Megan Saunders
ED 451
Response 4
July 25, 2010
Although there is such a large push for inclusion, I believe that a big obstacle is parents
of non-disabled students. Detracking eliminates the segregation of students with disabilities and
non-disabled students, allowing them to participate in the same activities and be peers in the
same classroom. Without a doubt, it is the teacher’s job to be able to cater to the needs of every
single individual in the class, but too often students with disabilities are placed into a general
education class and it is called inclusion when it is not (Peterson & Hittie, 2010). Inclusion does
not just mean putting students with disabilities into a class with non-disabled peers. If they do
not have a voice, if they are not given opportunities to participate, to express their ideas and
opinions and to succeed, then it is not actually inclusion, it is just the presence of a diverse body
of students with no effort to include everyone (Chandler-Olcott & Kluth, 2009).
Detracking has everything to do with adapting instruction. Within detracked classes,
there are students of all backgrounds, cultures, disabilities, socioeconomic classes, etc. It is
imperative that teachers are able to keep these differences in mind as they work to build off the
diversity in the classroom and turn it into beneficial exposure and experience for the students.
Teachers must ultimately reflect on their own teaching practices and develop effective
instructional strategies to use that will be successful in reaching all students and giving each one
of them the capability to rise to their highest potentials (Chandler-Olcott & Kluth, 2009). The 9th
grade students in the video we watched from the school in New Jersey, realized the gift they had
of being able to learn about each others culture and religion, be challenged by each other, and
help develop deeper critical thinking skills by being in a detracked English class. There are
numerous benefits for all students in the classroom when everyone is included and therefore
everyone can learn from each other’s ideas and experiences. If students with disabilities are
removed from a class and placed in a separate one, then that means that often the solution was
not for the teacher to reflect on his or her teaching and come up with innovative ways to present
topics and activities to all students, and being confident and creative to meet to the needs of
everyone.
In one of the readings my base group read, Chandler-Olcott and Kluth (2009) believe that
everyone, teachers, non-disabled students and students with disabilities, can benefit from
including students with autism in the literacy classroom. Many wealthy, suburban parents do not
like inclusion or detracking because they believe it holds their intelligent children back, having
to slow instruction to make sure the students with disabilities can learn. Parents do not often
realize the extraordinary benefits that their children can have by having students with disabilities,
and autism, in their classes. Oppositely, the parents who fight for school reforms in urban
schools struggle to be taken seriously since they are often minorities and school administration
do not respect their ideas. Martinez-Cosio (2010) is clear about how cultural capital plays into
affecting how much influence parents can have on school reform. For example, a group of Latino
parents called the Latino coalition was less successful in engaging in school reform because they
had a more aggressive approach. The African American Coalition on the other hand was more
successful because they worked within the system. Minority families and parents have a difficult
time having input into their children’s schools and fighting for change because of the dominant
culture wanting to protect their authority (Martinez-Cosio, 2010). I have seen teachers speak to
parents as though what they say is set in stone and parents can have no input on the methods that
will be affecting their own child. So then how do parents ever get a say in their child’s
education? Aren’t they the ones who know the children best? Why can’t everyone ideas always
be incorporated or at least considered or tried out? No wonder there is such a tough time trying to
accomplish school reforms. There are the urban parents who are basically shut out, and the
suburban parents are the ones who want to keep everything as it, tracking students and having
their children in all the AP and accelerated classes.
I believe that it is crucial that suburban parents, or any parents, are presented with the
benefits that their child gets when they have students in their class who have disabilities. That is
because, when this true-life learning and social environment is created, teachers improve their
practice by using menus and so many different strategies that meet so many different learning
styles, and then the other students in the class also benefit, helping reinforce their own learning.
Teachers improve their teaching by taking a closer look and consideration into assessments,
keeping and analyzing their notes, reflecting on their classes, and getting to know all students
and creating instruction to meet their needs or IEP goals, or even simply their learning
preferences (Peterson & Hittie, 2010; Chandler-Olcott &Kluth, 2009). Non-disabled peers are
challenged to clarify their ideas, concise their writing, and get to understand a new
language/symbols system when trying to interact with students with autism. They are giving the
great opportunity to learn what new perspectives have to offer, increasing their own problemsolving skills and social skills simultaneously.
In this detracked setting, students with autism are exposed to the kind of education that
they should be and finally have the chance to interact with peers who can offer a lot to them
socially, and who they can collaborate with where both can learn a great deal from each other. It
helps prepare them with the social skills that they will need for life (Peterson & Hittie, 2010).
However, as mentioned before, simply giving the student a seat in the class does not make it
inclusion. I believe that true inclusion occurs when the student can participate and become a true
member and equal contributor to the class. But how can this happen? I believe that students can
come to accept it easily when the adults around them do as well. But there needs to be more than
simply teacher support. I think that parents need to be educated about these opportunities so that
real inclusion can take place and people of any background can learn to accept these conditions
and see the immense value in it.