Inclusion

Inclusion in the classroom has been an ongoing issue in history. There is a big historical background of inclusion dating back to the Supreme Court case Brown vs. Board of Education, which made it apparent intellectually disabled students were discriminated against. John F. Kennedy made the issue of “mental retardation” known to the public during his presidency. Laws were soon passed to make inclusion in the classroom a fair thing to the intellectually disabled. These laws included the IDEA. Some important terms that are useful to know with the issue of inclusion are mainstreaming, IEP’s, and inclusion itself. There was a time when students with disabilities were not allowed in regular schools. There was no law in America saying that a student with intellectually disabilities had to be taught. In time, students with disabilities were only confined to a special classroom. People had thought that even just the presence of a child with a disability was a threat to a “normal child.” They would be confined to a special education classroom since others had thought they would be a detriment in general classrooms. Inclusion is viewed as a good thing to some since it allows the students to learn and be a part of their peers. A big argument in this is that separate is not equal. It allows the students with disabilities to gain communication skills with their fellow peers. It provides a sense of belonging and an appropriate modeling of social, behavioral, and academic skills. Some individuals do argue that inclusion is not a good thing. One thing people argue is that the students with the disabilities aren’t getting the right care they need inside a general classroom. I believe the need of the student should first be analyzed and considered before any decisions must be made.