FEELING EXCLUDED
Feeling Excluded
Joanna Chung
School of Education, Liberty University
EDUC 521: Foundations of Exceptionality
Dr. Angela Smith
August 16, 2020
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Synopsis
Dr. Jennifer Landrum discusses areas of the inclusive classroom in this text for educators
who have not been exposed to the inclusive classroom. She states that what educators need is a
book “that reads more like a self-help manual by someone who has been there, teaching in the
inclusive setting” (Dr. Landrum, p.7). She also indicates that understanding teaching strategies
for inclusive classes involving students with and without special needs will be very helpful and
useful because including teaching is much more than teaching students with special needs. It
includes “content knowledge, knowledge of the laws and rights of students, advocating for
students and parents, and collaborating and blending with many other educators’ teaching styles”
(Dr. Landrum, p.7). Thus, it is very helpful not to speak about the frustration of the inclusion
classes but to just accept the responsibility as a member of the inclusion team. Teachers should
create differentiating and individualizing plans for students to meet the needs of students with
disabilities while treating every student in the inclusive class equally.
There are components that lead the inclusion to succeed, and training and supporting
educators is one of them. Many researchers have shown that teachers need to be trained on how
to help all students to meet their needs and understanding the roles of inclusion teachers.
“Learning about the process of special education, or exceptional student education is vital for all
teachers to become familiar with” (Dr. Landrum, p. 30). Receiving training will also help
teachers to collaborate with the team members better and respect the inclusion teachers’ roles so
that they do not feel like they are not included. Just like teachers want the students to feel
included to make inclusion successful, the inclusion teachers must feel included as well to
achieve the goals of inclusion class. Special education and general education teachers must work
together to create IEP plans, differentiation of teaching strategies, classroom procedures, and
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classroom setting to accommodate the needs of the students. In some situations,
paraprofessionals can be part of it as well since they work very closely with students. To create
great teamwork, teachers may need to observe, listen, and sometimes model their teaching
strategies to support each other.
Another factor that will lead to successful inclusion is parents’ involvement whether they
are supportive parents or the opposite. Dr. Landrum states that parents are one of the best sources
for teachers who can help to make the inclusion successful. Teachers should also support parents
so that they can be involved. Some common issues can be a language barrier and cultural issues
that can be resolved with support from school and district. Consistently communicating with
parents about the progress of their child and letting them know that they are a vital part of their
child’s education can motivate them to get involved in the school. In addition, informing parents
about school events, parent workshops, and volunteer opportunities also encourage them to
participate.
Using high-tech devices and encouraging students to participate in extracurricular actives
will help students relieve their frustrations and stress which in long run can lead to the success of
the inclusion. Teachers writing personal notes or comments to students and offer tutoring
sessions (invitation only to monitor the number of students) will show how much their teachers
care about them. One thing that teachers need to be cautious is that they must earn respect from
their students before they become friends with them; teachers must set a boundary. Being
positive about inclusion and offer proper accommodation is another important component of
success for inclusion as well as a welcoming classroom environment. Dr. Landrum explains that
writing meaningful goals and objectives for the IEP plan and being a special education can be
very difficult. However, there are online IEP programs with drop-down menus for goals and
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objectives that teachers can use. She also recommends teachers start the year with a clear picture
of your new inclusion students with a positive attitude and do not be afraid to ask for help.
Lastly, teachers need to take care of themselves, both mentally and physically, when they are not
in school. They should go out with their friends, exercise, or whatever they enjoy, they should
spend time for themselves to stay healthy and happy. Their well being is vital for their students.
Case Study
Case study number nine describes a 9-year-old Chinse student named Karen who just
moved to a school in the United States from Hong Kong a couple of weeks ago. Karen has
limited English in her vocabulary and placed in the 4th grade. She lives with both parents who
speak only Chinese and unsure about Karen’s siblings; she seems to have no disability. To help
Karen with language issues, a Chinese interpreter was requested, however, the district is having
difficulty finding someone fluent in Chinese. Unfortunately, the school administrator is not able
to do much to help the situation either. They just recommended to do my best and help Karen to
be successful in school.
To support Karen, I made a cheat sheet with simple Chinse words to communicate with
her. I also posted Chinese characters next to everything I can around the classroom to help Karen
feel more comfortable and included. I also translate every document including lesson plans,
instructions, and letters to parents into Chinese using online tools. Online translators are not
always accurate, but at least it can be a huge help. I also try to pair Karen with another student
who speaks a bit of Chinese, but still difficult for Karen to understand the lesson. Karen
Keeps state at me when I talk to her or try to explain about the assignments. She cries when she
does not understand how to do the assignment and sits behind her desk which is the safe zone for
her.
