1.+What+is+Inclusion?

__** What is inclusion? **__

**Inclusion is**:
 * Educating all children with different abilities in regular classrooms regardless of the nature of their disabling conditions
 * Providing all students with opportunities to participate and learn from each others contribution in general education
 * Providing necessary services within the general education setting
 * Supporting general education teachers and administrators with time, training, teamwork, resources and strategies.
 * Having students with different abilities follow the same schedule as their general education peers
 * Involving students with different abilities in age appropriate, academic classes and extra curricular activities (e.g. art, music, gym, school trips, assemblies, graduation exercises)
 * Allowing differently abled students to use the cafeteria, library, playground, and other facilities along with the general education peers
 * Encouraging friendships between general education and differently abled students
 * Teaching all children to understand and accept human differences
 * Placing children with different abilities in their neighborhood schools
 * Providing an appropriate individualized educational program

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Exclusion is the alienation of people from a specific group either done overtly or inadvertently. Some of the reasons that people may be excluded are social issues such as race, religion, socioeconomics, gender, and physical ,mental, and emotional disabilities. Some of the effects of being excluded are feelings of despair, betrayal, anxiety, low self-esteem, anger, and depression. Those who exclude others do so out of fear, ignorance, competition, and a feeling of superiority.
 * What is exclusion? What are the effects of it? Why do we exclude?**

Inclusion can introduce the teachers and other children in the class to students with special needs. The students that were once excluded because of various disabilities or social issues can now be included in a group. The included children can be treated the same as the other students with some adjustments to help them learn. This enables the other students to view the disabilities and various social issues as the children are the same as they are but in a different package. All students should be responsible for their own work but the group should work as a team.
 * What can be learned from inclusion?**

Federal law tells us that all students, those with special needs and those without, have the right to be educated in "the least restrictive environment" possible. While inclusion, when effectively implemented is beneficial for many, including the teacher and ultimately society, it is not the case for all students. In an ideal world, all students would benefit from inclusion. The differentiation that usually occurs within the inclusion classroom and the empathy that can arise from the interaction with special needs students is beneficial. However, if teachers are not thoroughly trained in inclusion practices or state funding doesn't allow for the special services required by some special needs students, the harm may far out way the benefits. Therefore, it can be surmised that the "least restrictive environment" for some students may, in fact, not be the regular education classroom.
 * Is inclusion beneficial for every child?**

The teacher's role in an inclusive classroom is to provide a safe and nurturing environment where all students can learn to the best of their ability. Educators must be able to provide lessons in various formats. These formats include learning styles and academic levels. In order to accommodate various formats, differentiation is needed. Further, the teacher is responsible for arranging time for any other services which need to be provided for the student such as speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy or any additional services which are required by the student's individualized educational program (IEP).
 * What is the teacher's role in the inclusion classroom?**

Children need to recognize that all people are connected and that we need to be supportive of one another. Children should learn to think about "we" rather then I". With this mindset, students can always make sure that everyone is included. When planning class activities, students can collaborate different ideas that involve participation from every student. The best way for students to become accepting and appreciate one anothers differences is to learn about each other. Students should be open to teaching and learning about everyone's disabilities and capabilities.
 * What is the responsibility of the children to each other in the inclusion classroom?**