Will Pragmatism Work in Schools?

Will Pragmatism Work in Schools?

Pragmatism is a type of liberal educational philosophy that focuses on preparing children for leadership in the community and the workplace through teaching the practical function of knowledge as is applies to reality.  The role of students is to actively learn and participate in the class.  The teachers aim to convey inductive and deductive reasoning, the scientific method, and the powers of observation and practice.  The main aspects of what goes on in the class are group work, hands on curricula, and experimentation.  The goal of pragmatic teaching is to emphasize citizenship, knowledge and skills that can be applied to daily life, and career or job preparation.  John Dewey believed that people can govern themselves, and that the point of education is to simply enhance the human potential.  Pictured below are graduates from Aviation High School, which is a pragmatic school that teaches technical education.  Along with regular high school classes, their extra time is filled with enrollment in air frame and power shop classes.  They provide a very hands on educational experience for students, and have over 20 planes and equipment on sight, so students can learn hands-on.  It is a successful program in which students who graduate become FAA certified and are ready to obtain jobs as airline mechanics, engineers, or pilots.

I think this idea of a pragmatic education can be very successful.  The students at Aviation High are learning basic education, as well as learning about something they are interested in and want to do in the future.  By attending a high school focused to their interest and future professions, they will have an upper hand in getting a job when they graduate.  Sometimes in high school and college in particular, I feel like I have taken many classes that are irrelevant to my life and what I want to do in the future.  It would be better if students could choose what they want to focus on and take classes that involve them with hands-on activities and class discussions. Instead of teachers just giving out "busy work" I think the idea of focusing education on real life situations and problem solving will be much more beneficial to children in the long run.  I think pragmatism is a realistic approach that aims to help students focus on their interests and obtain good jobs.  

Has Inclusion Gone too Far in Schools?

Has Inclusion Gone too Far in Schools?

Personally, from working with elementary aged children, I have seen first hand how inclusion can affect a children, teachers, and the classroom setting in different ways. One example is of a kindergarten boy who was deaf for the first three years of his life.  When he first entered the program he could barely speak or socialize with anyone.  Now, 5 months later from being enrolled in a normal school and after school program, I have seen him come such a long way.  He can now have full conversations with us and has made friends with many of his classmates.  This is an example of how I've witnessed inclusion work, because in a separate classroom setting I don't think that he would have developed as well socially with his classmates.  On the other hand, I have witnessed a case of a child with bad mood disorders and bipolar disorder that has been included in the classroom and after school setting.  This boy needs special care and attention in a private class because he cannot interact with the staff or other children without being violent and lashing out.  He is very hard to deal with and many of the other students are afraid of him.  He has been through three one-on-one workers and still no one has been able to help him. I think this is an example of how inclusion is not a good idea because the boy needs special attention of someone trained to teach him.  Also it can be stressful for the teachers and slow down the rest of the class and cause a lot of disruption.  I think that it depends on the situation of the child on whether or not inclusion is the right idea.  I chose this topic because I am interested to find out more about inclusion in schools. 

Inclusion is "the idea that all children, including those with disabilities, should and can learn in a regular classroom." This means children with special educational needs will spend their educational time with non-disabled students.  The idea behind this is that its the right of these children to be able to learn with their peers and not have to be placed in separate classrooms because it violates their rights.  Although this seems fair, inclusion can have both positive and negative aspects.  In some cases children with minor behavioral issues such as A.D.D. can do fine in a regular classroom with easy accommodations, such as being able to get up and take a break during writing assignments.  In other cases, as Albert Shanker, writer for the American Federation of Teachers, wrote that "children with disabilities are individuals with differing needs; some benefit from inclusion and others do not. Full inclusionists don't see that medically fragile children and children with severe behavioral disorders are more likely to be harmed than helped when they are placed in regular classrooms where teachers do not have the highly specialized training to deal with their needs." This shows that in some cases inclusion can actually be detrimental to the child because they really do need to have special attention from a trained teacher.  I think that people who push for full inclusion need to realize this that depending on the situation it is not always right for the students.  

The Utah Education Association has created a list of things that can help make inclusion work and will prevent the fear of students being dumped into mainstream classrooms.  

• Adequate supports and services for the student
• Well-designed individualized education program
• Professional development for all teachers involved (both general and special educators)
• Time for teachers to plan, meet, create, and evaluate the students together
• Reduced class size based on the severity of the student needs
• Professional skill development in the areas of cooperative learning, peer tutoring, adaptive curriculum, varied learning styles, etc.
• Collaboration between parents, teachers, and administrators
• Sufficient funding so that schools will be able to develop programs for students based on student need instead of the availability of funding, or lack thereof

Overall, I think that it would be a good idea to include as many of the ideas above to help children be included in the normal classroom, but in some cases it is necessary for students with certain disabilities to have a special classroom and specialized teacher to help them.