Developing Inclusive Practice: A Role for Teachers and Teacher Education - Essay Example

Reflective Essay There are so many legal issues in teaching that many educators have to learn about. This is one of the variables that affect the quality and approaches to education. For example, there are cases when teachers were constrained in their instruction because of legal threats from confrontational parents. This has been widely documented with lawyers and advocates, representing students and parents attending school events, with impending lawsuits following unmet teaching goals (Pellerin 2007, p. 107). Learning about the laws, hence, that are relevant to teaching and the student-teacher relationship is critical in being able to become an effective educator. Legal knowledge enhances the teachers confidence in his work and in the appropriate behavior. Unfortunately, in the course of the program, I came to realize that I will not thrive in an environment that stifles freedom and innovation in teachers and undermines the contribution to a truly meaningful learning experience for students. This reinforced my desire not to become a teacher. Legal Issues Elsewhere in the world, particularly those with higher standards in education such as the United States, familiarity with the laws and policy directives that cover teacher employment and professional practice is mandatory (Nath & Cohen 2010, p. 500). The rationale is that such awareness will protect not only the traditional stakeholders such as students, the teachers, school administrators. Rather, there is the need to consider and protect the interest of other stakeholders such as caregivers, authors and composers. Clearly, work is cut out for teachers not just about instruction but the additional knowledge and competency in legal issues relevant to their work. It is understandable for many such as me to be daunted. The sheer breadth of expertise required to teach specialized subjects such as Industrial Design have to be augmented with further studies of laws and policy. The process does not only call for teachers to be well-versed in legal issues. Rather, the teacher must also be able to approach teaching and the content of instruction in the context of these issues. To say, hence, that it is complicated would be an understatement. This is further aggravated by other related issues such as inclusion and working with challenging learners. On Inclusion and Equal Opportunity In the United Kingdom an inclusive practice is an imperative for teachers as it is part of actual policy directives and included in the future legislative policy for education. It is, of course, ideal as it reforms the British educational system so that it benefits all learners from all backgrounds and learning capabilities. The problem with this initiative is that it will be extremely challenging for teachers. I would like to cite the work of Rouse (2009, p. 6) to articulate the dilemma. According to Rouse, although it is achievable, there are so many barriers to inclusive practice. And that one of the only ways to achieve it is to reconsider the teachers role, responsibilities and identities. This is quite difficult to achieve. For professional teachers, it would require an overhaul of deeply entrenched teaching practices and values. For new teachers, it would mean a rejection or, at least, a modification of skills and knowledge recently learned from school. I no longer wanted to pursue a career in teaching and this decision is based on the amount of work required and the relevance of my previous experiences to the field. This is not a case of disliking the practice or an unwillingness to cope with the challenges involved. In the course of my education and training, I have experienced actual teaching several times. My stint as an educator for special children is one of the most satisfying of these. My deep interest in those teaching experiences as well as the positive outcomes indicate that I have the have the capability and temperament to be able to be a good teacher. I have found, for instance, that I was effective in my work because I was able to address several aspects of the students’ learning including those that are not academic in nature. A case in point is how I was able to engage parents and families of special needs students. In my later research on this subject, I found that experts support this component in teaching strategy. Hammel and Hourigan (2011, p.xii), for example, cited that families constitute the support team for these learners and they contribute to an ongoing education strategy so that the disabilities of the students become less of a burden and strain. There is a requirement for teachers to diversify instructional strategy in a classroom and this is also true in the case of bilingual learners. I take pride in saying that I have achieved some semblance of success in this area by pursuing models I have learned such as a type of communicative and interactive pedagogy, where lessons are planned to make sure that learners are independent, ensuring learner confidence in the process. Again, this is where I was able to apply a number of educational learning theories, which I have learned in the past years and I have excelled in a number of them. Relevance to Previous Experience As I look back to the need to be familiar with so many other issues, including the paper work that would inevitably come with it, I feel that I will be wasting so much time. First, I have already pointed out that the current trend in education is becoming more complicated than ever. I would like to use the communicative and interactive pedagogy that I have used as a context to explain my point. The strategy was effective but in actual setting, its employment is not as simple as it looks. Consider: The UK National Curriculum provides the framework and requirements for instruction. Awareness and adherence is part of regulation and is an expected element in the professionalism required on the part of the teacher. The resulting pedagogic imperatives constrain the efficacy of communicative and interactive teaching strategy to the point that its impact becomes superficial, lacking substance and meaningful content. I would like to cite the statutory provisions within the National Curriculum framework. There is an explicit requirement for testing at specific stages as well as a focus on setting targets and tests. I agree with Levine (1990, p. 3) – based from my experience – that these rules are achieved at the expense of effective teaching models such as the communicative and interactive models as well as the more recent approaches that take advantage of technological opportunities. These models could address learning in a diverse classroom, inclusive of special needs and bilingual students but are prevented from making meaningful learning impact. I feel that I have to devote a huge amount of time not only learning further but also changing and modifying previously learned concepts and teaching models. Unfortunately, I do not have sufficient teaching experience to leverage this pursuit. This now constitutes the second impetus to my decision of, finally, abandoning teaching as a career. I currently manage a city hotel and this, including my work in the hospitality industry, dominates much of my previous work. I am deeply concerned with the amount of time needed before I am finally equipped to deal with the rudiments of modern teaching. With this in mind, I have begun exploring other alternative career path. The guiding principle for me now is to identify a field that would utilize my education and trainings as well as the skills I have obtained from my work experience. But there is the challenge involved in transitioning from teaching into something that is related to it while being applicable to my current job or field that I work in. Part of the problem is the classification of teaching as a degree. I would have wanted to move onto other fields and industries but several jobs I am interested in require a minimum require a higher degree classification. I concluded that there are two options available to me presently. The first is to pursue postgraduate studies. The second, which is the more attractive option, is to become a support service head or to pursue any career that is compatible with my current work experience. I could, for instance, continue with my current career path and find a way to use my education to advance my position from my current managerial rank onto one within regional or executive management level. I still have some vague idea how I would be able to accomplish this. But I have considered one particular example. As a manager, I could position myself as an expert of human resource. For example, I should be able to develop the workforce into a better and more productive team. This could be demonstrated in training and skills acquisition. Empirical studies show that focusing on these areas could improve the morale, motivations and performance of employees (Landy and Conte 2010, p.325). The teacher understands of the learners’ behavior and cognitive capabilities will enable me to be successful in instituting change and establishing a consumer-friendly organizational, particularly that – in the service and hospitality industry - human interaction between the hotel staff and the clients are key to providing excellent service and, therefore, consumer value. It is quite interesting for me to know that I have finally reached the decision not to become a teacher upon taking this program. The legal issues, I daresay, have sealed the deal, so to speak. It represented the challenging and complicated aspects in teaching that I think would temper my enthusiasm and capability, making me less productive in the long run. References Hammel, A. and Hourigan, R., 2011, Teaching Music to Students with Special Needs: A Label-Free Approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Landy, F., and Conte., J 2010, Work in the 21st Century: An Introduction to Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons. Levine, J., 1990, Bilingual Learners and the Mainstream Curriculum: Integrated Approaches to Learning and the Teaching and Learning of English as a Second Language in Mainstream Classrooms. London: Psychology Press. Nath, J. and Cohen., M 2010, Becoming an EC-6 Teacher in Texas. New York: Cengage Learning. Pellerin, P. 2007, A Case Study of a Former Special Education Teacher: The Teaching Experiences that Influenced the Decision to Leave the Classroom. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Rouse, M. 2009, Developing Inclusive Practice: A role for teachers and teacher education? Education in the North 16 6-13. Read More