Inclusive Education Source Book

By Padma S. K. (B.Ed)

Contents
Barriers to Inclusion.............................................................................................................................1
Who is disabled?..............................................................................................................................1
The environment..............................................................................................................................2
Self identity.....................................................................................................................................2
Inclusive environment.......................................................................................................................2
Why Integrate?.............................................................................................................................2
Professional identity......................................................................................................................3
Good grooming............................................................................................................................3
Smile..........................................................................................................................................4
Language.....................................................................................................................................4
Punctuality..................................................................................................................................4
The use of a red pen......................................................................................................................4
Love your profession.....................................................................................................................4
Imbibe and practice moral and societal values..................................................................................4
Develop Intrapersonal skills....................................................................................................5
Class room control........................................................................................................................5

Barriers to Inclusion
What is Inclusive Education?

Inclusive Education is

"To include the excluded,

To care for the uncared,
To reach the unreached"

The biggest barrier to inclusion is not only attitude but also lack of Knowledge. The problem of
disabled people is not in their disability, but in how society looks at them.

Society needs to look at the disabled not as "the disabled", but as differently abled.

Who is disabled?
? If you fail to see the person but only the disability, then who is blind?
? If you cannot hear your brother's cry for justice, who is deaf?
? If you do not communicate with your sister, but separate her from you, who is disabled?
? If you do not stand up for the rights of all persons, who is the cripple?
Our attitude towards differently abled persons is indeed the biggest handicap.
The environment
Some of the physical barriers at school, such as climbing steps, uneven ground, randomly placed
furniture or things out of place become unknowing barriers placed before the orthopedically
handicapped and the blind. Architectural barriers exist in buildings designed without the needs of
the differently abled in mind. School managements must pay attention to these and ameliorate the
situation, ideally with the design itself, or by arrangements such as having classes on the ground
floor (for children with special needs) or other such alternative arrangement.

Lack of knowledge in handling special children also presents a big barrier. There are more than
fifteen commonly occurring impairments and handling them needs training. But the first step is to
get going with hands on experience -

"WHERE THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY"

Self identity
Now that all of you have chosen the world's most noble profession, be aware of a few concepts and
goals, which make your journey successful and enjoyable. Kindly understand that teachers must have
the enthusiasm to be lifelong learners. Teachers need to catch up with latest trends and techniques,
combine that with your own needs at school and be always successful. Nothing else can give you
greater pleasure than moulding young impressionable minds.
Remember that teaching is a licence to be renewed every 3 years. Western countries have adopted
this strategy and we need to do it individually as well as collectively.
Upgrade yourself constantly by attending workshops, seminars and by reading relevant material.
Each student comes to the classroom with a different personality, different family culture and
background and different set of life experiences. Relate yourself well with every child and build a
rapport, always with a positive approach.

If you are handling primary classes, you are privileged, because most students do not forget their
primary school teacher. Therein lies your ' self-identity'

Inclusive environment
Mainstreaming is a goal, a concept, a philosophy with the underlying principle of educating all
children with disabilities in regular schools. A synonym is "integration". The present day term is
"Inclusion". All the terms in this context refer to accessibility of education to all children along with
other children. Physical placement comes first, in regular classrooms.

Why Integrate?
a. To prepare for life in society, in the real world, like we do for other children
b. To learn from others. Children learn from observation and motivation to imitate.
c. Their world slowly expands by mixing and playing with others, of their own age.
d. To have normal experiences, the vibrancy and excitement of regular schools.
e. To change attitudes, overcome prejudices, increase frequency of contact.
f. To make friends. The bonds of commonality can foster natural relationships.
g. To challenge "exclusions"(to fight societal prejudices)
h. Lastly, to teach democracy. The best way is to practice it.
The advantages, expressed from a student's point of view, are

 I am a person first and then i try to cope up with my disability

 I learn to communicate with others, learn to contribute in discussions and love to answer
teacher's questions
 I love to take risks , even though I am not capable, to the extent possible
  I want the company of my friend and I love to talk to them as equals.
 I know who I am and where I stand
 I think big and we dream together
The term 'inclusion' is much broader than the mere placement of the child in the classroom. It
involves changes in not only the placement, teaching styles, but also in syllabus, curriculum,
evaluation methods and in general the whole environment.

