July 25, 2004
Inclusive Education
My colleague down the hall, Dennis Jerz, has been doing some faculty development in inclusive uses of technology for the past week, and the reflective entries about this in his blog are quite a fascinating read. I empathize with some of the experiences he relays, especially with students whose in-class behavior is abberrant (and possibly psychotic). It's hard to know how to deal with problem students, particularly those who have disabilities that we're not aware of.
One of the primary subjects in my repetoire as a teacher is film studies. I've always wondered how I would accomodate a blind student in my Art of Film course. (Would a blind student even take a film course?) A deaf student could have a translator, but the instruction on film sound would be very difficult for them to comprehend.
As Richard Villa puts it, "Inclusion is changing the rules of the game so that everyone can play and everyone can win." As far as I understand the term, "Inclusive education" comes out of "special education" circles and espouses a philosophy that seeks to accomodate and adjust to the special needs of students with disabilities, whether mental, learning, or physical, in order that all learners in a campus environment are empowered to develop. Quite often, the "status quo" of classroom management doesn't take into account the needs of, say, a blind student, or a student with a learning disability.
The Center for Studies in Inclusion offers a better definition and rationale for inclusive ed worth reading.
I've had students with visual disabilities in my writing courses, and have learned more from them than about accomodation than I'd ever learn in a book. Nonetheless, chance favors the prepared mind and the web -- luckily -- has a trove of information on inclusivity. University of North Iowa has a good webpage on the philosophy and practice of "inclusive" education that's worth a look-see to get started. The "Inclusion Institute" compiled a good hotlist of web resources for more information. There are many more sites addressing specific disabilities.
I've often felt that inclusive education is not only difficult, but sometimes virtually impossible. I've harbored feelings that students with severe disabilities -- like schizophrenia -- probably don't belong in college and shouldn't interrupt the flow of the traditional class. But I also realize that to some degree, inclusivity is a primary goal of student-centered teaching. As the front page of the Florida Inclusion Network puts it, "the most disabled person in the world is a negative thinker." Reading Jerz' blog reminded me to think positively when planning my own strategies for creating an inclusive classroom. I've successfully worked with students with disabilities, but I know I can do much better.
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Comments
As a graduate student I tutored a blind woman in a basic Geology course where just about everything was visual- fault movement, plate tectonics, stratigraphic relationships... it really opened my mind to being able to describe visual concepts in words only, to paint a picture with words.
The down side was it was sometimes not clear if she really "got" some of the concepts, yet I always was humbled by the braveness of her attitude.
I am an undergrad, and I had a deaf kid in one of my film classes. So every film we watched had to have subtitles. Although it was an annoyance a couple times because the professor kept forgetting to put the subtitles on in the special features menu, and you can't help but read the subtitles as opposed to focusing on the shots like we were supposed to, it wasn't that big a deal.
He spoke up and contributed as much as anybody else, speaking with a sign language interpreter sitting to the side of the lecturn.
After a few classes nobody noticed the interpreter or the subtitles much anymore.
I'm reading a ton of stuff on "inclusivity" and found this site. I've got to tell you I just don't get it. "Everyone has to be included as an equal". Well, how impossible is that going to be - let along time consuming and financially draining - as we attempt it. What is equal anyway? And why does a blind person have to see a movie? What's wrong with being who we are and living with our limitation. Is everyone beautiful? Does everyone have great hair? Should the beautiful and great hair people wear wigs and makeup to make themselves less attractive so the ugly people will feel equal? It just seems to me that we have to accept the fact that we are not equal and therefore there will be winners and losers and a whole bunch of people in between. There is just too much political correctionness in the classroom and not enough of education. By the way - wasn't everyone in Stalin's Russia equal under the State (well almost everyone - there were the few empowered exceptions and they weren't educators!)
I am considering developing a course on the Portrayal of disability in film. Love to hear about other existing courses that people may be aware of..
Thanks,
Mike, are you aware of the visual descriptive sound tracks that are sometimes available on videos? A narrator will describe costumes, scenery, facial expressions and other details relevant to understanding the video. If you plan to teach movies that don't have that audio track, perhaps an assignment for small groups would be to create such a track for a vido that doesn't have one. And for one video, play only the audio track, so that all students -- sighted and otherwise -- would have the experience of depending on that audio transcription.
Just a thought.