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Nathan Schafer

Mr. Rudebusch

English Comp IV

19 December 2016

Inclusion: Is It Effective?

For years and years now, special-education students and regular students have been

going to the same school in the same building. For example, Jared, Gavin, Tyler, and Kyle all

attend their classes in the same building as my peers and I. If you arent familiar with these

names, these are special-education students who attend Castlewood School. One thing that really

stinks is that an important method of teaching called partial inclusion is not used very often.

Inclusion, by definition, is including special-education students in a certain class or classes as the

regular students. There are two types of inclusion: full inclusion and partial inclusion. The

difference between the two is that partial inclusion is using inclusion partially. Full inclusion is

using inclusion for all class periods. I dont think full inclusion is very beneficial, but partial

inclusion is extremely beneficial in more ways than none. Not only does inclusion benefit the

special-education students, but it also benefits the regular students and even the teachers in

some ways. There is, of course, an opposing side to this debate. The opposing side, which

includes some teachers and staff members, argue that inclusion in whole really doesnt benefit

the special-education students or the regular students at all. While they would argue that

inclusion, in whole, is non-beneficial, I think to believe that partial inclusion actually benefits the

special-education kids dramatically in ways socially and as well as academically.

When I think about inclusion and its benefits, the first thing I think of is the benefits it

has socially. Its important that these kids are exposed to the other students occasionally because
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they need to spend time with students other than their regular peers. These special-education

students can observe how we act and take things away from that. They can sometimes pick up

things you should and shouldnt do. If they are only spending time with their other special-

education peers, they wont see how the other students act. Now obviously, these special-

education students shouldnt be in the regular classroom full-time (full inclusion), but exposure

to it on occasion is beneficial for the student in a social perspective. There have been teachers

that have spoken out on the issue, and most of them said that it was very challenging and really

not too helpful in the perspective of a special-education student. I would have to agree but

disagree with these teachers. I understand how it could be difficult and challenging to use

inclusion, but that doesnt mean it doesnt impact the special-education students positively. An

article called How Inclusion Can Benefit Special Needs Children Socially, written by The

Social Express, explains multiple reasons to why inclusion can be beneficial to a special-

education student in ways socially. The author includes how the students learn by example, the

students are adapted to the method of inclusion for the real world, and the students will have

better relationships with the rest of the students. This is very true, and I can see this everyday I

attend school. Tyler and Jared, for example, have great relationships with almost every individual

in the school. They talk to just about everyone they see, and thats because theyre with around

us a lot in classes like choir or band. From year to year, you can really notice a tremendous boost

in social skills from these special-education students in Castlewood.

Although inclusion has huge benefits to the special-education students socially, they can

also be benefitted in ways academically. This benefit of academics doesnt have near the amount

of impact on a student than the social one does, but it can still be effective if used right. I could

think of multiple scenarios in which these students could receive some kind of academic benefit
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in the classes Im currently enrolled in. For example, in physics we perform lots of different labs

and experiments. I think students like Zach, Gavin, or Tyler could come in and help with these

labs and experiments. The people that are in their group could help them out in figuring out what

theyre supposed to be doing. Sitting in on lectures or notes really would do them no good

because theyre not going to understand the complexity of most high school classes. Another

example of a class I take that inclusion could be used in is American Government. It would be

kind of difficult to fit inclusion is this course, but the special-education students could be

included in group projects and future projects like the board game project. In a few weeks, the

class will be split into groups and will be required to make a board game that has to do with the

current unit. The activities, on the other hand, are a great way for the special-education students

to be included in regular classroom work. In a source called Whats Inclusion? Theory and

Practice, Special Education Guide writes, Perhaps the most important benefit of inclusion rests

in the academic benefits for students with special needs. These students become engaged in their

education as opposed to staying unchallenged inside segregated classrooms. In other words,

inclusion gives students with disabilities the best chances to thrive academically. Theyre

basically saying that academics may very well be the most important benefit of inclusion. The

use of inclusion enables the students to separate themselves from their regular peers that theyre

used to spending time with quite often.

The special-education students have IEP goals, goals that they want to reach at the end of

the year, and using inclusion can truly affect these goals in a positive way. Not every student has

very hard IEP goals. Some students may have a goal as low as learning to raise his or her when

asking a question consistently, and some students goal may be as high as increasing their

reading level. Sitting in on a regular can be very beneficial to the student if he or she is able to
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actually pay attention and listen. Now, not all students will be fit for this type of benefit as some

of the students arent capable of really comprehending the information being given to them by

the teacher in a regular classroom, but its still nice to have them sit in the classroom and

observe what everyone else is doing. The IEP goals are set up in a way that the teacher makes

sure the students are able to reach their goals with a limited amount to no inclusion. I think

inclusion could act as a catalyst towards these goals. It just depends on what goals they have. If

one of their goals has to do with becoming smarter or learning how to work in a group more

effectively, those goals would be perfect for using inclusion partially in a classroom setting.

