Being an educator involves being on a roller coaster that is constantly looking for new, varied and/or different means to meet the needs of a society that is living in an ever changing environment. Our focus is our students, a diverse population, who have different desires and needs. To meet these needs the Ministry of Education is moving forward in the areas of adult education, Early Childhood Education and in educating those who work in the education system in inclusion and diversity. These advancements in my belief are steps in the right direction in building a strong society.
In the past fifty years there has been a revolution in education. Students are given supports to thrive. Some of these supports included specialized programming such as trades, fine arts, academics, etc. Specialized Education allows students, in their senior years, to take courses that they are interested in and which fit their learning style. There are core classes that all students must take, but students are allowed to pick classes from optional classes in the areas of Fine Arts, sciences, communications and trades. These courses may be taken in a classroom, by correspondence, on line or via satellite. Students are given opportunities to take chances and learn critical thinking skills in areas which may be the start of a career. The required classes that students are required to take ensure that all students will have some basic skills, which will allow them the freedom to change interests and careers as their life progresses. Future carpenters, doctors and journalists may share thoughts and ideas in an English Language Arts class for an hour and spend the next hour in a class such as carpentry, biology or communications which leans to their learning style and interest.
Adaptive Dimension is a term which has broadened in the past few years, as knowledge of multiple intelligences, learning styles and questioning skills have moved to the forefront of teacher professional development. Teachers are constantly adapting presentations, assignments and environments to ensure that their students can be successful. The term differential instruction has become the buzz word as teachers try to meet the needs of students who may have behavioral, intellectual, psychological or physical strengths or weaknesses.
Inclusion is also once again making headlines, but it no longer deals with just inclusion of the special needs child. We now know that inclusion is providing an environment that allows people to feel safe, as well as learn the skills that are necessary to be successful. So it could mean ensuring that special needs students have an abundance of opportunities to interact with their peers, allowing ESL students to be a part of a regular classroom and providing assignments that support and challenge all students. But it goes farther than that it requires administrators in education to ensure that their staff and their community feels included in their building and as authentic partners in their children’s learning. Data is prevalent on the benefits and misuse of inclusion and we are forced to do self reflection to ensure that what we are doing is truly about the child and not about what we determine to be the easy way out for the educator.
Regina Catholic, under the direction of Sandra Barager, Student Support Service Supervisor, is moving education in the right direction. Her vision is to provide every student with the right to learn. Programs such as EFAP, FIAEP,TAB, SLE, ENCORE are the beginning of this vision. Each school is designed for the students who attend it. Sandra believes it is essential to “have meaningful inclusion within your school”(Sandra Barager, March 36, 2009) This is her vision and she puts it to practice within the system by providing students with the opportunity to be included in the school setting in meaningful purposeful daily activities with their peers. I regard this as progressive move for education, as it opens up doors and opportunities to students who just a few short years ago may have been excluded from their peers because of physical, intellectual, emotional or social disabilities.
School division today base staffing formulas not just on the base student population and the designated student numbers, but have weighted formulas that take in to consideration that a certain percentage of the school’s population will be diverse and “at risk.” This allows schools to provide staff supports and resource supports to meet the needs of the school’s population. For the big question is who is diverse. Is it the designated student, the ESL student, the child who has auditory processing issues, the child who can’t come to school till 9:15 because he has to drop his siblings off at another school, the child whose asthma which prevents him from moving fast in gym or is it the child who needs to be challenged. Many things need to be considered for each or our children and administrators must collaborate with their staffs to determine what supports and resources they make available in their schools to ensure student success. I think if educators are looking at all students like this (not just the ones who need specialized programming) I think there will be a remarkable achievement as provided by within the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms section 15 article 1,
Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability
Accordingly schools set up programs and supports for students that not only focus on inclusion but allow the students to achieve life skills. Some examples of these supports are educational assistant, specialized programming, specialized resources (tape recorders, sound field systems, manipulative, etc), assessments (pre, during and post, as well as varying the kind and means by which they are administered)) and by providing services (daycare, correctional officers, health personal, speech therapist, OCH, social services, ESL supports, etc.).Within Regina there are multiple examples of support systems offered to students in both elementary, middle, high schools and adult education programs. It doesn’t mean that there are no pull outs, no specialized course or classrooms, but what it does mean is recognizing the worth of each individual and providing them with what will make them successful community people. In some case students have to be removed from their original school and place in a setting where they can be successful such as the SLE (Supportive Learning Environment), which an elementary program for students K-8 with complex behavioral difficulties. The students that attend this program according to Barager, are one that have been diagnosed with a psychological disorder and need the support of a physician and/or a psychiatrist. One of the school’s main objectives is to figure out what type of educational situation will work best for the student and begin to transition them into this model so that they can achieve. By including these people and services within our school system we are giving more opportunities to adverse population of students, who will be successful members of society.
Another way we are making progressive steps is by changing our perception of what a high school student is. In the past high school students, where generally thought of as students under the age or 19, now the definition of high school students refers to individuals who do not hold their high school diploma. By changing this definition we are giving people the choice to stay in regular school, come back to regular school, take a GED or enter an adult program. The choices can be made on what is available to them and what suits their learning styles and needs.
The adult campus in Regina offers a variety of programs for students to enroll in to achieve their diploma. They also provide students with flexibility in attendance, course time and completion time. Many of the students who attend the adult campus have families and jobs, thus the flexibility provides them with the supports they need to be successful. The school also has a variety of services to support them. Services such as daycare, cafeteria, counseling and medical services are all essential services to adult students. This adult campus allows all adult learners a chance to build confidence and achieving their diploma in a safe environment.
One drawback however about the adult campus is that some students might use it as a cope out to quit high school at an early age. I hope that young people will see the break in education as a deterrent that they don’t want to face. . Young students shouldn’t be looking at what they need for the bare minimum to pass but should be looking at programs and opportunities, which could brighten and expand their futures. The adult campus is designed for people who have a specific need, due to lack or opportunities or past mistakes that need to be rectified.
We live in a diverse society with a diverse population in a diverse environment. We have major differences in our seasons, our communities and in each individual. We need to cherish and embrace our diversity. We need to recognize individuals as unique. We need to share our strengths, offer support to others to overcome their weaknesses and collaborate as community members to ensure success of our communities as we work to be strong as a society, who supports all there members and not just the ones who have our skin color, speak our language, look like us, think like us and enjoy the same interests as us.
We are progressively moving to allow the student to be the dictator of their own success. Our school system is just one of the means of transportation that they will use to build a strong society.
