comfortable in their classroom community. By creating

this type of a classroom, I will be an effective teacher and my students will learn together

those with and those without a disability.

In contrast to the benefits and challenges of inclusion and teaching, I believe that

every teacher of young children should possess three qualities: patience, understanding,

and an inner motivation. A teacher should possess patience because there will be moments

in the classroom when lessons go wrong, or students have a bad day; however, it is the

teachers job to remain calm and wait for the student to bounce back, or be flexible enough

to improvise with a lesson and keep trying. In addition, a teacher should understand.

Understanding comes into effect when a student has created a situation in the classroom,

or when a family is upset and expects the teacher to fix the problem. The teacher needs to

empathize and understand that a family will get frustrated, along with a student, and

without having understanding, a teacher will never be able to be professional in her/his

handling of any situation. Finally, a teacher should have an inner motivation. Inner

motivation is what should drive every teacher to create a better lesson, take risks in the

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classroom, and meet their personal goals. Without an inner motivation, teachers would say,

well, that was good enough. However, teachers can always keep learning and trying, and

it is the voice in our heads that keeps us up late, and out of bed early creating lessons for

the students.

The idea of inclusion is fairly new; however, there are benefits and challenges that

coincide with this new type of classroom. A teacher must fully understand the idea of

inclusion and how his/her view comapre with the DEC/NAEYCs joint definition of

inclusion in the classroom. While incorporating this idea of inclusion can create frustration,

the idea of allowing every person an equal chance for an education cannot be overlooked.

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Work Cited

Mogharreban, C., & Bruns, D. (2009). Moving to Inclusive Pre-Kindergarten Classrooms:

Lessons from the Field. Early Childhood Education Journal, 36(5), 407-414.

doi:10.1007/s10643-008-0301-0