September 13th, 2011

A class on inclusive education:  I realized how much I need this when I struggled with the introductory activity.  A simple question: list three things you know about inclusive education.  My answers:
- it's coming
- it's difficult
- (an answer supplied by another student) it has the potential have a huge impact on kids and society.

I know next to nothing about inclusive education, and I know that if I want to be a successful teacher, I'll need to know it inside and out.  It should be a very fruitful semester!

We watched a very informative video today.  Although I found the filming of it to be bland, and some of the scenarios awkwardly staged, I learned from it.
     We were introduced to four children who all had learning disabilities.  It was very interesting to see how their needs were handled.  The first boy, Henry, had trouble reading. He had ADD and his solution came in the form of his dedicated and loving grandmother.  She spent time with him at home and worked with him one on one.  One little girl was placed into a special education class.  It was very interesting to see how the children in that class interacted with one another.  They were kind, and helped  each other out.  This little girl was a gifted reader and singer.  It was great to see the kids who struggled in one area, excel in another.  This little girl was great at singing, and Henry was gifted in chess and math.  Often times, this is the case.  These kids aren't stupid;  their minds just function very differently.  They need to be taught in very different ways.
     One boy in the film named Max had ADHD.  The solution, if I can even call it that, for him was ritalin.  During this point in the film I was reminded of a film we watched last semester in ed. psych.  It was a TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson.  He referred to Gillian Lynne.  She was a young girl growing up in England, and she struggled in school.  She was unable to listen, she would fidget, and she had trouble completing work.  A modern day doctor would diagnose her with ADHD and put her on medication in an attempt to make her act like everyone else.  Thankfully, ADHD didn't exist in the 1930's, and neither did ritalin.  Her mother was seeking a solution to her daughter's school troubles and visited a doctor.  After the doctor heard everything that Lynne's mother said, the doctor told her he needed to speak to her mother privately.  They left the room and he switched on the radio.  As soon as they left the room, Lynne was on her feet dancing to the music.  The doctor informed Lynne's mother that Lynne was a dancer and not learning disabled.  Lynne was placed in a school of dance, and she flourished there.  She was in the royal ballet, and became a choreographer doing work for such productions as 'Cats' and the 'Phantom of the Opera'.  The things that set her apart from her classmates were what later distinguished her.  The things that we are so desperately trying to correct in our children, are the things that will make them great.  We're trying to punch all kids through the same sized hole, and our society will suffer because of this.