The door to my Kindergarten classroom in urban,
multicultural and economically diverse Burnaby, British Columbia Canada opens
on the Tuesday after Labor Day in September. The children in my classroom come
from a school community with 24% of families with an annual income of under $30
000. Housing in this community consists of both rental and homeowner
properties. The neighborhood consists of two-parent, single parent and blended
families with most parents working. Many of the children who attend this school
are in daycare or left on their own before and after school. Within this
community there is a diverse multicultural population, where the home language
for 34% of students is not English. Approximately 26% of the students in this
school receive English as a Second Language support. My learners are VERY
diverse. In this class, depending on the needs of the year, there might be:
children with ADHD, Hard of Hearing, Selective Mutism, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome,
severe learning disabilities, multiple ESL learners, Cerebral Palsy, Severe
Behavior, Downs Syndrome, or some other assortment of needs.
However, I open the door with confidence! I know
that I have the skills and support required to do my job in meeting the needs
of the diverse learners placed in my care. I have a well thought out and honed
philosophical foundation in place that begins with the belief that all learners
are strong and capable and that play is the work of the child. With hundreds of
hours of professional development under my belt during 18 years of teaching
(which is supported by a vast body of valid research), this provides me with a
deeper understanding of what constitutes exemplary practice.
The Ministry of Education in British Columbia,
Canada has endorsed my practice by providing me with a well thought out and
well balanced, child centered curriculum that addresses not only Intellectual;
but also Social/Emotional, Aesthetic/Artistic, Social Responsibility and
Physical Development foci. My School Board has supported me by affirming my
core beliefs around play and inclusion. And, there is most certainly money to
fund the support I need in such a diverse classroom through the presence of
Paraprofessionals and Specialist Teachers. And, in my district, for the most
part, teachers are given the gift of autonomy. They are given permission to
teach CHILDREN rather than being bound by constraints of rigid curriculum that
is lock-step.
By October, supports are put in place to build
strong community ties: parents are invited to come in to read with children at
the beginning of the day, to run cooking programs, to run games centers with
children, to run science experiments, to help with field trips, and much more.
The school Parent-Teacher Committee hosts community Bar-B-Ques at least twice a
year. Opportunities are presented for all parents to become part of our school
community through sponsored meetings and events. Parents are an integral part
of classroom programming. At least two Potlucks occur during the school year to
bring families together and help them forge important relationships that will
carry through, for the most part, for these families and children, from
Kindergarten to Grade 7. The school community is a stable one. Color, race,
creed, or disabilities of any kind are embraced and treated equally in this
classroom and school. The model being presented is one of inclusion, and in
this class there is an attitude of acceptance for all. Every child belongs, and
every child has the right to an inclusive education.
Foundations for Inclusion
Before beginning a conversation about inclusion of special needs students in
schools, it is important to start with a definition of what we are talking
about. This provides a beginning step that will provide a context.
For the purposes of this conversation, I will share and use Wikipedia’s
definition, which I found on Google, October 2, 2011:
“Inclusion in education is an
approach to educating students with special educational needs. Under the
inclusion model, students with special needs spend most or all of their time
with non-disabled students... Inclusive education differs from… notions of
‘integration’ and ‘mainstreaming’, which (tend) to be concerned principally
with disability and ‘special educational needs’ and implies learners must
change or become ‘ready for’ or deserving of accommodation by the mainstream.
By contrast, inclusion is about the child’s right to participate and the
school’s duty to accept the child. Inclusion rejects the use of special schools
or classrooms to separate students with disabilities from students without
disabilities. A premium is placed upon full participation by students with
disabilities and upon respect for their social, civil, and educational rights.
Fully inclusive schools (do not) distinguish between "general
education" and "special education" programs; instead, the school
is restructured so that all students learn together”
“Inclusion
assumes that children with special needs are part of the regular stream and
should be treated as such. Inclusion is based on Wolfensberger's principle of
normalization (i.e., all persons regardless of ability should live and learn in
environments as close to normal as possible). The basic idea behind
normalization is that people with special needs should be viewed in the ways in
which they are the same as other people rather than in the ways in which they
are different.”
These definitions in my mind very nicely
outline some important points that will help me begin to talk about how we
start laying foundations for inclusive classrooms and schools. These are:
1) The importance of a Philosophical Belief System that
supports a model of inclusion
2) The importance of Systemic Support.
Philosophical Foundations
We need to begin with an assumption that all
students have the right to be part of regular education classrooms and from
this place begin to develop plans around how best to accomplish the goal of
inclusion, if this is the desired end result. Belief systems are built through
research and conversations about this research. It also requires commitment
from key stake holders and a desire to move in new directions.
Moving
from a segregated to an inclusive learning environment must begin by examining
the philosophical underpinnings of the overriding system as well as educators
within it. If the belief is that children with extra needs are ‘special’ and
don’t belong in the regular classroom, they never will be. It is important to
note that there is much research to support the benefits of the inclusion of
students with extra needs.
I’d
like to share some of my own personal philosophical beliefs before I move to outlining
a practical example of how in my district children with special needs
designations and their families are prepared to enter school with the intent of
making the entry to school a success. I believe that:
Inclusive environments do not happen by
accident… They are created through careful planning and preparation.
There are many steps to supporting all
children that happen both in and out of the classroom, from Kindergarten to
Grade 12. I am a Kindergarten teacher and as such am blessed with the
opportunity to set up successful beginnings for all families – those with
designated extra needs and without.
I begin with the tenant that each child
has blessings and strengths to bring. Children are strong and capable – not
weak or with inherent deficits. All have areas that will require support to
move forward. The point I want to make clear here is that I do not put my
students with designations such as Autism, Learning Disabilities, ESL,
behaviour and the like into a ‘special box’ in my head that will separate them
from our classroom learning community. They all belong and it is my job to help
each one of them become successful.
