Reporting and Responding
For my Community/Educational Links Program I spent my twenty hours working at a primary school, helping out in a pre-primary class. The focus of my twenty hours was mainly spent with two of the boys in the class. One of the boys was on the Autism Spectrum (Bob*), and the other (Tom*) had high needs, with symptoms of ADHD. I also worked with the other children in the class to help them understand the importance of inclusiveness. (*Children’s names have been changed to protect their identity.)
On the first day of my twenty hours, I spent the time observing the class and the children, to see how they interacted with each other and the environment. From the first day I noticed that in the playground, children would antagonise …show more content…
By having this exposure to children of all abilities on a daily basis, it allows for all children to see that people with disabilities have strengths and weakness, and good days and bad days, just like they do. This idea created a positive outcome for Bob and Tom, as the children in the class began to accept them for who they are. Socially, the inclusive classroom was very beneficial for both boys. Hastings and Oakford (2003) argue that even just one single child with an extreme disability or behavioural problem can create significant mayhem in a school. They believe that some children have needs that are so great they would benefit from a specialised setting. McCarty (2007) agrees, stating that one large disadvantage of a fully inclusive classroom is that if a child is so disruptive that the teacher cannot teach it is not good for the children because they are not learning at the pace they should be. This was also apparent in the school I attended, as the teacher was constantly stopping to discipline Bob and Tom. Sometimes it got to the point where the teacher would ignore the boy’s negative behaviour, which disrupted the class even more, especially as both boys are more physically inclined than
For my Community/Educational Links Program I spent my twenty hours working at a primary school, helping out in a pre-primary class. The focus of my twenty hours was mainly spent with two of the boys in the class. One of the boys was on the Autism Spectrum (Bob*), and the other (Tom*) had high needs, with symptoms of ADHD. I also worked with the other children in the class to help them understand the importance of inclusiveness. (*Children’s names have been changed to protect their identity.)
On the first day of my twenty hours, I spent the time observing the class and the children, to see how they interacted with each other and the environment. From the first day I noticed that in the playground, children would antagonise …show more content…
By having this exposure to children of all abilities on a daily basis, it allows for all children to see that people with disabilities have strengths and weakness, and good days and bad days, just like they do. This idea created a positive outcome for Bob and Tom, as the children in the class began to accept them for who they are. Socially, the inclusive classroom was very beneficial for both boys. Hastings and Oakford (2003) argue that even just one single child with an extreme disability or behavioural problem can create significant mayhem in a school. They believe that some children have needs that are so great they would benefit from a specialised setting. McCarty (2007) agrees, stating that one large disadvantage of a fully inclusive classroom is that if a child is so disruptive that the teacher cannot teach it is not good for the children because they are not learning at the pace they should be. This was also apparent in the school I attended, as the teacher was constantly stopping to discipline Bob and Tom. Sometimes it got to the point where the teacher would ignore the boy’s negative behaviour, which disrupted the class even more, especially as both boys are more physically inclined than