September 6, 2015 Theoharis Chapter 1

There are three thoughts that struck me as I read the this text. First, I was impressed (and also personally challenged) by the boldness of principal Janice as described in the final paragraph of page 21. She definitely was leading by example and commitment. She used her leadership team to develop the plan and then clearly supported their decisions. She was clear that everyone on staff needed to be a part of the team. Second, I agreed with the assertion on page 18 that there is a need to keep in mind the social construction of disabilities so that we can collectively work towards a more “asset-based” way of educating special needs students. Third, based on my personal experience, I initially strongly disagreed with research finding on page 19 which said, “…placing students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms had no impact on amount or disruption of instruction time.” However, the inclusion model I experienced did not follow the models that were presented in the chapter…not even remotely. After reading the quote by Donna Hooper on page 32 I found my mind significantly open to greater possibilities. Wouldn’t it be great to stop worrying if this student or that student should be in our classroom, and instead learn to co-teach and differentiate better?! I think the goal and vision are important.