Showing posts with label mainstreaming. Show all posts

Telegraph-Journal: New Brunswick Public Education Must Be Inclusive and Flexible



A New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal June 16, 2012 editorial, reprinted in its' entirety below, has called for a flexible model of inclusion for New Brunswick public education.  The editorial references education policy analyst Paul Bennett who gave a presentation Thursday at the Atlantic Human Rights Centre conference on inclusive education.  

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EDITORIALS

BE INCLUSIVE AND FLEXIBLE




TELEGRAPH-JOURNAL
EDITORIAL

It is imperative that public education be accessible to all students. While the Alward government’s $62 million investment in new resources to support inclusion should help, critics say the province’s vision of inclusion itself needs to change.
One of those constructive critics is education policy analyst Paul Bennett. Mr. Bennett gives New Brunswick high praise for its commitment, but he does not believe equal access can be met within the walls of a single classroom. We’re inclined to agree.
The one-classroom model of inclusion cannot meet the needs of all students, as countless parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and severe dyslexia can attest. Why not acknowledge that hundreds of families are not being well-served, and open the door to private schools or transition programs, funded by provincial vouchers, as Nova Scotia has done?
This would give parents greater choice in their children’s education. It would also serve as a better incubator of innovative and effective education practices than public schools can provide, while still being accessible to all.
The education department seems determined to train more teachers who are interested in special needs instruction. Given the low performance of New Brunswick schools generally, though, we’re not hopeful that New Brunswick can train its way out of this problem.
The average quality of schooling in New Brunswick is among the poorest in Canada. It is unlikely that the turnover in teachers who are better trained will occur fast enough to meet the needs of average students, let alone those who require specialized instruction.
Wouldn’t student needs be served better by permitting the creation of new schools and programs specifically for students with special needs, staffed by professionals who specialize in this area of education?
These schools would not replace classroom inclusion, but augment it by providing alternatives for those students whose needs are greatest.
In Nova Scotia, parents already have access to private, independent special education schools. Since 2004, when the Nova Scotia Tuition Support Program was created, the provincial government has even provided short-term funding for students to attend designated special education private schools, with the goal of transitioning back into public schools at a later date.
We are proud to live in a province which has affirmed that all students have an equal right to education. Surely it is not a big step to admit that to achieve this equality of opportunity, some special needs students will require resources outside the standard classroom.

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What Do NB Teachers Really Think About The Porter-NBACL Full Inclusion Model?


What do New Brunswick teachers really think about the full inclusion model  which has been pushed relentlessly in NB schools by Gordon Porter and the New Brunswick Association for Community Living since the mid-1980's? The truth is many teachers recognize that extreme, everyone in the regular classroom inclusion does not work.  Teachers know this but they are afraid, for good reason, to speak up while they remain employed in New Brunswick schools. Speaking up and openly criticizing  the Inclusion Illusion would be detrimental to their careers and livelihoods and they know it.

Full inclusion, as defined by Gordon Porter, means "everyone in the mainstream classroom" as Mr. Porter preached to a Newfoundland audience a few weeks ago:


"Porter’s session revolved around the theme of parents and teachers working together to make inclusion work.“It means kids go to their neighbourhood schools with kids their own age in regular classes,” said Porter.“If you’re seven years old you go to the school just down the street. You go in a class with other seven-year-olds, and you’re supported if you have extra needs. “It’s so simple, it’s that simple,” said Porter."


I am a supporter of flexible inclusion and I am a critic and opponent of the full inclusion, everyone in the mainstream classroom inclusion, of Gordon Porter and his followers with the NBACL.  This father of a son with Autistic Disorder, and profound developmental delays learned long ago that Mr. Porter's  regular classroom is not appropriate for my son's learning requirements. It caused him harm and resulted in self injurious behavior repeated, severe biting of his hands and wrists. Today he is very well accommodated by a flexible inclusion which sees him receive his instruction in a quiet area outside the regular classroom.  He starts his day, has lunch, and has friends in a resource center in his high school with other students with challenges, challenges which Gordon Porter's full inclusion model would not accommodate.  He attends many events with his group from the resource centre and he loves, he absolutely loves going to school.

On my son's behalf and as a representative of the Autism Society New Brunswick I participated in the MacKay and Ministerial Inclusion reviews.  During these proceedings I was approached by teachers who thanked me for speaking out for a flexible model of inclusion.  Some children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder can function in the regular classroom, some can not.  Teachers can see that in their daily work, in respect of autistic students and others with severe challenges. Teachers though,  like most employees, know which way the wind blows where they work.  They know that if they preach the full inclusion gospel according to Gordon Porter they will be viewed favorably by the higher ups in the education department and the de facto education department ... the New Brunswick Association of Community Living. They know that if they publicly criticize full inclusion their careers could suffer. 


My experience during the inclusion review proceedings has been replicated after I have spoken publicly on television and radio.  I have been approached by many teachers who told me that they and their colleagues support my efforts in speaking up about the shortcomings of full (extreme)  inclusion. I have been encouraged by many teachers to continue critiquing the full inclusion model which governs the mindset of those who determine how our children will be educated.


I don't expect anyone in the office of the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development or at the "bricks and mortar" building of his colleagues at the NBACL to believe what I have stated.  They do not accept actual direct evidence that conflicts with their full inclusion model and they will certainly not accept my hearsay evidence based on undisclosed witnesses to what actually happens in our regular "inclusive" classrooms. The full inclusion true believers simply ignore such evidence and blame problems on the students themselves or argue that more resources are needed in the classroom under the guidance of classroom teachers.  Then everything will work smoothly.  


The full inclusion model of Porter and the NBACL is not an evidence based approach to education.  It is at best a  feel good philosophy.  At worst it is an illusion.  The full inclusion illusion.  One that can literally cause harm, mental, emotional, even physical harm, to some children for whom it is not an appropriate learning environment. This father of a son with severe challenges knows it.  The teachers who work on the front lines educating our children also know it.


The attached document is the 2005 report of an executive committee of the New Brunswick Teachers' Association which describes New Brunswick schools as being in a state of crisis.  The NBTA's report talks about the classroom composition concerns expressed by the teachers they represent but denies that the issue is classroom composition; the issue for the Association is the need for more support in the classroom.   If you look under the politically correct tap dancing of the NBTA's report though there is an honest recognition in many of the statements of its' members that classroom composition is in fact the issue.  I have posted the 5 page summary of the committee's recommendations following my comments in case the document is removed from the NBTA web site in future.





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