I’ve been in some great inclusion spaces.

And then I’ve been in some not-so-great ones.

To clarify, when I speak of “inclusion” in this blog post, it refers to the inclusion of all learners in one classroom. The model where students with disabilities learn alongside their non-disabled peers in general education classrooms.

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Related Article: The Power of Inclusion in Schools

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I’ve been a teacher at a non-public school for kids with autism. This is the most restrictive setting. Because there are zero opportunities to mainstream these students because there ARE no general education classrooms.

I’ve also worked in a self-contained class. This meant that all of the students in my classroom had a learning disability of some sort.

And I’ve also worked as an inclusion teacher. That means that the students with disabilities are getting their services within the general education classroom. With two teachers in the room. Myself and the classroom teacher.

According to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a child who has a disability should learn in their least restrictive environment. 

Which is probably why there’s such a push to move toward inclusive classrooms. Those ARE, in fact, the least restrictive environments because – assuming they’re in the general education classroom all day – you have not removed them from their ‘non-disabled’ peers. So they will have spent 100% of the day in the regular classroom space. Unless you do a combination of push-in and pull-out. But still. The goal is to keep them in the general education classroom for as much as possible. IF they are able to meet their goals and get what they need.

If they are able to meet their goals in that classroom space, that environment is suitable for them.

But, time and time again, I’ve seen students who fall short of meeting their goals and not getting what they need in the classroom space because one of two things happens.

1. The child should actually be spending part of the day outside of the general education classroom.
   While kids can be functional and successful in the general education classroom with certain accommodations, they may need 1:1 or small group interventions to help them improve their reading and/or math levels. Instruction that won’t necessarily happen in a classroom of 8th graders that already read at an 8th grade level.
2. Educators forget that inclusion is so much more than a seat in the classroom.
   I’ve been told that I should “do inclusion” in such a way that – if an administrator or an outsider were to walk into the room, they wouldn’t be able to recognize which kids had disabilities and which did not. Because we’d be doing that “great of a job” that it would be difficult to distinguish the two.

Here’s my issue with #2.

There is OBVIOUSLY a reason why students with disabilities struggle in the general education classroom. It hasn’t worked for them in the past. Which is why they qualified for special education in the first place. Sure, this doesn’t mean we jump to pull them out of the classroom. But we have to meet them where they are at.

My job in the classroom – as an inclusion teacher – is not to make it look aesthetically pleasing for anyone who walks in.

My job is also not to conform these little humans to try to make themselves look like they’re playing the part. When they’re “playing the part,” you can bet there is zero learning happening.

Some of the best inclusion spaces I’ve been in – where learning is happening and goals are being met – are messy.

You walk in and you KNOW which students may be struggling and which students are capable of learning more independently. Because there will be small groups happening. There may be a little more noise because there are multiple forms of instruction happening. Some students may be taking a moment in a sensory corner before jumping back into work.

Things feel messy when learning is happening.

Things feel messy in a really, amazing inclusive space.

Because it’s not about reserving a seat in the classroom for a student who has a disability. It’s recognizing that the seat may never be used because they need to be standing up and pacing in the back of the class.

Students are successful when we focus on the spirit of the inclusion. On the objective of inclusion. And inclusion is so much more than a name on the roster or a space in the classroom. It’s about figuring out how to include them in a way that benefits their learning.