Inclusion Gone Bad

In class this week, we discussed inclusion. Basically, inclusion means that a child with special needs is in the same class with general education students. In the past, I have observed and worked in a full inclusion classroom. I was able to see first hand how at least this class worked. There was only one student who had special needs. The special education teacher would only come in thirty minutes a day to help the boy. When she was not there, the general classroom teacher and the assistant teacher would help him instead. Mrs. Crews, the regular education teacher would wear a microphone to help the student pay better attention. She was very good with the student, but most of her attention had to go to the other twenty students in the class. Therefore, the assistant teacher would work with the boy. However, I believe she did an awful job. She would yell at him if he did not get an answer right or if she had to remind him how to do a certain task. The teacher would even make jokes in front of the class about how this student will never understand certain things and call him stupid in front of other teachers. Not only was this bad for the student’s progress but it was unprofessional. The teacher would also alienate the boy by telling other students not to play with him. Mrs. Crews would get annoyed when the other teacher would do these things, but she felt uncomfortable saying anything so the bad treatment continued. Although this is just one particular case, this same problem could be happening in many full inclusion classes.
Personally, I disagree with full inclusion classrooms. First of all, the regular ed. teacher has not been specifically trained to accommodate children with special needs. Because of this, the student may not get the full benefits that education provides. The special ed. teacher knows how these students learn best and can implement different ways for the students to learn. I think that partial inclusion is the best option. In partial inclusion classes, general ed. students and special ed. students still have the same exposure to one another that they received in a general education classroom. But in this case, all students will be able to receive the optimal education. Special education classes are often smaller then general ed. classrooms as well. This means the teacher will be able to spend more time with students. Overall, I believe that partial inclusion benefits all.