My Philosophy of Inclusion of Diverse Learners in an Educational Context

            Being a 21st century educator in Canada means working with a diverse population of modern students. Moreover, including students with special needs in regular classrooms is a philosophy and reality of our days. And these are settings I am going to work in. 

One of my goals as a teacher is to help my students to reach their full potential. Therefore, I see my role as a teacher in providing students with special needs with as many educational and environmental tips and futures as available in modern educational market. It can be done by implementing assistive technologies or organizing classroom settings with respect to needs of an every particular exceptional student. It can also be reached by including the latest educational approaches, such as differentiating instructions and assessment and cooperative learning in my teaching practicum.

Also, successful learning is only possible in a safe environment. That means that every student needs to feel welcome and accepted. Students with special needs are very often more vulnerable. Therefore, it is my responsibility as a teacher to create a friendly and sheltered class community, so that every student in my class is engaged and included in the learning process, regardless their exceptionalities. To do so, I strive to prevent children from encountering harmful situations in both physical and social sense. Also, the students must know that bulling will not be tolerated at any level. Talking with students about existing exceptionalities, playing role games that help students understand what others might feel like being different, and setting a positive example are some tips in building secure and encourage classroom environment.

Finally, close relationships and constant communication with the parents of exceptional children are needed in order to help such students to succeed through school years. Parents are the closest people to their children. They know what works best for them. Therefore, I see myself working close with the parents of my exceptional students through telephone calls, parent-teacher interviews and meetings, and providing parents with the available resources.

   Including students with exceptionalities in a regular classroom is beneficial for such students. And this is my obligation and responsibility to organize a learning process and classroom environment in such way that help every student in my class become an active and successful learner.