I must modify my programming to
accommodate the child and his/her needs. I have a child-centered approach to
teaching and learning. There is curriculum to accomplish, of course – but it is
my belief that in order to help children be successful in school I need to
assess where they are then come up with a ‘doable’ plan to help that child move
from where they are in their learning toward curriculum mastery. For each child
this plan looks a bit different – designated special needs or not!
The families of the children I teach are
the first teachers and are to be valued and included in their children’s
education.
I do not work in isolation in my
classroom. I continuously draw on the expertise of those around me to help when
I hit a dead end and don’t know what to do next. I don’t have all the answers
and grow stronger through collaboration with school based colleagues, our
resource team, district experts, and of course parents too!
Systematic Support in Classrooms
Inclusive schools and classrooms cannot be
built in isolation – systemic supports are crucial to success. In British
Columbia our education system supports a full inclusion model of teaching and
learning. Without this support I could not do what I do with the children
brought to me each day.
We have a curriculum that is well rounded;
valuing core academic areas as well as physical, social emotional and social
responsibility. Our teaching philosophy embraces a celebration of diversity and
focuses for the most part *not* on differences but on ways we are alike.
Overall our teachers place children at the heart of practice. While curriculum
is important and of course drives our teaching, we greet children as they are,
assess their needs, and develop plans to move each individual from where s/he
is closer to meeting the learning outcomes determined by our provincial
Ministry of Education.
We look for strengths in each individual and do what we can to build on these
strengths. And, there is money behind our model of inclusion – we have special
education assistants to work in classrooms with our children who have special
or what I like to call “extra” needs, district Speech and Language
pathologists, district Hearing Resource teachers, school and district based
Learning Resource teachers, and professional development opportunities for
teachers to learn about differentiating instruction in our classrooms so that
as much as possible we meet our students individual needs. All these things
have come about for us through years of discussion, professional development
and support from our Ministry.
Building Inclusion
Before
a child with known special or as I like to say ‘extra’ needs designations enter
school in my district, systems are in place to do everything possible to set up
supports to help him/her transition successfully. Our district learning support
team has worked out collaborative systems with previous professionals from
health systems, preschools, and the like so that (with parent permission)
information gathering meetings can take place in June with relevant previous
and upcoming stakeholders such as Speech and Language Pathologists, Preschool
Teachers, Occupational Therapists, Hearing Specialists, Parents, etc. to share
information that will benefit the child and set up successful beginnings when
the school year starts in September. These meetings begin with a discussion of
the child’s strengths and gifts so we can begin in a place of capability for
the child and do what we can to build on these strengths.
Then,
we move into areas that might present challenges for the child entering school
and we find out what has worked for this child in the previous environment to
help him/her overcome these challenges. It is an information exchange. For
example, if a child has an autism designation and is non-verbal, visual
schedules are shared and adapted/modified to suit the Kindergarten environment.
If a child has a history of hitting, strategies that have worked in the past
are shared and the team brainstorms strategies that might work in the
Kindergarten environment to ensure as much success as possible. These are just
two examples of how supports are put in place based on what is come before. It
is the intent that the classroom teacher receiving this child in September can
begin implementing strategies that have worked in the past beginning the first
week of school.
Then,
in October, another meeting takes place with the classroom teacher, school
personnel, and the parents to develop an IEP that will be reviewed again in
May, before the year ends to revisit established goals set in October and make
adjustments as needed so that when that child returns to school in September,
there are again supports in place to do everything possible to ensure success
as the child transitions to a new teacher and classroom community. It is also
worth noting that in June, before the child in question leaves the preschool or
home setting where s/he has been living and learning, resource teacher
personnel will go in to observe the designated child in a setting comfortable
to him/her (again with parent permission and agreement). Conversations ensue
and help determine strategies that might help the child transition as
successfully as possible to the Kindergarten environment.
Strengthening Inclusion
Parents
are a key part of successful inclusion. I look to my parents of children with
extra needs to help me understand their children and to help guide my decisions
about programming for success. I make myself available whenever possible for
consultation as needed. I am a teacher who values all parent input greatly.
Having
said this, I am also a teacher who believes that children with designations
(aka children with ‘special’ or ‘extra’ needs) whenever possible ought not be
singled out and viewed as ‘different’. As a result, I invite parents of all
children in our classroom community to join us to help with activities such as
driving for field trips, running science experiments, cooking activities, bingo
games, reading, and etc. I don’t differentiate parents in the same way I don’t
differentiate students in my class. Parents are always welcome and are a valued
part of our classroom community.
Resources for Inclusion
- British Columbia’s Primary Program is an exemplary
resource that did much to support the move toward our inclusive schools,
and includes many research foundations to support its positions. The
inclusive and child – centered philosophy underpinning this rich K-3
curriculum document is very clearly embedded throughout its pages and
would provide interested parties an excellent sample of a living and
breathing document, which educators all over our province live by. This
document can be found on the BC Ministry of Education website at http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/primary_program/.
- Please
feel free to visit my blog at: http: /kindergayle.wordpress.com , and
also feel free to contact me with questions at kindergayle@shaw.ca or
follow me on Twitter @kindergayle.
Gayle Hernandez began her teaching career 18 years ago. She has
spent 16 of the past years she has taught Kindergarten in inclusive schools.
She has presented multiple workshops on the topic of Kindergarten in the
Burnaby school district, has facilitated Burnaby’s Kindergarten Network for 10
years, and completed a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education at the
University of British Columbia in 2007. Gayle is passionate about inclusion and
building classroom and school communities.
