My school is not a completely inclusive school. I have no children on IEP’s, but I have one child that gets pulled out of class for speech. However, there are services within the school that children receive where the students are pulled out or worked with within the classroom. It varies. My school also does not really have a PBS in place. My classroom individually uses the “pull a light” system except the students start out on the happy bus, move to the flat tire, then the garage when they get in trouble. There is also what is known as a backup room in the school for students that get too out of hand in the classroom.
I like the idea of inclusive classroom management. However, I also see some benefits of pulling out the children in the classroom for one-on-one attention. I think if the classroom is going to be inclusive then we need to take it case by case almost. I think that what is best for the child should be considered and carried out. I think that should trump over everything. It’s hard sometimes to be individualized for each students when you are trying to consider 20 or so other students, but I think it’s important to refocus on the individual frequently.
I liked how the article talked about facilitating friendships, collaboration, and promoting membership. I think it’s important as an inclusive community to have all of these things. In my opinion, your school should feel like a family and try and operate as a family. Of course, just like families, we will have our differences and will not be perfect, but we work together for the good of those involved. Every child deserves to belong to the community. Therefore, I believe that if the child is to receive any extra services the teacher should be in contact with the parents frequently about what’s going on. In an ideal world I guess this would exist. But practically speaking I think it’s beneficial for the students, teachers, and parents to have a conference about what is being offered for the student’s success and how beneficial it is.
I have the same feelings as you have about the inclusion in the classroom. I have one student with an IEP, but she is visually impaired. Since we have started taking tests some students are also getting pulled out for speech. I see my school as a school of inclusion, but at my grade level there are not really any students that need the services.
PBS is used at my school in all the classrooms. There is the school wide incentive with the coupons, but I do not see anything in my classroom. There is the use of behavior management journals and we have administered some of them to our students. These journals record their behavior and feelings from their point of view. The forms are then sent home to their parents and they have to discuss what happened at school. The forms do seem very helpful and they keep the parents involved with the chaild’s behavior.