Some students just arent capable of really picking up anything from a regular classroom

lesson, but they can still observe what other students are doing and pick things up from that. In

an article called Benefits of Inclusive Education, Kids Together Inc. displays their own list in

bulleted form of some different benefits of inclusion. One of those benefits is an increased

achievement of IEP goals. This definitely is pretty accurate as the special-education students are

not going to learn everything in the centerbase room.

When a special-education student graduates, they will enter the real world. Some of the

students, that are capable of working, will probably end up getting a job somewhere. They will

be working with people with no disabilities and possibly some with disabilities. This is just a

different form of inclusion! They may experience this scenario in the future, so its nice to have

them introduced to it while theyre young. If theyre introduced to it in school, theyll probably

more ready when they step foot into the real world. Being left out from inclusion may not look

like too big of a deal until you look at from a bigger picture. Whether they work at a factory, a

school, a police station, or any other job, they will be using inclusion as an adult. This is why I

like the idea that the special-education students are required to work a certain amount of hours,
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obviously if they are capable of it, because this is preparing them for inclusion in the work force.

They are getting used to it while theyre young, and this is super beneficial for them as they enter

the adulthood stage of their life span. In an article called The Benefits of Disability in the

Workplace, Judy Owen writes, Opportunity Works was founded in an attempt to improve

employment of people with disabilities. We are a for-profit staffing service company, focusing

our recruiting on organizations providing support to people with disabilities. We did this to solve

the problem of high unemployment rates of people with disabilities, with marginal improvements

since the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. In this quote, she explains

what Opportunity Works is, and what it does. Later in the article, she goes on to say, According

to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce report, Leading Practices on Disability Inclusion, hiring

people with disabilities is good for the bottom-line. The report has case studies from companies

such as 3M, PepsiCo, Merck and AT&T. All companies in the report cite the benefits and

importance of hiring people with disabilities. But, it does not clearly address the costs versus

benefits of hiring people with disabilities. Several companies including 3M, PepsiCo, Merck,

and AT&T, say theyve received several benefits from hiring people with disabilities. Its very

cool to see that these companies have good reviews on having disabled people as employees.

With all this talk about the benefits inclusion has on the special-education students,

people forget about the benefits inclusion has on the teachers and regular students. The

teachers, by using inclusion, are given a greater diversity of students in the classroom. Inclusion

also helps the teachers in an adaptation aspect. The teachers have to realize that they have

special-education students in their class too. They need to treat their needs as well as the rest of

the class. The regular students most likely wont need as much as help as a special-education

student. In a source called The Advantages of Inclusion in Schools, Carissa Lawrence writes,
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Teachers of inclusion classrooms benefit from having a diverse population of students. Having

students on such different levels gives teachers a chance to develop their teaching skills and

ability to differentiate lessons and activities. Inclusion is also advantageous to teachers because it

allows them to strengthen their collaboration skills as they work together with other teachers,

specialists, and parents to figure out the best education plan for their students with special

needs. This is very true, but the benefits dont end with just the teachers. The regular students

also receive nearly the same benefit as the special-education students. Like, I listed before, the

special-education receive benefits from inclusion socially and academically. This is basically the

same for the regular students. Theyre already going to be benefitted academically as they are

in class to learn, but they definitely can be benefitted socially as well. This benefit can occur in

ways such as talking together, working on an assignment together, or even working on a project

together. The benefits seem to never end with inclusion!

People dont realize how beneficial partial inclusion is to a special-education student. The

reason I say partial inclusion instead of full inclusion is because full inclusion is too much for the

students to handle. If they can attend all of their regular classes daily and at least partially

understand the information, they dont belong in the special education program. Id like to see

inclusion occur more occasionally in schools. Back in junior high, I remember seeing Zach

Simonton, a special-education student for anyone who didnt know, sit in on a few of our classes.

In Hamlin, a boy named Henry also attends the regular classes as well as his centerbase classes.

Inclusion does have its drawbacks too. For example, a special-education student could throw a fit

or distract another individual. Knowing this, there are multiple solutions to the problem such as

moving the student to the back of the room, bringing them out of the room for a moment for a

brief explanation as to why they need to start behaving, or simply move them into their other
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classroom and wait until the next time to give them another chance to try and fix their behavior.

With every major decision comes consequences, but I think inclusion has more major

advantages than disadvantages to it. You already know what I believe in, but now its your turn to

decide what you think.

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Works Cited

"A Guide to the Theory and Practice of Inclusion." Special Education Guide. Web. 03 Nov.

2016.

"Benefits of Inclusive Education." Benefits of Inclusive Education. Web. 18 Dec. 2016.

"How Inclusion Can Benefit Special Needs Children Socially - The Social Express." The

Social Express How Inclusion Can Benefit Special Needs Children Socially Comments. 09

Mar. 2014. Web. 04 Nov. 2016.

Lawrence, Clarissa A. "The Advantages of Inclusion in Schools." (2000): n. pag.

Education.seattlepi.com. Demand Media, 2016. Web. 4 Nov. 2016.

The Benefits of Disability in the Workplace Judy Owen. 12 May. 2012, Web. 18 Dec.

2016