The Opposite of Inclusion is Exclusion? 

Inclusion is the idea that all students should be able to learn in the same classroom regardless of any form of disabilities. It should go without saying that their are many positives to this such as the ability for students with disabilities such as forming stronger social skills and an increase to self-esteem, but the real question should be in schools. Is inclusion always the best idea for every student with a disability? When the law of the land in schools is always inclusion, would the opposite of that be as blatant as exclusion? 

According to an article by Education World, the opposite of inclusion isn't always exclusion and more importantly inclusion isn't always the best course of action for all students with disabilities. It may even be possible that we are harming our students with disabilities by forcing the concepts of inclusion on them. 

The way inclusion works today is by combining the needs of all students in the classroom without consideration to the individual needs of each student (especially in public schools). Education World references the educator Albert Shanker who wrote for the American Federation of Teachers in 1996 and is quoted stating: 

"What full inclusionists don't see is that children with disabilities are individuals with differing needs; some benefit from inclusion and others do not. Full inclusionists don't see that medically fragile children and children with severe behavioral disorders are more likely to be harmed than helped when they are placed in regular classrooms where teachers do not have the highly specialized training to deal with their needs."

This does not mean that inclusion should be done away with completely. In fact, full inclusion still has it's benefits despite what Shanker states. The way that modern inclusion is conducted is not the correct method though. If a few simple changes are made such as providing adequate support services, reducing classroom size based on the severity of student needs, increased funding towards inclusion programs and professional development for teachers and special educators alike. 

I believe that inclusion can be a very effective method of education, but only after the proper considerations are taken. Regardless, huge strides have been made to improve the plight of special-needs students.

 Cromwell, Sharon. "Inclusion In The Classroom: Has It Gone Too Far?" Education World:. Education World®, 1 Jan. 2004. Web. 30 Mar. 2015.  

Multicultural Teaching

Multicultural education is just as important as any other form of teaching. I'm a firm believer that racism stems from both ignorance and fear of the unknown. When one does not understand what is in front of them, they are much more likely to reject it. The same can be said about different cultures. People often display racism and prejudice not because they are bad people, but because they do not understand the culture that another person is coming from. Not only does teaching different cultures in schools, help to deter prejudice, but it's also important in the world we live in now that values understanding as many cultures as possible. Globalization continues to be on the rise and more and more employers are seeking people who understand other cultures (if not speak the language from the other culture themselves).

Even with all this though, often times it seems like multicultural teaching fails to incorporate our own culture, and fails to teach us how similar we are to each other. Often times it seems like multicultural teaching is teaching and celebrating the differences, when we should be celebrating how similar we are as human beings.

Books like "Same, But Different" are children's books that encourage teaching the similarities between cultures and not just the differences. In this way, students can understand how similar they are and effectively eliminate prejudice against others. I mean, why would you want to be prejudice against someone you can relate with?

Columbus Day

"America's one of the finest countries anyone ever stole.  ~Bobcat Goldthwaite"

Ahhhh! Columbus Day, one of the many holidays I have a problem with. It's not so much about the celebration, but any educated person knows that Columbus Day has a very very dark history (imagine the Holocaust having a holiday as opposed to a remembrance day). It's only because no one is still alive to know who the real Christopher Columbus was like that we do celebrate the holiday. The problem is, how do you teach about such a dark holiday in an elementary school classroom? Is it fair (or even ethically right?) to teach children lies about a holiday that they will most likely find out the truth about in the future? I mean we do the same thing with other holidays. It seems to be a consistent theme to lie to youth, but I believe that it does serve a purpose and a positive one at that. 

If I can take one thing away from public schooling its that they were good at bringing a positive message to a dark holiday. In the article "What not to teach about Native Americans", the author June Sark Heinrich discusses methods of introducing teaching of Native Americans in the classroom, and especially common errors that teachers make when attempting to teach the subject (the biggest mistake being the term "Indians"). 

The first aspect that Columbus Day teaches us is that Columbus and the natives got along very well (which is very far from the truth), but for a country that prides itself on diversity and being the melting pot of the world, what message does it send to children that we didn't get along so well in the early beginning? This can result in negative reactions in the classroom. Children sometimes need a lie once in awhile to learn a lesson and to teach ethics. So in that regard, I think I can forsake my own ethics for the sake of teaching a lesson to my students. If only to benefit them. Besides, in the future they will likely discover the truth anyway, but if they can go on long enough living the fantasy and believing this country was founded on diversity as much as they believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny, then I think that's a good thing. What ill can come from this? 

The only thing I would make sure to teach is that Columbus didn't discover America, but that he certainly discovered the Native Americans.