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REVOLUTIONARY COMMON SENSE LIBRARY
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Testimonial on
Inclusive Education
By Chaela Christianson,
Special Education Teacher
Columbine Elementary School Woodland Park, Colorado—1994
Revolutionary Common Sense from Kathie Snow
www.disabilityisnatural.com
In late summer of 1992, we had the first of many IEP (Individualized Education Program) staffings for Benjamin, a kindergartner. It resembled a SUMMIT MEETING that required months of planning in order to assemble all of the GREAT POWERS from both the PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTORS.
Finally, the MAJOR LEADERS of the different COUNTRIES convened, armed with
pens, clipboards, and files filled with detailed reports describing observations,
assessments, evaluations, progress, concerns, and recommendations. There
were THERAPISTS: physical (2), occupational (2), vision, speech and
language; ADMINISTRATORS: the special education director and the school
principal; MEDICAL PERSONNEL: nurses and health specialists; TEACHERS:
classroom, resource, assistants; PARENTS: Kathie and Mark; CHILDREN:
Benjamin and his sister, Emily; and ADVOCATE, LIAISON, AND FRIEND:
Charmaine.
There was a CHANGING OF THE GUARD from private therapy administered in
an isolated and segregated setting to public school—moving toward
a new direction which provided for service delivery in Benjamin’s
classroom. He would not have to experience being removed from his peers.
Strengths and needs were discussed, and goals were developed and interwoven
in the daily schedule. The resulting IEP goals (and those thereafter)
filled approximately 15 pages, and the document bore a strong resemblance
to THE CONSTITUTION
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Inclusion has been a slow, but steady process of change with many gains
and a few setbacks along the way. There have been many discussions,
meetings, frustrations, misunderstandings, and, sometimes, the shedding
of tears. But during this journey, we have learned acceptance, respect,
and love—and
all have benefited. The impetus for change has come from Benjamin’s
parents and teachers—his advocates—and
from Benjamin, himself.
The 15 pages of goals have been reduced to three major goals in the second
grade. Benjamin has friends and can state his needs. He can tell the
kids when help is appropriate and when it isn’t. He is no longer a class mascot,
but a vital member of the classroom community. He has taught me how not to
hover over him. He has good role models and is a good one himself.
Now in third grade, Benjamin’s IEP is loosely written in PLAIN ENGLISH.
The members of Benjamin’s team are really working together
to see him as a whole child and not a group of BODY PARTS. No more
goals about increasing his upper body strength and so on. We now
know what’s important for Benjamin to learn—by listening
to Benjamin, his family, his friends, and his teachers.
His mother said it best at one of our many meetings: “If Benjamin doesn’t
ever learn to walk independently, he can still have a good life. But if he
doesn’t receive a good education, if he isn’t prepared to live
in the adult world just like the other kids, then he won’t have a good
life. We have the same dreams and goals for Benjamin as we do for his sister:
to be a regular kid, to have friends, to grow up and live the life of his dreams.
Without a real academic education, none of that will be possible!”
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Today, Benjamin is always in his regular classroom. He’s never pulled out and the therapists work with his teacher and the teacher’s aide on a consult basis. RELATED SERVICES now have meaning to Benjamin: they occur throughout his academic day with the help of his teacher, the teacher’s aide, and his peers. He’s learning REAL-WORLD SKILLS in a REAL-LIFE CLASSROOM with his classmates. We MODIFY THE CURRICULUM and provide whatever SUPPORTS AND ACCOMMODATIONS he needs to be successful, including a laptop computer, standing frame, and other technologies and techniques. But we’re not just teaching Benjamin, we’re learning from him: learning about how KIDS WITH DISABILITIES ARE REALLY LIKE ALL KIDS, learning about ourselves and our fears, learning about life, and learning that ALL KIDS CAN LEARN AND THAT ALL KIDS BELONG TOGETHER.
Our success is measured in many ways: from parents of other kids who tell
us how great it is that their kids are going to school with and becoming
friends with kids with disabilities, from classroom teachers who have
been challenged by a new way of educating kids and who have come out
of it thrilled with their own unique success stories, and from the
kids, themselves, who continue to amaze us with their capabilities
and their patience—patience with us as we struggle
daily to do it right.
Recently, Benjamin inquired about the reason for his family’s moving to
Colorado from Texas. His mother told him part of the reason was so he could attend
his neighborhood school in a regular classroom. She then had to explain how most
kids with disabilities were educated in the district they moved from, and Benjamin
was outraged when he learned that a self-contained special education classroom
would probably have been his placement in that district.
While I have had the good fortune to be Benjamin’s resource teacher
this year, Benjamin, his family, and his classroom teacher have been my resources!
They are the ones who have helped shape the direction of my thinking by
focusing on the important things in life—like belonging, friendship,
feelings and the ability to express them, independence, and the uniqueness
of every human being. Once those things were in place, we were able to
concentrate on the academics.
And that’s where we are today: providing Benjamin Snow with the academic
and social tools to help him grow into a successful adult.
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Note from Kathie, Benjamin’s Mom:
Chaela developed this article in 1994, and the efforts of Chaela and the
other wonderful educators paid off: today, Benjamin is a successful 20-year-old
college student!
My children’s elementary school was a pioneer: it had become an inclusive
school way back in the late 1980s. And yet, many years later, educators from
coast-to-coast continue to believe, “Inclusion is a fad...” or “We’re
still not ready...” or “The students are not ready...” or “Inclusion
works for some, but not all...” Educators, students, and students at
Columbine and other schools where inclusive practices are the norm prove that
none of those statements are true, nor can they be justified!
As described in other articles, inclusion is always a “process,” not
a “product.” As Chaela noted, it can involve a “daily
struggle” to
do it right—and it’s a struggle worth doing, because the
outcomes for students, teachers, families, and our society, as a whole,
are awesome!
©1994-2007 Kathie Snow; all rights reserved. Permission is granted for non-commercial use of this article, as follows: you may download the PDF handout version of the article and photocopy to share with others and/or forward it as an Email attachment to others, for personal use as a handout. As a courtesy, please tell me (kathie@disabilityisnatural.com) how/when you use it. This is the intellectual property of Kathie Snow and is protected by Copyscape; permission is required before republishing in newsletters, on websites, etc. Clip art from www.clipartinc.com.
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Our words reflect the way we think, so let's get rid of descriptors like "handicapped, physically disabled, mentally retarded, learning disabled" and other words that focus on the condition instead of the person. People First Language promotes dignity and respect for all!
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