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I believe one way to help Karen with both English and schoolwork is recommending her
parents check out lower level reading books from the library. Students moved from a different
country or English Language Learners usually do not know anything about American history and
struggle a lot in social study class. Thus, I will strongly suggest checking out books about early
American history books to improve both English vocabulary and social study class. I also would
need to be patient with Karen and give her many examples to show her how to complete the
assignment. As Dr. Landrum states, I must “clarify and repat important terms, directions, or
phrases that are the most important. Prove many examples and different ways of explaining the
information” (p. 79). Perhaps, giving Karen simple sentence writing examples can help her to
start writing about her given topic instead of trying to explain the instruction of the assignments.
Feeling empathy for Karen is not going to help her adapt to a new environment and
people. I must reinforce her to complete her work and acknowledgment her hard work to
motivate her. Writing personal notes to Karen to complement her effort or sending emails to
parents about her hard work will also reinforce her to do better next time. Continue to pair Karen
with her classmate or peer tutoring will have a positive academic result in a long run. It will also
help Karen with English listening and speaking skills. “Any way this is done, peer tutoring has
proven to be very effective” (Dr. Landrum, p. 80). Lately, proper accommodation will be very
useful and effective for Karen. Giving more time to complete assignments and providing
technology or a dictionary to translate the assignment for Karen must be done.
Personal Experience
I was an English Language Learner myself when I moved to the United States of America
in my 8th grade. I did not know much of English, and I was assigned to a middle school that has
English to Speakers of Other Language (ESOL) classes. My school was located ESOL outside of
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my district which was 40 minutes away from my house. I remember my ESOL teachers being so
nice and trying to teach students like me as much as possible to help us deal with cultural
differences and cultural shocks. I went back to my mother country, got married, and had three
daughters. I moved back to the U. S with kids in 2013 and sent them to a public school two days
after we arrived. They were placed in kinder, 1st, and 3rd grade with no English at all. I refused to
receive ESOL service from school for my kids, and I told them that I will teach them myself at
home. The school did not like my decision and warmed me about my children failing classes but
could not convince me either when they found out I taught English in Korea for 10 years.
My strategies were very simple that I told my daughters to watch Disney channel for two
hours a day, read 5 easy books a day, and write down what they want to say to teachers and
friends in Korean when they were in school and bring it to me. We called this a wish list. We
went to the library every weekend to check out books and signed up for every event they held for
young children. The very first few things that I taught them were counting numbers, the basic
money system, and how to say things politely. Every evening I translated their wish lists and
practiced how to say what they wished to say to their teachers and friends. Very fortunately, my
daughters had excellent teachers with a good heart in the very first school year. My second
daughter’s 1st-grade teacher even download a translator app to communicate with my daughter.
She paired my daughter with two friendly students who were smart and kind. My oldest, 3rd
grade back then, also had two “buddy” assigned by her teacher who always helped her in school
and invite her to their houses. My youngest one who is very stubborn also was able to speak
English in 6 months and able to complete all schoolwork. She was accepted for the gifted
program at the end of her kinder year. My second daughter was also enrolled in the gifted
program during her 2nd grade. If I may summarize the teaching strategies that my kid’s teachers
References
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and I used was scaffolding which is to “show them how through examples and modeling, have
the students try with your help, then have the students do the assignment on their own” (Dr.
Landrum, p. 83). My daughters’ teachers and I constantly showed my kids examples and
modeled how to do the assignments. Their teachers also encouraged and compliment them for
their hard work with stickers, reward from the treasure box, and more while I rewarded them
with ice-cream and milkshake. My kids were so happy when they found out their teachers
informed about their good work. As Dr. Landrum expresses in her work, teachers should
“acknowledge hard work by posting assignments and project on the wall, by making a phone call
home or writing a congratulatory letter to the student and his or her parents” (Dr. Landrum, p.
81).
My daughters and I still talk about their very first “American teachers” and friends. It was
a tough time for all of us, however, it was also one of the most precious and thoughtful time of
our lives. I hope every student who moves to a new county will have an excellent teacher like my
kids.
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Landrum. J. (2020). Feeling excluded? Cengage.
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