Most important in ATTITUDE

The mere placement of the child in the classroom, without paying attention to her becomes a kind of
"exclusion" which can be disheartening. Therefore academic inclusion begins with acceptance and
social integration.
Dear Teacher, please accept my congratulations at having held the finger of the child and brought
him to the class. Always give a preferential seat to the disadvantaged child. Your attitude goes a long
way in you students accepting the child as a peer and helping her.
Introduce the child to the class and make other students shake hands with her and seek their
support in all activities of the school.
Specify who should accompany the child and help him during Morning Prayer, assembly, lunch-break,
sports period, drawing period etc. These interactions, encounters and practices in co-operation adds
self-respect and increases self-esteem of not only the special child but also her peer group.
Peer-group interaction and" peer tutoring” makes the job of the teacher smooth and increases her
efficiency of functioning.
The four pillars of successful handling of not only school students but also your own biological
children are
 Love
 Patience
 Tolerance
 Time (quality time with children)
The above statement is a research finding.

In conclusion, let us remember that no society can march forward, leaving behind a section of its
population. All teachers play an essential role in this progress.

"If mankind has to progress, he must take with him, unto the last, the blind, the deaf, the dumb, the
lame and the halt" Mahatma Gandhi.

"The destiny of India is being shaped in her class rooms" - Kothari commission

Professional identity
 All professions in the world have ethics, rules and regulations. A teacher is a role model for his/her
students. Because of this position he/she enjoys, a lot more is expected from them other than their
capacity to teach.

 Some important factors:

Good grooming
T here is a formal dress code in all cultures for teachers, which, in general should be modest and
respectable. Remember that the way you dress, reveals your personality. As Polonius declaims in
Shakespeare’s Hamlet:

"Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, but not expressed in fancy; rich, not gaudy, for the apparel
oft proclaims the man"
Smile
A smile is the costliest ornament in the world, just as laughter is the best medicine – and the only
one with without an expiry date.

Both have tremendous healing powers. They keep stress, frustration, anger and many other negative
emotions at bay.

 Language
The choice of words that you use while addressing children and while communicating should be well
thought out. Unparliamentary language should never be used.

Punctuality
Always practice this - without excuses!

The use of a red pen

This is your stethoscope! Do corrections without bias and always be polite with slow learners. Find
out the learning gaps after tests and exams and sincerely try remedial teaching to bridge the gap.
Never hurt the self-respect or self-esteem of any child at any time.

 Other than these general principles, there is a lot more expected of a teacher professionally

Love your profession

Here is your everyday morning prayer:

A TEACHER'S MORNING PRAYER

Oh! God, giver of the gift of life,
Bless me this day as I go to teach
I thank you for my career,
And for the health and enthusiasm
You have given me
I thank you for my teaching skill
And the joy i find in it
I thank you for my students
And friends, in whose company
Joys are doubled and sorrows soothed
And weakness changed into strength
Help me to be cheerful today
Kind and loving to my students
That they may be happy in my company

Imbibe and practice moral and societal values

THREE THINGS
Three things to respect,
Old age, religion and law
Three things to admire
Intellect, beauty and music
Three things to cultivate
Sympathy, cheerfulness and satisfaction
Three things to stick to
Promise, friendship and love,
Three things to govern,
 Tongue, temper and action
Three things to prevent,
Idleness, falsehood and bad words
Three things to watch
Words, behaviour and character,
Three things to love,
Honesty, purity and truth
Three things to avoid
Drinking, smoking and gambling,
Three things to honour,
Birth, marriage and death

Pay attention to all round development of the child with a holistic approach

Be an ardent follower of science and technology

Learn to consciously be impartial always

Walk your talk; do as you say and say as you do:

Give respect and take respect, including your students. Wish everyone in the morning,
‘Namaste’ or ' good morning'

Treat others, the way you want to be treated

Learn to say, "I don't know", when you don’t know something, and say sorry when the
situation demands it

No staff-room politics - beware of trouble makers

  Be ready to do all tasks assigned to you during school hours willingly

  Learn and practice negotiation skills with everyone around you. You will be a good role
model for your students to develop team spirit.

Teach with greater understanding of the subject. Read higher text books and know more.
Pay attention to gifted children, answer their queries and satisfy their curiosity. Otherwise,
one may end up being a duplicate text book.

Develop Intrapersonal skills

Education of every individual is serious. It involves/requires partners and success depends upon the
personal integrity and commitment of the partners also. Parents, teachers and management are your
immediate partners. Strive for good team work.

Class room control

This is a serious problem for many teachers in many schools. Some teachers are able to control their
classes with little effort, and have no disciplinary troubles. The same class becomes unruly in some
other period. Many a time you can see teachers shouting, pleading, threatening, banging the
wooden duster on the table, and in general struggling hard to bring some semblance of order in the
class. It is the authenticity and competence of the teacher, and not the teaching technique or the
ability to punish or reward that matters. It is the personality of the teacher that has an overall effect
on students. It is an art and an ability to tune into others wavelength.
 Last but not the least; do not worry about name and fame. It comes automatically when you are a
successful teacher