As I read, Rethinking Early Childhood Education from p. 147-150 the author talked about inclusion in a Head Start classroom. What does inclusion mean to you? To me it means accepting children with special needs or disabilities of ages 3-5 to become apart of a preschool classroom. When I read about Nyla's experience in the classroom I thought it was a great experience for the other children to include her in the classroom and learn about her disabilities being in a wheelchair. Nyla's mother was almost going to take her out of school because she was worried that she didn't fit in with the group or have any friends. However, her mother heard that she made friends and she changed her mind and kept her in school. After I read 'Talking the Talk' on p. 175-176 the author talked about teachers who spoke Spanish and she also wanted to expand and change the languages at school to include other languages spoken such as, Mixteco, Triqui, Zapotec, and Canjobal etc.
I personally have not experinced an inclusive classroom. However, I recently experienced a four year old child at our preschool program that had signs or symptoms of autism. He would shout and scream if other children got in his way, he would have trouble sitting and listening, and his eyes would constanly be twitching. He was a smart boy who could notice large numbers, put words together and read the word. He was a child who enjoyed playing on his own most of the time and being around adults. We were working with his parents and they got him help from specalist. The specialist would come in the school and observe his behavior. They gave us some tips that would help him calm down such as, rubbing his back at least three times. He stayed at the preschool for about three months and his parents decided to put him in a special needs program.
In chapter 4 New Possibilities for ECE the author interviewed some women who have gone through some hard times in life. They talked about their experiences on how they came from abusive homes, lived in poverty, dealing with death, by a loved one, using drugs etc. After going through an emotional life the women wanted to change their old ways of living and got their lives back on track by going to school and becoming educators and career women.
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Change is definitely a good thing. ECE is considered a babysitting gig and I think that the more teachers are opening themselves up to the social responsibility of providing and accepting all different kinds of children into their classroom, the more the general population will view ECE and ECE professionals as essential to children's early development and later school. We are not accepting only typically-developing children but ALL children of different backgrounds. In the example of Nyla, the teacher knew that she was intimated but she also knew that she is a teacher and having Nyla in her classroom meant more than just having her sit around and watch the other children being involved. She wanted to get Nyla to their level and visa versa. I think once we understand and accept these changes the next question to ask is: HOW do we deal with these changes?
ReplyDeleteHi Dawn,
ReplyDeleteI worked as teacher for 11 years and as a professor, often find myself in classrooms. Through my own observations I have found change is not a very welcome process to teachers. Some teachers have created programs and repeat the same activities year after year. Other teachers use what they learned in college 25 years ago without any engagement with new research and findings. What might inspire change in a profession full of no change? Does the current structure of school support no change? What might have to be supported in order for a teacher to constantly be evolving in practice? Does it relate to administration, relationships with colleagues, or policies?
Jeanne
Hi Dawn,
ReplyDeleteI have always wondered why we are not required to take any special education classes. At one point of another we will all experience a child with special needs in our classes. But if we have no experience then what? I had a boy in my class who was autistic and I always wondered if I was meeting his needs. In the beginning it was a learning process for me, and I would let him get away with a lot of things.Then I realized how smart he was and how he was trying to get away with things. It was quiet a learning experience but wished I had taken some classes.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI believe change is hard to cope with but if its for the better it's worth the change. It's nice to hear that your school is trying to support this child by having a specialist come over to observe and help the teachers how to work with him. I believe time takes patients and a stable routine for the child to trust his teachers. When everything is smooth and stable he is able to learn and trust teachers.
I would say that change is inevitable and it is going to happen, it always does and there is no real way of stopping it. I guess the question is more of how you deal with change? I think if you can handle change as a teaching moment, it gives teachers and children a chance to talk about change and any concerns or feelings they have about it. It can provide an opportunity for great conversations. I think for change to have a positive impact is what you learn from that change. It is all in how you deal with change it make it good thing or a bad thing.
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