All classrooms have students with special needs in
them, whether we know who they are or not. Just because they have not been
identified as having special needs doesn’t mean they are not there. They could
be the students with behavior problems, social problems or chronic failing
grades. These kids may or may not look different from the other kids. They
certainly cannot be identified as needing special education services just by
looking at them. Does the classroom teacher know how to teach such students?
How does the teacher work with such students?
Society
and public policy these days are leaning toward inclusive classrooms. It means
that there will be more and more students with mild to moderate needs in all
regular mainstream classes. This is the trend, and a great one toward creating
a fully integrated society.
The
classroom teacher needs basic knowledge of special education issues. Maybe not
depth of knowledge, but certainly a breadth of knowledge. Teachers are one of
the earliest identifiers of learning difficulties, after parents. They see the
child everyday for hours at a time. It is unfair to put a teacher in a
classroom without the requisite training to handle the range of students there.
The
Rehabilitation Council of India has a course called ‘Foundations’ aimed at the
regular education teacher. This is wonderful indeed. This course would acquaint
teachers with the basic knowledge of different kinds of disabilities,
recognizing special needs, and strategies to deal with these in the classroom. Including
students with special needs in the general classroom makes the classroom
heterogeneous. Teaching such a mix of students simultaneously in one classroom is
a skill that needs to be taught and developed in new teachers. This course
alone is hardly enough preparation, but it is a great start.
However,
this is a course that teachers have to enroll in of their own accord. Why wouldn’t
this course be part of the regular B. Ed program? This is important information
that every teacher needs to have. The Rehabilitation Council of India can
advocate for the population that it is supposed to serve by lobbying for and
getting this course embedded into the regular B. Ed curriculum. After all,
inclusion is the wave of the future, and every teacher has to be equipped to
handle it.
