http://www.ascd.org/publications/ed...tudents-Belong-in-Inclusive-Schools.aspxThis is an article that suggests that approaches that are applied for the gifted classroom really should be applied to all classrooms, and that inclusiveness is a better option.
So I realize this article is 20 years old and comes from an era before Common Core. Given that education in 2015 is quite different now, does that make this kind of hope for an inclusive school a pipe dream, or is this something within reach that we should be advocating for?
From the article:
One of the essential features of an inclusive school is a cohesive sense of community, accepting of differences and responsive to individual needs. And it is this sense of community that is disrupted by the practice of pulling out gifted children for special services. This disruption takes several forms.
The message that “if you're different, then you have to leave” may seriously challenge children's sense of a secure place in the classroom.
Is school mostly about learning academic material or about fostering a sense of community? I think it's mostly about the former, but some progressive educators emphasize the latter.
A five-year-old should not be kept out of 1st grade, just because of age, if that is where he or she will learn the most. What about a definition of "inclusiveness" that takes a stand against age discrimination?
