Students with Learning Disabilities and the Inclusive Classroom Essay

All teachers dream of the classroom filled with fifteen tranquil, enthusiastic students, all with their note books out and pencils prompt for note taking. This is the classroom where everyone works together, at the same pace, and without any interruptions or distractions. This is the ideal classroom setting. The only problem with this picture is that it does not exist. Students are all different. Kids all learn different ways, and at varying paces. Both Physical and Learning Disabilities can hinder a child’s learning speed and hold them back from the rest of the class. It can be very difficult to identify a child with a learning disability because students can often be misunderstood and labeled as unmotivated and lazy. These students are often ignored and not given enough individual attention, and therefore they experience difficulty and frustration all throughout their education. Teaching students with learning disabilities takes a knowledgeable and understanding teache r and often requires adaptation of the curriculum. The education of these students often needs so much â€Å"constant attention and fine tuning if they are to succeed,† (Mather, 3) that they hold the rest of the class back. It is these cases that students should seek an adaptive classroom program and individual attention to work on their problematic areas. The bottom line is these students cannot be allowed to fall through the cracks of our educational system. They need positive reinforcement and individual attention so that they are confident in class and productive when they do their work. The spectrum of learning disabilities is huge, and because there are so many varying degrees of these diseases all children respond differently to them. It take... ... Perceptions of a First-Year Teacher.† The Journal of Special Education. 33.2 (2001): 92-99.    Hardin, Brent and Hardin, Marie. â€Å"Into the Mainstream: Practical Strategies for Teaching in Inclusive Environments.† The Clearing House. 75.4 (2002): 175.    Mather, Nancy and Goldstein, Sam. Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviors. Paul H. Brooks Publishing Company, Baltimore, MD. 2001.    â€Å"Teaching Children with Attention Deficit Disorder.† Kid Source Online, www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/add.html (5 October 2003).    *Wallace, Gerald. Teaching Children with Learning Problems. Charles E. Merrill Publishing Co. Columbus, OH. 1973.    Wedell, Klaus. â€Å"All Teachers Should be teachers for Special Needs – But is it Possible?† British Journal of Special Education. 29.3 (2002): 151.    * Works used but not cited