Keep it Local, Keep it Simple - Interview with Paula Kluth
Just finished a fantastic interview with Terri Mauro on The Inclusive Class Radio Show with Inclusion expert, Paula Kluth!
One of the many valuable points Paula gave was that inclusion is a practice that can be kept local and kept simple. In other words, a general education teacher should not feel the need to run out and attend 100 different workshops on special needs children in order to work with special needs students in his/her classroom! Of course, any extra information the teacher has the better, but for the most part a teacher can use the resources, experts, and support that he/she has around the school everyday. In fact, parents are a teacher's number one resource when it comes to working with special needs children!
In addition to parents, teachers can learn how to include and differentiate instruction through co-teaching, in-school Professional Development Days, district therapists and the internet! Moreover, the strategies that a teacher can use to include a special needs child can involve equipment and personnel that already exist in the school building. Paula gave an example of a Kindergarten child who had difficulty sitting with the class during Calendar Time (a common morning routine in Primary classrooms). The student was eager to participate in the routine and could not sit still. Paula's solution was to give the student a cushion to sit on (so the little girl could become aware of her personal space) and a calendar of her own to follow along with. In the end, the teacher used local resources (copy of calendar), simple strategies (sitting on cushion with calendar in hand) and the result was very effective. Just the way teachers like it!
To hear the interview go to The Inclusive Class Radio Show!
Article HERE.
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